← Nouns Cooking · West & East African

Ingredients

• 1 kg medium potatoes (about 8), peeled and halved
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp Chilli powder
• 1 tsp Salt, divided
• 60 g gram (chickpea) flour
• 30 g plain flour
• ½ tsp Ground turmeric
• 2 tbsp hot oil
• 120 ml cold water
• vegetable oil, for deep frying
• 2 tbsp tamarind paste, loosened with water and a little sugar, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 12–15 min until just tender but still firm. Drain and leave to steam dry and cool a little.
2. Mix the garlic, lemon juice, chilli powder and half the salt and gently coat the potatoes.
3. Whisk the gram flour, plain flour, turmeric and remaining salt, then stir in the hot oil and enough cold water to make a smooth batter, like thick pancake batter.
4. Heat 5 cm of oil in a deep pan or karai to 180°C (350°F). Dip the potatoes in the batter, letting the excess drip off, and fry in batches for 4–5 min, turning, until crisp and golden.
5. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with tamarind sauce, coconut chutney or kachumbari.

Tips

• Make it gluten-free by using all gram flour (90 g) in the batter.
• Keep the oil temperature steady; if the batter browns in under a minute, the oil is too hot.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Mayuri's Jikoni Kaluhi's Kitchen The Standard (Eve Woman)