Make perfectly crisp homemade French fries with this easy recipe. No additives & no preservatives, these French fries can be customized to your diet with the choice of oil and the frying technique suitable to you.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 1480 minutes
  • Cook time: 25 minutes
  • Total time: 1505 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Snack
  • Cuisine: world

Ingredients

  • 3 Russet potatoes ((or Idaho or Maris piper))
  • 1½ cups oil ((peanut, canola or vegetable oil))
  • ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¾ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon paprika ((or ¼ teaspoon red chili powder))
  • ¼ teaspoon salt ((adjust to taste))
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chilli flakes ((optional))
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper ((optional))

Method

Preparation

  1. Rinse and scrub the potatoes under running water. Peel the potatoes and cut each potato to ¼ to ⅓ inch thick slices (lengthwise).
  2. Then further cut them to sticks of ¼ inch to ⅓ inch each. Add them to a large bowl of ice cold water. I also add a few ice cubes to them. Rest for a minimum of 1 to 2 hours in the refrigerator.
  3. Drain the water completely and pour ice cold water again to the bowl. Rinse them in this water to get rid of excess starch. Do not use regular water at this stage. We want the potato sticks to be cold.
  4. Then drain to a colander and wipe dry with a kitchen cloth. Spread them on a tray and let dry while you heat the oil. I prefer to separate the longer and shorter fries at this stage so they fry uniformly in the oil. Do not wait for too long as we need to fry the cold fries.

How to fry French fries

  1. Pour oil to a deep heavy bottom pan or pot & begin to heat it on a medium flame. Ensure the oil is at least 3 to 4 inches high in the pan. Attach your thermometer to the side of your pan for best results.
  2. When the oil reaches 300 F (150 C), gently slide 10 to 12 potato stick to the hot oil (depending on the size of your pan. Ensure you don't crowd the pan and the temperature almost remains same while frying, a variation of 20 F or 12 C is just fine.
  3. After they are slightly cooked, for about 3 minutes remove them to a wired rack, lined over a tray. Spread them on the tray while you continue to fry the next batch of French fries.
  4. Once you are done with the blanching, heat the oil a little higher to 350 F (175 C).
  5. Refry the blanched French fries until golden and crisp. Remove them to the wired rack to cool down slightly.
  6. Add each batch of French fries to a large bowl or a brow bag and sprinkle the seasoning as much as you desire. Toss well and serve immediately before they cool down as they begin to lose their crispness.
  7. Fry the rest of the French fries in batches and serve right away.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.