Potato Roti with Coconut and Mint Chutney

From Potatoes from Gnocchi to Mash, Annie Nichols, Ryland Peters & Small, 1999.

I was making a dal and felt that these potato roti might be just right to accompany it.

I put some potatoes on to cook and while this was happening put 70g of desiccated coconut in a bowl and covered it with some warm water. This was left to soak for about half an hour.

When the potatoes had boiled I mashed them with about 12g of butter and added to them a finely chopped green chilli, a pinch of dried chilli flakes, half a white onion chopped finely, salt, half a teaspoon of ground cumin and of  ground turmeric, and some chopped fresh coriander. I mixed this well and left it while I finished the chutney.

The coconut was drained, saving the water for the dal. I pressed the coconut to removed as much liquid as possible then mixed in 100g of yoghurt, half a green chilli chopped finely, about of tablespoon of dried mint (the recipe called for fresh but I feel that sometimes the dried has a better flavour), a little salt and a pinch of sugar. The chutney was ready.

I now mixed 75g of plain flour into the potato. Using my hands I mixed it in carefully to make a dough. I now picked off pieces and rolled them out on a flour-sprinkled bench. I guess my roti were roughly 10cm across, though I didn’t worry too much about making the rounds too regular. They were now cooked in a lightly oiled pan, about 2 minutes each side.

I always seem to enjoy something that includes potato and these roti, soft though they turned out to be, were good eating. You certainly couldn’t use them to scoop up any dal but rolled they worked well to eat alongside it. The chutney worked well as an accompaniment.

This is an old favourite book. It’s packed with recipes that all include potatoes and they are arranged according to the cuisine: the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and so on. While it’s not a vegetarian book there’s plenty in it that doesn’t feature meat.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔