Tanto's Tomato Potato Curry

COOKING TIME: 45 TO 50 MINUTES 

SERVES 4 TO 6

Tanto was the nickname we gave one of my close childhood friends. He is a priest today, and I sometimes wonder if anyone who knows him as Father Francis realizes that once upon a time, his irreverent friends affectionately renamed him after the elephants (tantors) in the land of Tarzan, whose comic books we consumed voraciously. When we were young, a bunch of us went camping together a lot. Each of us was responsible for a meal, and for whatever reason, Tanto always made a tomato-potato curry. Truth be told, this is nothing at all like his original dish, but I still think of him every time I make it. Some memories are funny that way. This curry is hearty and delicious; it’s not very saucy, so don’t be surprised by that (for more on what a curry is and is not, see page 19).

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ pounds/680 grams fingerling potatoes

  Flavorwalla: Big Flavor. Bold Spices Floyd Cardoz

• Kosher salt

• 2 tablespoons canola oil

• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, coarsely ground

• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, coarsely ground

• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, coarsely ground

• 3 whole cloves

• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• 1 dried chipotle chile

• 1 cup minced onion

• One 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into thin coins

• 4 cups diced ripe red tomatoes with juice (about 3 large tomatoes)

• 1 cup mint leaves

DIRECTIONS 

Place the potatoes in a large pot. Add cold water to cover by at least 1 inch and several generous pinches of salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer the potatoes until they are tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain thoroughly and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large stew pot over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the coriander, fennel, pepper, and cloves and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the garlic and chipotle and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and ginger and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and salt to taste. Cover the pan, reduce the heat, and cook until the tomatoes start to break down, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the drained potatoes in half—or into quarters, if they are very large. Add the potatoes to the pot, along with salt to taste. Cook, uncovered, to blend the flavors and heat the potatoes through, about 4 minutes.

Remove and discard the cloves. Remove the chipotle (you can chop it up and return it to the curry if you want a little more heat). Stir in the mint and serve.

Excerpted from Flavorwalla by Floyd Cardoz (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2016. Photographs copyright © 2016 by Lauren Volo.