Aloo Bhuj

I learnt this way with potatoes under the tutelage of my friend Saliha Mahmood Ahmed. She achieves the seemingly impossible, utterly irresistible combination of crisp and melting with a clever technique. The potatoes move from frying to steaming and back to frying in one pan, emerging anointed in golden oil and crusted with spice. Fenugreek leaves (methi) lend a key flavour. Different from the pungent, bittersweet seeds, the leaves have a quiet grassiness rather like fennel or celery.