SnackBar
The potato is about the most controversial and influential vegetable ever harvested in human history. Among the major food staples in the world (maize, wheat, and rice) it is the ugly duckling of the family. The humble tuber is pockmarked like the most hormonal of teenagers and prefers the closed-in comfort of dark earth to the sun-lanced brilliance of open air. Yet after a fairly shaky international debut in Europe, the spud has blossomed into a global success, saving a few lives, launching some new industries, and garnering plenty of love and flack along the way.
Properly revered as a life-giver in the Andes region through art and ritual, the potato was in for a cultural shock as it first traversed the Atlantic on Spanish ships to a hungry yet skeptical Europe. The Russians called it the “devil’s apples,” while some conscientious Brits saw the need to form The Society for the Prevention of an Unwholesome Diet to make sure that potatoes were kept off the dinner table. Only in times of war and famine did people resort to planting and eating potatoes (with a side of tree bark and shoe leather). Fortunately for the propagation of the potato and unhappily for people living in Europe during the 17th to 20th centuries, famine and war swept through the land rather regularly. Hunger trumps all suspicions and entrenched culinary traditions. Incidentally, France was one of the last frontiers when it came to embracing the starchy tuber, as potato flour was an ersatz that made intolerably soggy baguettes. Even the invention of French fries (by the Belgians) in the 18th century did not convince everyone that the potato was fit for the human table or the animal stable.
Slowly but surely, the potato culture took root in Europe. In many ways, the potato is an ideal crop; it is adaptable and highly nutritious (biologically, one can truly live on potatoes and milk alone). It was especially popular in the northern countries where the poor soil made such high-yield crop an imperative. The potato went from a little-known stranger – suspected of carrying leprosy and syphilis – to become the little tuber that could feed a population explosion, which would in turn fuel the Industrial Revolution. For better or for worse, the spud is the patron vegetable of the modern capitalist economy. In fact, in 2008, the United Nations declared it the year of the potato to highlight the tuber’s historical and continuing contributions to economic growth and human development.
However, the public image of the spud is two-faced, for it has also become the poster child for the global spread of super-sized meals and super-processed snacks. Though hailed as a savior from starvation, the potato is also decried as public health enemy number two (first place goes to sucrose), the starchy source of all evil and rising obesity rates. Notably, after centuries of circulation in the world, the potato never quite shook its association with poverty, or did it ever escape insinuations against its wholesomeness. Alas, the pros and cons of the planting and eating potatoes are all rooted in some facts, creating a veritable double-edged spud.
The subject of the spud with its historical and economic baggage is rather heavy, but that does not mean one can’t enjoy eating a potato with a light heart. No matter how the world reels and teeters, simple home cooking keeps life grounded, and the potato has entered many lives as a comfort food the world over. The Spanish have their tender tortilla de papas; the Indians fry up spicy samosas; the Japanese blow on piping hot nikujaga, which is their meat and potatoes; the Swedish make kroppkakor, hearty stuffed potato dumplings. In Afghanistan, a favorite snack is the puffy and subtly spiced fritter called pakora. It can be made with any vegetable, but tubers like potatoes are ideal with their smooth tender interior in a delicately crispy coat of chickpea flour. Almost every culture has a potato dish to call its own, so the potato is in the happy position of being both universally familiar and locally unique. Sometimes one needs to travel the world to know one’s roots.
If you have any comments, questions, or other tasty (or morbid) tidbits, contact DuanDuan at SnackBar.Kitchen@gmail.com.
Pakora
(Afghan Potato Fritters)
Ingredients
1 medium potato – also try sweet potatoes and yams (yum!)
Batter
1/4 cup chickpea flour (besan)
1/4 cup potato starch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 pinch red pepper powder
2–3 tablespoons water
Yogurt dip
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
squeeze of lemon
pinch of salt
grated garlic, optional
oil for frying
Method
- Combine all ingredients dry for batter in a bowl. Add water gradually to achieve consistency of heavy cream. Let sit in fridge for about 30 minutes. Stir again just before using.
- Combine all ingredients for yogurt dip.
- Boil potato in skin until tender (depends on size). Err on the side of them being underdone, they will cook a bit more later. Let cool completely in fridge. Peel and slice into 1/8 inch-thick rounds.
- Heat 1 inch of oil in pan. Drop in some batter to test temperature. Batter should rise before hitting bottom.
- Dip potato slices in batter to coat both sides. Fry a few at a time. Don’t overcrowd.
- Once puffed and golden, remove and drain on paper towels.
- Serve hot or at room temperature with yogurt. Also great with mint or cilantro chutney. Add some toasted cumin seeds to leftover batter to make thin crunchy pancakes.
