Tamarind Potatoes

This is a great dish to serve when you have eight or ten at the dinner table. Like Parsi Potatoes and Snow Peas, it starts with plain boiled potatoes that are peeled and chopped, then cooked with flavorings in a combination of stir-frying and simmering. The name says it all: alur dam, meaning “tart potatoes.” There seem to be as many versions of it as there are cooks in the Subcontinent; this one comes from Bengal.