Sri Lankan spicy dry potato curry(devilled potatoes)

A dry potato curry also known as”ala theldala” in Sinhalese is a devilled potato curry you can enjoy with all of your favourite meals.

This potato curry is vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free and can be served with any of your favourite carbs including various types of breads.

This spicy potato curry is also called…

• Devilled potatoes.
• Tempered potatoes.
• Ala baduma in Sinhalese.
• Potato fry.
• And dry curried potatoes.

“ala theldala” or devilled potatoes?

Well, it’s really an over-the-top spicy tempered potato recipe, yet full of flavour than your regular curried potatoes.

But if you prefer less spice, you can easily adjust the heat of the Sri Lankan potato curry by reducing the quantity of red chilli flakes used.

It makes the ideal spicy potato curry for chapatis, naans, and regular bread.

How to make spicy devilled potato.

Parboiled potatoes are mixed in fried onions, curry leaves, mustard, and loads of red chilli flakes, the name definitely”deviled” describes this dish.

By parboiling the potatoes first you keep the middle of the potatoes soft and by frying them later with the above-mentioned ingredients, you give the curried potatoes a fried potato taste as well.

If you are bored with all the potato curry recipes out there, it’s time to give this Sri Lankan dish a try.

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serving ideas for devilled potato curry.

• Serve with any type of rice dish.
  • how to cook rice on the stove.
  • Sri Lankan Yellow Rice(turmeric rice)
  • Indian fragrant ghee rice(nei choru).
  • egg biryani (one-pot rice dish/stove-top)

• Serve with flatbreads or various paratha or roti recipes.
  • Garlic Naan recipe without yeast.
  • Sri Lankan pol roti(coconut roti, flatbread).
  • Sri Lankan tuna filling stuffed coconut roti(pol roti).
  • Stovetop Naan bread( Indian Naan bread)
  • How to make poori(deep-fried Indian bread).
  • How to make Sri Lankan egg roti/paratha.

• Other vegetarian curries that pair well with this fried potato curry.
  • A Sri Lankan dhal curry or Indian dal tadka.
  • Beetroot curry.
  • Creamy eggplant curry or brinjal pahi.
  • Pumpkin curry.
  • Cabbage coconut milk curry or beans and carrot milk curry

• Serve with my grandmother’s slow-cooked beef curry or a Sri Lankan chicken curry.
• For a vegetarian meal, serve with a Sri Lankan soya meat curry.
  

Utensils and appliances needed.

• Chopping board and knife
• A medium-sized pot.
• Medium-sized frying pan.

More potato curry recipes

Sri Lankan creamy potato curry.

Sri Lankan potato and beans curry.

Spicy potato and green bean stir-fry.

Indian Bombay potatoes.

Storing

Store in glass containers with a lid to preserve freshness.

Use within 2-3 days if refrigerated.

Freezing

I’ve frozen the spicy dry potato curry but I find the texture and taste changes within a few days despite freezing in covered containers.

So I would advise avoiding freezing the devilled potatoes instead refrigerate them.

Reheating

Remove the potato dish from the fridge, let it reach room temperature, and reheat over a stovetop or microwave.

Make sure to add 2-3 tablespoons of water or coconut milk to readjust the texture and flavour of the dry potato curry.

Stop food waste by

• Stuff the dry potato curry into samosas, pastries, or hand pies to make a savoury snack.
  
• And any leftovers can be used to make toasted sandwiches for breakfast or use them to make any kind of stuffed rotis or parathas as well.

RECIPE DIFFICULTY- LITTLE CARE NEEDED

The ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.

Ingredients to cook the dry potato curry.

6 tablespoons of oil

2 cardamom pods slightly bruised

4 or 5 curry leaves

Pandan leaf(2″ piece, optional and can be substituted with a bay leaf)

1 large onion sliced fine

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 cardamom pods, slightly bruised

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon red chilli flecks 

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

1 large green chilli slit lengthwise.

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

250g potatoes boiled, peeled, and cut into cubes(1-inch roughly)

spicy Potato Curry
(devilled potatoes).

How to boil the tempered potato curry

Place the potatoes(250g with skin)in a pan, and pour water just enough to cover the potatoes.

Do not add salt while boiling.

Boil the potatoes until they are tender. this should take 30-45 minutes.

The cooking time depends on the size of the potatoes.

You can check if they are done by inserting a knife through the potatoes if the knife goes through smoothly, the potatoes are done.

Place the potatoes under running water and peel off the skin.

Since they are already boiled and soft, the potatoes will break into smaller cubes as you mix them with the spices, so cut them into larger cubes and set them aside.

How to cook the spicy potatoes.

Have all the ingredients needed to make the spicy potato dish ready.

Place a cooking pan over medium heat and pour in the oil(4 tbsp).

Add curry leaves(5 leaves), pandan leaf(2″ piece, optional and can be substituted with a bay leaf), cardamom pods(2), onions(1 large) and sauté.

Once the onion slices turn golden, add turmeric powder(1/2 tsp), cumin(1/2 tsp), add red chilli flecks(1/2 tsp), and red chilli powder(1/2 tsp), green chillies (2), and finally, mustard seeds(1/2 tsp).

Reduce heat and continue cooking the ingredients in the pan while mixing to avoid any of the spices from burning for 2 minutes.

Add the cooked potatoes to the spices.

Break down the larger pieces of potatoes as you mix.

If the potatoes are not completely cooked, here’s what you do.

As you break down potatoes and if you notice that they are still hard to break, simply add 1/2 a cup of water and continue to cook until water evaporates.
This will take about 8-10 minutes. (you can check the video for this recipe below).

Season with salt and combine.

Once the water evaporates, add a few tablespoons of oil to fry and make the mixing of the tempered Potatoes easy.

If you need a bit of gravy, pour in 1/4 of thick coconut milk.

Cover and simmer for a further 5 minutes over low heat.

Serve warm with your favourite rice and curry dishes.

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