Roasted Potato and Bell Pepper Poriyal/Masiyal

Sometimes I impress myself. This was a creation from a moment of inspiration. I was thinking of making a potato poriyal (side dish) when I realized that I had some bell peppers (capsicum) in the fridge. So, I thought, why don't I put them together? Then, it occurred to me that I could take it one step further... I could take baby potatoes, roast them in the oven, and then use them to create a new dish. The consistency was close to a masiyal, but not quite. Hence my ambivalence in naming it. Call it what you want!

The result? So good that my husband took one bite and said, "Are you going to blog this??!! You absolutely should!" And now, I share that awesome recipe with all of you. :)


Ingredients:

Small red potatoes - about 8
Bell pepper - 1 medium, chopped
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Green chillies - 6-8, or to taste, chopped
Garlic - 3 cloves, chopped
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp

For seasoning:

Oil
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Clean potatoes, drizzle them with a little oil and salt. I chose to leave the skins on the potatoes because they are tender, but you can peel them if you want.

2. Spread oiled potatoes on a cookie sheet/sheet pan and bake at 450 F for 40 minutes, turning once halfway through the cooking time.

3. Remove potatoes and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes.

4. Using a fork or potato masher, lightly mash the potatoes. The goal is to break them up a bit, not turn them into mashed potatoes! Alternatively, you could chop the potatoes if you prefer a more uniform look or mash them if you want a more smooth texture.

5. Now, heat a pan with oil and do the seasoning. Add onions and bell peppers and fry for 3-4 minutes.

6. Then, add garlic and saute until onions are translucent. I like the bell peppers to be crisp but tender. If you want them softer, just cook it a bit longer.

7. At this point, add all of the masala powders and fry for a few seconds until the raw smell disappears.

8. Add the potatoes and required salt and stir gently to combine. Reduce the heat to low and leave it on the stove for 2-3 minutes for the flavors to combine.

9. Turn the heat off, adjust salt, and enjoy as a side dish with sambar, rasam, chappati, rotis, etc.

Hope you guys like this as much as we did. Am sending this to Sia (ode to potato event) of Monsoon Spice and Dhivya (potato feast event) of Culinary Bazaar as this is potato month!