Mahanandi

Hmm… Pancakes

Yesterday, we were craving for something crunchy, like chips. But because of our present health condition, fried stuff is off limits for few more days for us. What I did was, baked some potato chips using microwave oven, to snack during lunch.

I used a mandoline to cut potato so that the slices will be uniform in thickness, and they would bake evenly. One medium-sized red potato, gave about 20 slices. Arranged them side by side in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate. Sprinkled some salt for taste and baked them for about four minutes, turning to other side once after two minutes. In crunchiness they came close to deep fried stuff, and in taste, they are more like dehydrated version of potato. Not bad for the four minute effort. Decent taste to quench the crunchy cravings during recovery time, we thought.

If you are going to try, two things you have to be careful for. One, use a mandoline for uniform thickness and maintain minimum thickness. If potato slices are too thin, they will stick to the plate and even though they turn to crunchy, removing them from the plate would become difficult. Two, while microwaving, after you turn them to other side, keep a watchful eye. Cook in 30 seconds interval. Don’t let them burn, as they tend to get really done really fast at the end.

Potato Rounds Ready to get Microwaved

Vijay went through a severe case of flu-like illness last week. It started suddenly with fever and within a day it got worse with 104 °F temperature. We had to go to emergency and after several tests the doctors diagnosis was Acute Viral Syndrome. With prescription Tylenol, fever is under control now and he is recovering slowly. Poor guy, he dropped nearly eight pounds in a week. That bad. Compared to him, I had a very mild case of flu. Mainly I lost appetite. Sonti Kashayam, tomato rasam, plain toordal rasam, orange juice and capsules in-between – that’s all we could manage these past few days.

We are feeling better today and I couldn’t resist participating in Jihva~Potato event hosted from Pune, India by lovely Vaishali Kamath of Happy Burp. I prepared potato curry for lunch. Just plain, light oil and no onion, the variety we usually have on festival days. Nice, simple side dish and good to recover the appetite.

Red Potato ~ Raw, Cooked and Cubed

Recipe:

Boil or pressure-cook 4 medium sized potatoes to tender. Peel and remove the skin. Cut the potatoes to cubes.

In a wide skillet, heat a teaspoon of oil. Add and toast a half teaspoon each – cumin, mustard seeds, dried red chilli pieces and curry leaves. Add the potato cubes. Sprinkle turmeric, red chilli flakes and salt to taste. If you want you can also add fresh grated coconut and garam masala powder to taste. Mix and cook on medium heat for about 5 to 10 minutes until potato pieces brown a bit. Serve hot with a cup of rice and dal or rasam.

Plain Potato Curry and Microwave Oven Baked Potato Chips with Plain Toor dal Rasam and Rice
Our Meal Today and My Entry to Jihva~Potato Event by Vaishali of Happy Burp