Currypedia No. 3: The Potato

It's Thursday! So it must be time for another curry-related slap to the chops for all members of the curry brotherhood. And this week is a very special week indeed as we take a currypedia look at something which is dear to all our hearts – the potato.

Why is it such an important element of Indian cuisine? Well, the non-violent philosophy of Ahimsa has a strong influence within the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jain – so it's literally bad karma to slaughter animals. India is therefore a largely vegetarian country, with less than 30% of the population being regular meat eaters. But this was not always the case ...

The potato is not native to India nor – despite what the Irish would have you believe – Europe. Our favourite tuber actually originates in the Americas. First introduced to Europe in 1536, the potato is believed to have been first brought to India by the Portugese sometime around the year 1600 whereupon it changed its name to "aloo" ... and never looked back. Much like our very own Ewan.

Enough of the history lesson, though ... what about the tasty dishes? The Tramp's favourite pakora in the world are those crafted in the mighty Shish Mahal (the real one, mind), where the key ingredients are potato and (much to Trampy's chagrin) cauliflower. Described as "vegetable" on the menu (as opposed to the "ordinary" pakora), I'd highly recommend them to any starter fan. Mr Ali's very own special pakora secrets can be found in the must-have Shish Mahal Cook Book along with some awesome recipes for Bombay Potato and Methi Aloo.

Mmmm. Spud-we-like!

Attention, curry clubbers! Be honest now ... did you really have any idea that the potato was that old? And is it as good as it used to be? Will it be mushrooms? Fried onion rings? You'll have to wait and see. Hope it's chips ... etc. Go postal below, curry commentators.





7 comments:

Anonymous said...

baked potato saved my life

click on my name above to find out how ...

Anonymous said...

Gid picture The Tramp. I would say that looks like a mashed potato.

Lime Pickle.

phelan said...

I disagree. That picture is clearly photoshopped, as the subject in question has never ever looked like that, no matter how mashed. I did, however, appreciate the historical information about the potato, which contradicts much of what we Irish were taught in school, and at home. Tramp on, trampy and tramp.

Love Tattie.

The Tramp said...

It certainly was a mashed potato...

I feel that we may have been in the presence of one of the little people that morning and that he was probably playing tricks on us...

Anonymous said...

that's a mingin' jaiket.
Thewie

phelan said...

That jacket belongs to The Tramp, so surely the joke is on him.

The Tramp said...

But I think that you'll find that it looks AWESOME on me so it must really be a problem with you...