The potato kebab is something I always see on menus at restaurants, but I never order because I’m afraid of the way it tastes. To me, it seems like a weird veggie roll that is fried, and I don’t like veggie rolls so I have always avoided the appetizer even though I love potatoes. This dish doesn’t take too long to cook, but you do have to buy oddly specific ingredients that are still in every average super market. Making it was fun, and I had to get some new tools to ensure that I do it right. The list of ingredients for this food is a little expansive, but here it is:

• 3 boiled potatoes
• 2 boiled eggs
• 2 finely chopped onions (The kebabs are small, make sure they onions are cut small)
• 1 tsp of ginger paste (Can make it by hand if it is easier to buy a ginger root)
• 4 finely chopped chilies
• 1 tbsp of finely chopped coriander (Can just buy the powder, but be careful, it’ll make you cough like crazy if you inhale it)
• 1 tsp of Chaat Masala (An orange seasoning, I found it in the oriental isle)
• 1/2 tsp of Garam Masala (Another orange-ish seasoning)
• 1/2 tsp of red chili powder
• 2 tbsp of gram flour (It’s chickpea flour)
• Vegetable oil
  
  We aren’t done yet, we still need ingredients for the batter:
  
• 2 more tbsp of gram flour
• 1 1/2 tbsp of corn flour
• 1 tbsp of rice flour
• 1 cup of breadcrumbs

Wow, and I thought my last blog used a lot of ingredients. When I saw this list I was a little intimidated by the sheer amount of things I needed to buy, and so many that I have never heard of, like gram flour and the masala seasonings. I honestly didn’t know if I wanted to do it at first because I didn’t even know if this food was good or not at the time. Not only that, but I didn’t even see the cooking portion of this yet. To my relief, it was basically broken down into two steps on this website. I will break them down into smaller sections though because I found it easier to read like this:

• After making the 2 hard boiled eggs and the three boiled potatoes, peel and grate them into a bowl
• Add ginger paste, dash of salt, chaat masala, green chilies, coriander, red chili powder, garam masala, and the gram flour into the bowl and mix it all together.
• Fry the onions on a skillet with some vegetable oil until golden brown and fragrant and then toss in the potatoes and eggs; cook until the mixture smells like fried potatoes.
  
  Then we make the batter to cover our mixture in:
  
• Make a semi thick batter by combining the three flours together (corn, gram, and rice flour)
• Shape the kebabs (You can do a ball or you can shape them like sausages, sausage shapes fry faster and are easier to eat)
• Place the individual kebabs into the batter and then coat them with breadcrumbs
• Refrigerate the kebabs for about one and a half hours before frying
• fill up pot with about an inches of oil and SLOWLY heat it up to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit
• Pat the kebabs dry to avoid oil splashes and slowly put in 3-4 at a time
  (Don’t burn down your house, if it goes about 370, let it cool. here is a safety video on how to fry food)
• Pull out kebabs when they are nice and brown, put them on a drying rack or some paper towels and let sit for about 5 minutes
• Enjoy the dish, it is usually served with a pseudo-sweet and sour sauce called hot and sweet chili garlic sauce, but all sauce is fair game, experiment with it!

Man this dish was a lot more complex on paper than it was to actually prepare and make. Finding the ingredients were more difficult for me than actually making it. However, I think I may have fried them a little too long and burnt the batter slightly, but the inside was cooked and warm. I have to say though, I really did not like the taste of this food, but would totally recommend it to anyone who likes spring rolls and veggie rolls, you can even dip it in the same sauce. It tastes similar to those rolls, but it is distinguished by it’s chickpea taste and the different seasonings. I enjoyed frying food for the first time and found out that this dish is very popular among those who are vegetarian and Indian. I confronted my old friend Ahkil, and he said it was a pretty common thing that he has eaten and made at home because he lives a vegetarian lifestyle. I am kind of proud that I followed through with this dish and tried something new even though I didn’t like it that much. I hope you had fun with today’s blog, if you want to try this dish I really recommend just going down to a local Indian food place and give it a shot since it does taste slightly unique. I will see you next time when we make Chicken Pakora!