This was published 8 years ago
Frank Camorra: Indian spiced potatoes and buttermilk fried chicken
By Frank Camorra
I love Indian cuisine for the way it uses spices to create so many incredible and distinctive flavours. Dinner at a friend's house introduced me to panch phoran, a whole spice blend from eastern India. The name means five spices, and it's a mixture of fenugreek, nigella seed, cumin seed, black mustard seed and fennel seed.
This recipe is for potatoes, but you can substitute green vegetables such as beans, broccoli or zucchini. It is an excellent accompaniment for roast meats such as lamb shoulder or beef ribs and adds a spicy touch to a traditional Sunday roast.
Panch-phoran potatoes.Credit: Marcel Aucar
It also goes well with this chicken recipe. Buttermilk is a fantastic ingredient that can be turned into fluffy pancakes, a tangy salad dressing or a tenderising marinade for fried chicken. You can use chicken breast if you prefer, or salmon fillet.
Panch-phoran potatoes
800g desiree potatoes, peeled
100ml vegetable oil
3 tbsp panch-phoran mix
1 brown onion, roughly diced
1 tbsp ginger, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 green chilli, deseeded and chopped
8 fresh curry leaves
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp sea salt
2 tomatoes, diced
100g frozen peas
½ cup picked fresh coriander, washed
Cut potatoes into 2-centimetre pieces. Heat the oil in a medium-sized pot over a medium heat. Toast the panch phoran in the oil for about a minute or until the spices release their aroma. Add the onion and cook until golden, then add the potatoes, ginger, garlic, chilli, curry leaves, turmeric, salt and tomatoes. Stir well to coat everything in the spices. Add water so the potatoes are not quite covered. Add the peas, bring to a simmer then cover with a lid and cook for about 20 minutes or until tender. Add more water if it gets too dry then check seasoning and put into a serving bowl. Sprinkle with coriander before serving.
Serves 4
Crumbed buttermilk chicken
6 skinless chicken thighs, cut in half
300ml buttermilk
1 tsp hot paprika
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp sea salt plus extra to season
140g bread crumbs
25g sesame seeds
400ml vegetable oil
Trim the thighs of any bone or sinew. Pour the buttermilk into a bowl and add the paprika, garlic and salt. Mix the thighs through the buttermilk and marinate for a minimum of two hours – overnight is best. Mix the bread crumbs with the sesame seeds in a medium bowl. Crumb the chicken, coating each piece well, then refrigerate for an hour. Heat the oil to 170C. Test it by putting a bread cube into the hot oil – if it browns quickly it is hot enough. Cook the chicken in batches until crisp and golden. Season well with salt and serve immediately.
Serves 4
TIP
When toasting spices it is important to keep an eye on the heat of the pan. If the spices burn, throw them out and start again.