There’s something about me and potatoes. God know why I love this vegetable. I can use potatoes in the kitchen every day. Believe me, whenever I’m out of vegetables, or if I don’t get the time to go to the grocery store to pick something interesting, or when I’m just bored of pulses, potatoes come to my rescue. In my early days of marriage, when I could hardly think of any recipe to cook, all I could see was potato. So I could have all these recipes in a week: aloo matar, aloo gobi, aloo tamater, and aloo pyaaz. Thank god, I have got some creativity in me in the last few years. But the fact remains the same. Call it laziness if you want to, but I thoroughly enjoy my different versions of potatoes.

There’s something else I’m crazy about as well. Yogurt. If I have nothing in the fridge, but just some fresh yogurt, here’s what I do: I just take a bowl of it, add a few teaspoons of bhujia in it and eat my heart out. You cannot replace the goodness of a fresh bowl of yogurt. Have it for breakfast or have it for lunch, homemade yogurt is super cheap and fulfilling!

So, what do I get when I mix potatoes and yogurt? No, it’s not a potato salad. This shall tell you what I’m talking about: Once, I went to meet my mum’s sister, my masi. After a while, her daughter-in-law insisted me to have lunch at their place. I said no. She kept on insisting. You see, when you live in another city, people never let you go when you visit them! I loved all the special attention I got over there. I decided to take a peek into her kitchen and saw some Dahi Aloo cooking on her stove. A thin layer of oil and red chilli powder was floating around the bubbling curry. Holy lord! I had to have lunch at their place! I shyly said yes, and shamelessly had a few rotis with my favourite version of potato. I still thank my masi’s daughter-in-law for treating me with a big smile.

Hey, readers. Are you looking for a quick-fix for lunch? Give this a go.

Recipe: Dahi Aloo

1. Boil two medium-sized potatoes. Give it 3 to 4 whistles and strain it.
2. Let the potatoes cool down a bit. Peel and chop them in chunks. Keep it aside.
3. Take some fresh yogurt. For two potatoes, you can go for two cups of yogurt. Whisk it properly, so that you can see no lumps.
4. Take a kadai. Heat two tablespoons of ghee or oil in it. Add a pinch of asafoetida, a teaspoon of each: cumin seeds, turmeric powder, coriander powder and red chilli powder, and some roughly-chopped green chillies.
5. Add the chopped potatoes in the kadai. Coat the spices well to the potatoes. Add salt to taste.
6. Now it’s time to add that whisked yogurt, or what we call in our language, feta hua dahi. And, add 1/4 cup of water to make give it a thinner consistency.
7. Let this boil for a few minutes, not much though. Because, this can make the yogurt curdle, way too much.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with hot phulkas.