Poori Masala | Potato Masala for Poori

A South Indian style potato curry made with crumbled potatoes and just a handful of other ingredients, this poori masala is called so as it is popularly served as a side to puffy pooris.

It is also called poori kizhangu or urulakizhangu masala. Kizhangu refers to a tuber / root vegetable of any sort, urulakizhangu specifically means a round tuber in Tamil and Malayalam.

Pooris are served with a variety of different sides, Chana masala being the popular one in Northern parts of India and this Potato masala being the popular one in the Southern parts of India.

We love plain pooris as well as these Spelt Methi Pooris and Palak (Spinach) Masala Pooris.

Ingredients for Poori Masala

• Potatoes - this goes without saying, as it is the main ingredient. Any kind of potato can be used, though I prefer to use small yellow / yukon gold potatoes. Potatoes are peeled for this recipe, but if you really want to, you can keep the skin on. Though I recommend peeling them to get the texture of the curry right.
• Green Chillies, Asafetida and Ginger - Thai green chillies and ginger form the heat and flavor base for this curry. Potatoes can make you gassy and bloated. The ginger and asafetida in this curry helps with that. 
• Tempered seasoning - brown mustard seeds, chana dal (split chickpeas) and curry leaves are added to hot coconut oil to form the first layer of flavor.
• Turmeric powder - for the signature yellow color of the potato masala.
• Onions - thinly sliced onions are sauteed along with the green chillies and ginger.
• Cilantro - just a little bit to finish off the curry with.

There are other ingredients that are commonly used in making this potato curry. Some add garlic to this curry. But I prefer to leave them out and keep it simple and flavorful.

Oftentimes, a slurry of cornstarch or besan / garbanzo bean flour is added to get a silky consistency for the curry. I have found that the starch from the potatoes gives enough silkiness to the curry base. Just mash a few potato pieces a little more so they become part of the sauce and you got the consistency right.

Method

• Cook the potatoes whole in the Instant Pot. Once cooked, put them in a bowl full of water and ice, to cool down quickly.
• Once cooled enough to handle it, peel the potatoes and crumble them with your hands.

• While the potatoes are cooking, heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves and chana dal to it. 
• Once the mustard seeds have popped and the chana dal turns golden brown, add asafetida, sliced red onion, green chillies and minced ginger to it.
• Saute the onions till they start to become translucent.
• Add turmeric powder and salt and saute for a couple more minutes over medium low heat.

• Add the crumbled potatoes and some water to the pot. 
• Let the water come to a boil and let the potatoes cook in the spiced mixture a little.
• Mash some of the bigger pieces of the potato so that the curry is not too watery.
• Remove from heat, garnish with cilantro and serve.

Serving Suggestions

This potato masala curry is served with hot fluffy fried pooris. You can also serve it as a side with rotis / chapatis too.

You may also love 

• Chana Masala
• Aloo Rasedar
• Potato Curry with Onion and Tomatoes
• Potato Curry with Coconut Milk
• Spelt Methi Pooris
• Palak Masala Pooris

Recipe variations

You can add some frozen green peas or chopped carrots to this potato masala curry. 

If the curry turned out too watery, add a slurry of cornstarch or besan to this to thicken it up. Let it come to a boil and keep at it for a few minutes after you add the slurry, so the starch cooks well.

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