Name: Masala Chips with Smoked Paprika & Garlic Mayonnaise
Ingredients: chilli flakes; rapeseed oil; dried coriander leaves; chaat masala; smoked paprika; greek yoghurt; potatoes; mayonnaise; paprika; oil; garlic clove

Dina Begum

Masala Chips with Smoked Paprika & Garlic Mayonnaise

Preparation info

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Brick Lane Cookbook

By Dina Begum

Published 2018

About

East London is studded with old-fashioned fish and chip shops, and I can barely pass one without being lured in by the comforting hug of frying potatoes. Like most people who’ve grown up in the UK, not much time goes by before I start to crave this most British of snacks - in my book there’s no such thing as too much potato. Here I’ve jazzed up one of my favourite food items using Desiree potatoes and Asian spices. The chips are boiled first, then fried, keeping them crispy on the outside and soft inside. Chaat masala is crucial to the recipe as it adds a sweet, tangy and sour undertone to the chips: if you’re near an Asian grocery store you’ll most likely be able to find a packet there. Most major supermarkets tend to store this in their world foods section as well.

Ingredients

For the Chips

1 kg Desiree potatoes, or another waxy variety
500 ml rapeseed oil, to deep fry

For the Smoked Paprika & Garlic Mayonnaise

4 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic clove, finely grated
1 teaspoon oil

For the Masala Sprinkle

½ tablespoon chaat masala
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon dried coriander leaves
½ teaspoon chilli flakes

Method

Peel and wash the potatoes and slice into 1cm thick slices. Chop each slice lengthways into 1cm wide chips. Place the chipped potatoes into a large bowl of cold water as you go to avoid discolouration. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and, when the water is bubbling, carefully slide the drained chips into the pan. Boil for about five minutes, until just tender but still firm. You’ll know they’re ready when the potato pieces start to lose their opaque appearance.

Drain in a colander and rinse quickly with a burst of cold water. Place in a large plastic ziplock bag and put immediately into the freezer for 20 minutes, being careful not to break the potato pieces.

Now make the mayonnaise dip by mixing together the mayonnaise, yoghurt and smoked paprika. Quickly fry the crushed garlic clove in the oil, then stir it into the mayonnaise and put into the fridge.

In a small bowl, mix together the chaat masala, paprika, dried coriander leaves and chilli flakes. Set aside. Heat the rapeseed oil for deep frying in a deep pan on high heat. When the oil is hot, very carefully put half the slightly frozen chips into the pan. Cook for about 15 minutes or until golden, occasionally moving the chips around to get an even colour.

With a slotted spoon transfer the cooked chips to a roasting tin. Sprinkle with about one teaspoon of the masala spice mix and shake the tin so that all the chips are coated with the masala. Repeat for the second batch of chips - if you have a deep fat fryer you can probably fry them in one batch. Devour hot, with the smoked paprika and garlic mayonnaise.