Bombay Potatoes cooked and served
There are many different recipes for Bombay Potatoes. We show you our simple and traditional recipe that is quick and easy to cook but also tasty.
The ingredients in our recipe are sufficient for two good sized side dishes. If you want two main meals then simply double up the ingredients.
400g / 14oz potatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
3cm / 1in fresh ginger
4 good pinches of chilli powder
A good handful of coriander leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Grate the ginger.
Bombay Potatoes (aka Bombay Aloo) are traditionally served as a side dish to almost any Indian meal.
Clearly, Bombay Potatoes were named after Bombay (renamed to Mumbai in 1995) in India. But the real origin is very obscure, not least because potatoes are not native to India.
We used Maris Piper potatoes for this recipe but any variety of potato can be used. Our choice of spices works very well but as long as the mix gives a warm to hot flavour to the potatoes then that's fine.
The coriander leaves, which are added just before serving, are mainly for decoration purposes so feel free to use flat leaf parsley leaves if that is what you have to hand.
Peel the cut the potatoes into quarters (optional, the skins can be left on) and lightly boil in salted water for 18 to 20 minutes until cooked but still firm.
Potatoes ready for boiling
When the potatoes have cooked, cut them up into large bite-sized chunks and lightly sprinkle with salt.
Boiled and cubed potatoes
Place the oil (4 tablespoons) in a frying pan and heat to a medium heat. Throw a couple of the mustard seeds into the oil and if it is hot enough they will pop. If they don't pop then turn the heat up a bit more.
Have a pan lid to the ready and then throw in the remaining mustard seeds. Place the lid over the pan if they start popping out of the pan. They will stop popping after a minute or so. Add the chilli powder (4 good pinches), turmeric (¼ teaspoon) and grated ginger. Continue to fry stirring constantly for a minute.
Fry spices in oil
Gently add the potatoes to the pan, careful not to break the potatoes. Let them cook for two minutes without turning.
Turn them and cook for three further minutes until they are golden brown. Whilst they are cooking, spoon the sauce over the potatoes so that they are thoroughly covered.
Cooking Bombay Potatoes
When cooked, put the Bombay Potato into a dish and sprinkle over the chopped coriander leaves. Serve as a tasty accompaniment to a chicken or vegetable curry.
Many vegetables can be substituted / added to the potatoes, cauliflower makes a tasty but unusual addition.
Bombay Potatoes in a dish