Ingredients
2 tbsp light vegetable oil
1/4 tsp whole cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp sea salt 2 hot red peppers, dried 5, medium-sized potat
1/8 tsp asafetida, ground, or 1/8-inch lump
1 1/4 cup canned tomato sauce
Directions
Wash, peel and quarter potatoes. Place them in a bowl with cold
water to cover.
In 2-3-quart pot, heat oil over medium heat. As it heats, drain
potatoes in a colander. When the oil is hot, add asafetida; after it
sizzles in about 5 seconds, add cumin seeds; when they sizzle and
change color in 5 to 10 seconds, add the red peppers, which will
begin to change color in just 2 or 3 seconds. Now add the drained
potatoes and turmeric. Fry the potatoes for about 2 minutes, stirring
occasionally.
Add 2 cups water, tomato sauce, and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and
allow to simmer very gently for about 1« hours. Serve in a deep dish
and permit diners to ladle individual servings in their own small
bowls. Flatbreads provide an excellent accompaniment to this dish.
Leftovers can be mashed in a blender to reincarnate as a delicious
soup.
Servings: 5 servings
Potatoes With Asafetida & Cumin Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Potato; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
Academics have tracked the existance of recipes far back into the distant past, at least as far back into history as pharonic Egypt, and maybe even further. Interesting though that maybe, in the main part, these old recipes were just very simple hieroglyphic recipes for preparing meals.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe in existence, according to food historians is a series of tablets in Sumerian describing the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who drank it feel blissful. Much later, in Roman times a roman called Apicius compiled some scripts which described recipes cooked by wealthy roman citizens. In his scrolls, he describes how the meals of wealthy Romans were split into hors d`oeuvre, main meal and dessert, something that is very familiar to us today. Aspicius also informs us how the cooks of Roman times used a good variety of aromatic flavours, including some familiar names such as bay, rue and asafoetida. Later on, in the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought us many new spices and herbs from Arab cooking, such as basil and coriander. These new herbs and spices prompted an eruption in recipe publications, some of which are now in private libraries. Over the succeeding few hundred years, the rich and powerful families of the West tried to offer the most exotic banquets, and as a consequence, cooks and their recipe collections could command a high salary. Nevertheless, it wasn`t until the 19th century that haute cuisine and recipe publications became popular. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Farmer in the US, dedicated their lives to collecting, trying out, and writing down recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. When we get to the twentieth century, cookery books were starting to become popular mostly due to more people being able to read, people having more free time and having more money to spend. The TV revolution gave us celebrity TV chefs and the accompanying recipe books. Which pretty much brings us to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing everybody to search through thousands of recipes such as those found on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Potatoes With Asafetida & Cumin recipe.
