My memory is really bad. Really, really bad! If I am trying a recipe from the internet, I come and check the recipe at least 20 times while making it.

Reminds me of how I used to make rasam, when I was in college. It was the same recipe and I would make it 5 times a week. One would assume that after making the same thing again and again, I would have gotten a hang of it. But no, I used to ask my grandma the recipe at every single stage. ‘The water is boiling, what should I do next?’ , ‘How many spoons of rasam powder should I add?’, ‘Can I add the curry leaves now?’. Same questions every single day. After sometime, grandma started answering me before I even ask the question!

This is a recipe from my old neighbour and it was so simple that I didn’t bother noting it down. Big mistake!! Because I would try a different version of this and get disappointed, since it didn’t taste the way its supposed to be. By sheer coincidence, we were in the same locality once again, but in a different country. I got the proper recipe from her and this time, I wasn’t making any mistakes. I wrote it down in my recipe book and have recorded it here in my space as well.

The original recipe requires you to do the whole cooking in stove top. But the microwave version makes it easy to prepare and uses less oil as well compared to stove top.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes                                     :   4-5, medium size
• Onion                                           :   1 big, cut into chunks
• Jeera                                            :   1/2 tsp (optional)
• Chili Powder                             :   1 -2 tsp, per taste (or 2-3 red chillies)
• Oil, turmeric powder, salt

Method:

 Wash  and cut the potatoes into wafer thin slices, like for potato chips. You needn’t peel them.  Cut the onion into big chunks and grind into a paste along with chili powder (or red chillies), jeera (if using), salt and turmeric powder. Apply this paste all over the potato pieces till everything is well coated.
Add 1 -2 tsp of oil and  microwave without covering, till the potatoes are 3/4th cooked. It took about 6-8 minutes in my machine. The time will vary from machine to machine, so keep watching it. 
Add 2 tsp of oil in a non-stick pan and add the partly cooked potato mixture and cook in low flame for  about 10-15 minutes, stirring every now and then. The more you cook, the more the potato is going to be roasted. I cook for even 20 minutes at times.
Check the seasoning and adjust. Take off the heat when potatoes have reduced in size, cooked fully and roasted partially.

Note:

This can be cooked completely in the microwave, without moving it to the stove top. You will have to add more oil and will have to keep stirring in between. You will need another 8-10 minutes.

This is my entry for Srivalli’s Blogging Marathon, under the category ‘Cooking with 5 ingredients or less’.

Check out here to see what the fellow participants are cooking.

Linked to:

• Blogging Marathon
• MEC : Potluck Party