Crisp at the edges and tender through the middle, Potato Pepper Fry is a vegan, vegetarian Indian side made with quartered baby potatoes or 3 cups of cubed potatoes, salt, and turmeric in about 40 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
  • Total time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Side
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

For the potatoes:

  • 3 cups quartered baby potatoes or 3 cups of cubed potatoes (about 1 inch size cubes)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes

For the tempering:

  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 cups of thinly sliced red onion (1 to 1.5 cups)
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 10 curry leaves
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes or use 2 dried red chilis
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • cilantro and lemon juice for garnish

Method

  1. Boil the potatoes: Heat a large saucepan of water over medium high heat. Add the salt, turmeric, and pepper flakes and then add the potatoes and bring to a boil. Continue to cook until the potatoes are cooked to preference(9-12 Mins) You don't want the potatoes too soft but you want them cooked through. Drain the potatoes and set aside.
  2. Make your tempering: Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium to large skillet
  3. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and wait for them to start popping.
  4. Then add the onion and a good pinch of salt and cook until the onions are starting to get golden. (7-10mins, depends on your pan and stove)
  5. Then add the garlic, curry leaves, and mix in and cook until the garlic is golden. 1-2 mins. Add splashes of water if the mixture is drying out too much.
  6. Then add in your freshly ground black pepper and pepper flakes or red chilis and the rest of the salt and mix in.
  7. Cook for half a minute then add the potatoes and toss well to coat.
  8. Cover and Cook for another 2 minutes to crisp them up then take off heat. Garnish with cilantros and lemon juice. Serve these potatoes with Dals or sambar and rice or flatbreads or dosa or with breakfast.

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.