Boiled potato fry is an easy and quick South Indian potato stir fry made from boiled potatoes, onions, and green chilies. This is one of the best gluten-free and vegan Indian potato recipes and can be served with rice or as a stuffing for masala dosa.
This potato stir fry has very minimal ingredients and is only seasoned with green chilies and salt to bring out the natural flavors. The sweetness of the caramelized onions complimenting the slightly spicy and salted potatoes really brings out a delectable flavor.
Feel free to use the button at the top of the page to go to the recipe directly or the table of contents below to go to any section of the page you want. The recipe card has all the information that is needed to make the recipe perfectly. However, I try to provide as much useful information in the post for the readers who are looking for it.
Potato stir fry is made in many different styles all over India. Every household has its own way of making it slightly differently.
My mom used to make potato stir fry in mainly two different ways, one is a direct stir fry with raw potatoes where the end product is slightly crispy and the second is this recipe which is made from boiled potatoes and onions. Both are awesome in their own way and go excellent with rice and rasam or sambar.
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How to make with step by step pictures
Let's see how to make this super simple South Indian potato fry with boiled potatoes.
- Wash, cut the potatoes in half, and boil them either in a stovetop pot, pressure cooker, or Instant Pot. Potatoes should be soft enough for a knife or fork to pierce through but not mashed up.
- For Instant pot cooking, Take the halved potatoes in a steel vessel, put it on a tall trivet in the Instant pot with 1.5 cups of water below the vessel, and cook on manual mode for 5 mins on high pressure. Once done, do a quick pressure release after 5 mins.
- For the stovetop pressure cooker, cook the potatoes in the pressure cooker on medium heat for 3 whistles.
- If you are cooking in simply a pot of water on the stove, just boil them until they are soft enough for a knife or fork to pierce through but not mashed up.
- Cool the boiled potatoes, peel them, and cut them into cubes.
- Cut the onions into quarters and then slice them into thin slices. Slit the green chilies into thin long strips. Smash the garlic cloves with the flat side of the knife blade with your palm or a pestle and take the peel away.
- Heat oil in a frypan and then add all the tempering ingredients. Saute for a few seconds to a minute until they are slightly brown and then add green chilli strips.
- Saute for a few more seconds and then add sliced onions along with a little salt. Saute the onions until they are slightly softened and translucent.
- Now add ginger garlic paste and mix well.
- After a minute add the boiled, peeled, and cubed potatoes, salt to taste and mix well.
- Saute for around 5 to 6 minutes until everything comes together, taste test, and add salt if required.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with rice.
Variation to serve as Dosa filling for masala dosa :
- To serve this curry as a filling for masala dosa, after adding the potatoes with salt and stir-frying for 2 to 3 minutes, mash the potatoes slightly and sprinkle little water to make everything moist, and cook covered for a few more minutes. This helps in making this potato stir fry softer to serve this with dosa. Also, consider adding ½ teaspoon of coriander powder, ½ teaspoon of cumin powder to the onions before adding potatoes.
More Indian Potato recipes you might like
- Instant pot Aloo Matar | Indian Potato and Peas Curry (Instant pot & Stove top)
- Aloo Palak | Indian Spinach & Potato Stir-fry
- Aloo Palak | Indian Spinach & Potato Stir-fry
- Bombay chutney | Besan chutney | Poori Curry
What to serve with
Serve this South Indian boiled potato stir fry with rice, pickle, and tomato rasam or Sambar on the side for a hearty meal. Try this tomato pachadi along with this potato fry for an authentic and hearty South Indian meal.
You can also serve this potato onion fry as a filling for masala dosa by making a small adjustment as suggested in the recipe instructions.
Substitutions and Variations
Substitutions:
- If you are on a gluten-free diet, make sure to use either gluten-free Hing (Asafoetida) or skip it entirely.
- If you don't have usual Indian pantry ingredients, then you can skip split urad dal, chana dal, mustard seeds and curry leaves from the tempering Ingredients.
Variation:
- To serve this curry as a filling for masala dosa, after adding the potatoes with salt and stir-frying for 2 to 3 minutes, mash the potatoes slightly and sprinkle little water to make everything moist, and cook covered for a few more minutes. This helps in making this potato stir fry softer to serve this with dosa. Also, consider adding ½ teaspoon of coriander powder, ½ teaspoon of cumin powder to the onions before adding potatoes.
- Green peas compliment this recipe very well too. If you prefer, add frozen green peas along with the potatoes.
Storing and Reheating
This boiled potato stir fry tastes best on the first day. However, you can store this in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days and reheat it covered on medium heat with little water in the pan to make it moist and fresh again.
Recipe
South Indian Boiled potato fry | Easy Potato Poriyal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 big onion quartered and sliced into thin slices around 2 cups
- 2 to 3 green chilies adjust as per your spice level
- 4 to 5 white or golden potatoes
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- Salt to taste
- Cilantro for garnish
Tempering Ingredients
- 1 sprig of curry leaves optional
- 3 garlic cloves smash with the flat side of the knife blade with your palm or pestle and take the peel away
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds optional
- 1 teaspoon chana dal Bengal gram, optional
- ½ teaspoon split urad dal optional
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon Hing asafoetida, skip for gluten-free version or use gluten-free asafoetida
Instructions
- Wash, cut the potatoes in half, and boil them either in a stovetop pot, pressure cooker, or Instant Pot. Potatoes should be soft enough for a knife or fork to pierce through but not overcooked or mashed up.
- For Instant pot cooking, Take the halved potatoes in a steel vessel, put it on a tall trivet in the Instant pot with 1.5 cups of water below the vessel, and cook on manual mode for 5 mins on high pressure. Once done, do a quick pressure release after 5 mins.
- For the stovetop pressure cooker, cook the potatoes in the pressure cooker on medium heat for 3 whistles.
- If you are cooking in simply a pot of water on the stove, just boil them until they are soft enough for a knife or fork to pierce through but not mashed up.
- Cool the boiled potatoes, peel them, and cut them into cubes.
- Cut the onions into quarters and then slice them into thin slices. Slit the green chilies into thin long strips.
- Heat oil in a frypan and then add all the tempering ingredients. Saute for a few seconds to a minute until they are slightly brown and then add green chilli strips.
- Saute for a few more seconds and then add sliced onions along with a little salt. Saute the onions until they are slightly softened and translucent.
- Now add ginger garlic paste and mix well.
- After a minute add the boiled, peeled, and cubed potatoes, salt to taste and mix well.
- Saute for around 5 to 6 minutes until everything comes together, taste test, and add salt if required.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with rice.
Variation to serve as Dosa filling for masala dosa :
- To serve this curry as a filling for masala dosa, after adding the potatoes with salt and stir-frying for 2 to 3 minutes, mash the potatoes slightly and sprinkle little water to make everything moist, and cook covered for a few more minutes. This helps in making this potato stir fry softer to serve this with dosa. Also, consider adding ½ teaspoon of coriander powder, ½ teaspoon of cumin powder to the onions before adding potatoes.
Notes
- I prefer to keep this dish very simple in terms of spices and that's why this potato stir fry is mainly spiced with only green chilies. But if you prefer you can also add some coriander powder and cumin powder to the onions before you add potato cubes.
- To save time, as soon as you keep the potatoes for boiling, start making the onion masala. If it is ready before the potatoes are, just switch off the heat and turn it back on when you are ready with boiled, peeled and cubed potatoes.
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