Twelve years ago, I posted a dish called Pan Haggerty, about which you can also read a bit more here. Yesterday, for dinner, we made a slightly different version of this dish and it turned out quite nice.
This recipe was created for The Right Side of Life, a Safal community on Facebook. If you’re interested in eating healthier and involving food in different aspects of wellness, this is a group for you. We’re planning lots of activities and content for this group that I’m sure you’ll love!
I find quite a few of us don’t like the taste of mongre-aloo, conditioned as we probably are since childhood. This version has a very different format, thought the flavours remain somewhat the same and doesn’t need much attention, though it takes a while to cook.
The quantities of the ingredients are your call, as they depend upon the size of the pan you’re going to cook in, the number of layers you’re going to apply, the thickness of the slices and so on.
Ingredients:
- Mongre, washed and finely chopped
- Potatoes (I used new potatoes that don’t need peeling), finely sliced
- Cheese (I used Gouda and some mozzarella), optional
- Salt
- Chili powder
- Garam masala powder
Method:
- Take a non-stick, preferably heavy bottomed pan.
- Add a layer of sliced potatoes to cover the surface.
- Sprinkle the potatoes with salt (very important), chilli powder, garam masala and mongre.
- If you’re using cheese, sprinkle some evenly all across
- Repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 until the pan is full.
- Place the pan on low heat, covered, until the top layer is cooked.
- Serve directly from the pan to individual plates at your table.
Notes:
- On step #3, the salt is important as it’ll cause the potatoes to shed water, which will then generate steam, which will cook everything. Skipping layers with salt may result in uncooked bits.
- Use a little salt per layer and remember the total amount will add up with each layer.
- On step #6, if the top is cooked, likely the rest is cooked too.
- At home, we’re good if the potatoes have a bit of bite, instead of being completely soft. Your call.
- If you don’t have a heavy bottomed pan, or if you’re using a thin pan, or if your lowest flame is too high (as is mine), put your pan on a roti-tawa, as I’ve done in one of the pictures. This will prevent the bottom layer from burning.
