Potato

Papeto, Papeta

Appears in

By Niloufer Ichaporia King

Published 2007

  • About

Parsi food taxonomy pairs onions with potatoes (Solanum tuberosum), a New World introduction, courtesy of the Portuguese. Onions and potatoes are invariably sold next to each other at Bombay markets and keep on meeting in any number of dishes. Potatoes are always on hand in a Parsi household. They’re usually medium-size, yellowish-brown-skinned, and of the waxy rather than the mealy type. Yellow Finns and Yukon Golds are good equivalents. Certain dishes call for tiny potatoes, which are usually bought as needed. Rare, antique black silk saris embroidered in China with coin-size yellow and white dots are described as kanda-papeta, onions and potatoes.