Aloo Ka Achaar - Nepali Style Potato Salad

The thing with having foodie friends is that you are constantly learning new things from them too. My one such very dear friend A is my partner in crime when it comes to food. We do lunches and dinners to satiate our souls every now and then! She is from Nepal and she treats us to these Nepali delights often. I wouldn't be exaggerating, if I say that she make the best momos I've ever had, so much so that now I never want to eat momos outside! Nepali cuisine is extremely under rated I would say and there is definitely more to momos. One such delightful dish is this Aloo ko Achaar - Nepali Style Potato Salad that A makes and we all love . She was very kind to part with the recipe and I did not lose much time preparing it in my kitchen. It is a delightful salad made with potatoes, red onions, garlic and sesame seeds. And what makes it so different is the tempering with mustard oil . Serve it as a starter with your drinks or as a side dish to your meal - you are going to love it anyway!

 

 

Ingredients:

Potato - 2 large sized - par boiled - thinly sliced

Onion - 1 large - thinly sliced

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp - dry roasted and grounded into a powder

Green chillies - 2 - finely chopped - use more or less as per taste

Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Mustard oil - 1 tbsp

Fenugreek/methi  seeds - a few

Spring onion - finely chopped- for garnish

Method:

In a bowl mix together the thinly sliced potatoes, onions, green chillies, turmeric powder, chilli powder , salt, sesame seed powder and the lime juice. Give it a good gentle mix.
Check if its well seasoned. Feel free to add more lime juice as per your taste.

In a small pan heat the mustard oil and splutter the fenugreek/methi seeds. Temper the salad with this. Give it a mix. Garnish with chopped spring onion and some toasted sesame seeds.

This is best served at room temperature. A tells me that another variation would be to add dried fish or shrimps to enhance the taste. Sometimes even diced cucumber is also added to it. The options are many and in any which way this is one yummy dish that can be prerpared in a jiffy.

Potato Salami Salad - Creamy Deliciousness

I for one don't like spending too much time in the kitchen..as in I like recipes that can be made in a jiffy and people think that you had to slog out to make that. Most of my recipes are hassle free but tasty nonetheless. And I think that is what we all want in todays time- where people hardly have any time to do a lot of things. This Potato Salami Salad is something that I whipped up last weekend when friends came over for drinks and dinner. I served it cold and as a starter and the husband was all praises. So I made it again today to serve with the grilled chicken that I would be making for dinner tonite.  Very few basic ingredients is what you will need. Infact most of it I am sure you have at home. Can be served cold or even warm if you wish to. Just a word of caution here..this is not really a salad salad..if your looking for that healthy quotient but sinful indulgences should be allowed once in a while!

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 2 medium - par boiled and roughly cut into cubes

Chicken Salami - 6-7 slices - roughly chopped - you could even use ham or sausages

Mayonnaise - 4 tbsps. - I used low fat!

Fresh cream - 4 tbsps. - I used Amul low fat cream!

Cheese spread - 2 tbsp.

Mustard sauce - 1 tsp

Chilli flakes - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Pepper powder - to taste

Spring onions - a few sprigs - finely chopped - use only the green part

Method:

In a bowl mix together the mayo, cream, cheese spread and mustard sauce.

Arrange the chopped potatoes and salami in a bowl , pour the cream mayo mixture. Give it a good mix. Add the salt,pepper,chilli flakes - mix well. Garnish with chopped spring onion..serve cold.

Notes:

• Don't over boil the potatoes or else the salad turns mushy.
• Boil the potatoes in salt water - gives a better taste
• Keep a check on the salt added as mayo and cheese spread already has salt added.

Happy Cooking!