Indian spiced potatoes with fried egg

Those of you around here for a while now know about my love for all things sweet, but I like savory dishes, too, and I’m always searching for tasty lunch or dinner ideas.

As a kid, our family lived in a tight budget – especially after my mom got cancer – but food was always something important: she made sure we had fresh veggies and fruits every day, and fish once a week, and would always bake a cake so my father and I would have something to snack on at work and at school, respectively. Eggs were an important staple at home and mom (and years later, my grandmother) would cook them in different ways for our meals – I especially loved her omelets and fried eggs, and those are dishes I still adore eating – to be honest, except for raw I’ll eat eggs in any way possible (I bet that reminds you of something). ;)

That is why this dish, a recipe from this lovely cookbook, caught my eye: the spiced potatoes looked yummy already, but topping them with the fried egg won my heart over. After I made this dish I saw Bill Granger cooking a similar version on TV in which he chopped the potatoes in slightly larger pieces – I’ll be trying that next time.

Indian spiced potatoes with fried egg
slightly adapted from the beautiful and delicious Bill Granger Easy (I bought mine here)

800g Desiree potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
4 tablespoons canola oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon freshly ground Sichuan pepper
25g unsalted butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful parsley leaves, chopped
4 large eggs

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, reduce to a simmer and cook for 13 minutes, or until just tender. Drain in a colander and leave to cool for a few minutes.
Place a non-stick frying pan over medium–high heat. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil, add the garlic, curry powder, turmeric and Sichuan pepper and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
Drop the butter into the pan and as soon as it has melted, add another tablespoon of oil and the potatoes. Fry for 5 minutes, turning often. Scatter the salt and black pepper over the potatoes and toss together for a minute more. Remove from the heat, add the parsley and toss to combine. Divide the potatoes among warmed plates.

In a clean large non-stick frying pan, add another tablespoon of oil and place over medium–high heat. Once hot, fry the eggs for 2–3 minutes until cooked. Place the fried eggs on top of the potatoes and serve.

Serves 4