Eastleigh High School, Nairobi: March 2007

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

masala chips recipe

http://www.keetologue.com/060406masalafries.html

Someone told me once that some of the best friends that you will ever make will be in university. Lo and behold, while I was at McGill, one of these friends was Toral Padia, an exceptionally funny, intelligent, and brutally honest girl from Kenya. Equally at home making up impromptu dance routines to Usher songs and having serious talks about marketing, she also throws killer potluck dinners. One particular dish that Toral makes, called Masala Fries, is prone to hasty disappearances into potluck attendees stomachs, no matter the quantity made.
"Masala fries, or Masala Chips as we call them at home, are actually a common snack food in Kenya, and some people even make a meal out of them. Essentially, they are a form of bastardized Indian food."
Bastardized or not, they are hard to resist, once you've tried a bite. The first time I saw these so-called Masala Fries, they didn't look like anything special. Perhaps something you might see at an Indian buffet, which you might nibble on out of curiosity. So I scooped a little bit on to my plate, and started eating it. To my surprise, it was a comfort food flavour explosion! It was like eating a tomatoey poutine, but with a surprising tinge of coriander to add a twist of freshness. Whatever it was, all I knew was that I went up for seconds. And I would've gone for thirds, but it appeared that everyone else had caught on!
Since I no longer have the luxury of living in Montreal, being able to walk a couple blocks over and inviting myself to Toral's for Masala Fries, she thankfully shared her secrets for Keetologue.
Ingredients:
1kg bag of McCain Shoestring Fries2 large onions or 3 medium onions, sliced long1 can of crushed tomatoes (or 5-6 large fresh tomatoes, crushed)10-15 medium sized cloves of garlic2-3 heaped tbsp chilli powder1-2 tsp salt5-6 tbsp tomato ketchupcoriander, chopped
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven and cook the fries as per instructions on the package. Make sure that the fries aren't too crispy.2. Crush the garlic very finely, ideally with a mortar and pestle. Add the chilli powder and salt and mix well to form an evenly mixed "chutney". If you like your food spicy, go heavy on the garlic and chilli powder.3. Add 4 tbsp of oil and fry the onions till they are softened and very slightly browned.4. Add the garlic paste made in step 2 and stir consistently for about a minute and a half.5. Add the tomatoes and turn to medium heat; stir constantly for about 10-12 minutes or until oil appears on the side of the pan.6. Add the ketchup and stir.7. Add the fries, turn the heat down and mix thoroughly. Leave on the element for another 10 minutes or so.8. Garnish with liberal amounts of coriander, the more the better.
Serving suggestions:
As mentioned earlier, Masala Fries can be eaten alone, but another option is with with burgers and something called "butties". (Essentially a burger bun or pita stuffed with salad, usually coleslaw, and whatever else strikes your fancy.)