Dry stir fry potatoes and nuts (bateta nu farari shak)
It is the Hindu month of shravan and my husband is fasting this month. Thankfully our hindu gods know that we can’t stay hungry so they allow us to eat certain foods.I only know which foods are allowed from remembering what my parents cooked on such occasions. Occasionally, I see recipes for Farari dishes of foods I would never eat but that’s fine as everyone has their own traditions to follow. I know that potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruit, milk and nuts were allowed so I made this easy peasy stir fry potato dish, with some nuts, which can be eaten on its own. Usually I boil the potatoes and then stir fry them to make what we call farari shak or Farali shak but today, I just stir fried these potatoes as they cook so fast.
2-3 small hot green chilies chopped small (optional)
2 tsps grated ginger
1 tbls lemon juice
handful of peanuts
handful of cashew nuts
some coriander
Instructions
Wash and slice your potatoes and keep them in cold water. I used this mandoline slicer to slice my potatoes.
Heat the oil in a wok, or a heavy bottomed saucepan, and add the cumin seeds. Once they brown, add the nuts and allow them to cook for a minute or two. Next, remove the potatoes from the water and add them to the wok. Stir well so that the oil coats the potatoes.
Add the salt, pepper, ginger and green chilies and stir. Close the lid of the wok and lower the heat. Allow the potatoes to cook for 5 minutes and check. They should be starting to soften. Once soft, add the lemon juice and stir slowly, without breaking the potatoes.
Garnish with coriander and serve the potatoes hot.