This poori masala recipe is a South Indian style potato curry made with boiled potatoes, onions, lentils, herbs and spices. It has a soft texture with a lightly spiced and comforting taste. This hotel style curry pairs best with poori. It can also be served with dosa or chapati.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Main Course, Side Dish
  • Cuisine: South Indian, Tamil Nadu

Ingredients

  • 400 grams or 2 large potatoes (or 2 cups tightly packed crumbled boiled potatoes)
  • 150 grams or 1 cup onions (- thinly sliced)
  • 40 to 50 grams or ¼ cup tomatoes (- chopped, optional)
  • 1 to 1.5 inches ginger or 2 teaspoons ginger (- finely chopped)
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons green chilies (- chopped, reduce the amount of green chilies for a less spicy curry)
  • 1 sprig curry leaves (or 10 to 12 curry leaves)
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 teaspoons chana dal ((husked split bengal gram))
  • 1 teaspoon urad dal ((husked split black gram), optional)
  • 1 pinch asafoetida ((hing))
  • ⅓ to ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 8 to 10 cashews (- chopped)
  • 2 teaspoons besan ((gram flour))
  • 1.25 to 1.5 cups water (or add as required)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons coriander leaves (- chopped (cilantro))
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • ½ teaspoon sugar (or add as required, optional)
  • salt (as required)

Method

Preparation

  1. Rinse the potatoes very well in water Boil or steam them in a pressure cooker or steamer or Instant Pot. If pressure cooking, then pressure cook for 5 to 6 whistles on medium heat with water completely covering the potatoes.
  2. Cook potatoes until they are softened and fork tender. Drain the water and set aside the potatoes to cool.
  3. When the potatoes are still warm, peel and crumble them. You can also chop them and keep aside.
  4. Peel, rinse and thinly slice the onions. Also chop the tomatoes, ginger, green chilies and coriander leaves. Rinse and dry the curry leaves in a kitchen towel. Chop the cashews.

Sautéing spices, onions and tomatoes

  1. Heat in a pan or kadai (wok). Lower the heat and add mustard seeds. Crackle them.
  2. Then add the chana dal, cumin seeds and urad dal (optional).
  3. Stir and fry till the dals or lentils become golden ensuring that they do not burn.
  4. Add finely chopped ginger, chopped green chilies and curry leaves. Stir and mix well.
  5. Then add the cashews, which have been chopped. Mix again.
  6. Add the thinly sliced onions.
  7. Add a pinch of asafoetida and turmeric powder.
  8. Stir and mix again very well and sauté the onions till they become translucent and are softened.
  9. Now add the besan or gram flour. Mix the besan thoroughly with the rest of the ingredients.
  10. Add chopped tomatoes. Stir and sauté the tomatoes for 2 minutes.Adding tomatoes are optional and you can skip it.

Making Poori Masala

  1. Then add water. Mix very well.
  2. Bring this mixture to a simmer. About 4 to 5 minutes on a medium-low to medium heat.
  3. Now add the crumbled or chopped potatoes and stir very well.
  4. Cover and simmer the potato gravy for 4 to 5 minutes on a low to medium heat. The gravy should thicken and have a right consistency which is not too thick nor thin.
  5. Season with salt as per taste. Mix the salt with the rest of the potato gravy. You can also add a bit of sugar if you want.
  6. Lastly add the chopped coriander leaves. Stir very well and switch off the heat.
  7. Serve Poori Masala or Puri Curry with poori or chapati or dosa.

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.