Gujarati Potato Curry (Batata nu Shaak)

While a common worldwide source of food today, potatoes came from the New World, more specifically from South America. The Spanish took them to Europe, where it took time for the potato to catch on and spread around the world, including to India (helped a lot by the Portuguese), when it still included what are now modern Pakistan and Bangladesh. This is a potato dish from Gujarat, one of India's western states. You can adjust the heat level: if you like spicy hot food, try this version before you increase the heat level, as it has plenty of heat, but if you like "some" heat, but not a lot, just use 1 dried chili and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. If you don't really like heat, just use 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne, which should just provide a bare "kick" to the dish. The people of the Indian Subcontinent tend to eat their food with a pretty high level of heat. They then balance that heat, often times, with yogurt dishes to cool down their palates. Even though potatoes are starchy, rice is often served with this curry.

Asafoetida is a powdered spice pretty common to the cooking of the Indian Subcontinent and other parts of southern Asia. It is "typically" available in a jar with an opening in the lid to dispense the spice, and there is an airtight lid that closes off the opening to contain the smell. It is also called "hing." Asafoetida is known for its bad smell, but its mellow taste when cooked. When I was a kid, some people still used what were called "asafidity bags" to protect their children from various illnesses, mainly colds and influenza. The bag was worn on a string around the neck, and it contained various foul smelling ingredients, including garlic and asafoetida, which was available from drugstores in those times. It was all superstition from the Middle Ages, and my family didn't believe in it. My people believed an eye of a newt and the toe of a frog would cure you; otherwise, your days were numbered. Ah, or was that your days were numbered because of the eye of a newt and the toe of a frog? Hm...

Tamarind (see Word History, below) is a reddish brown spice from the fruit of the tree of that name. It is another common spice on the Indian subcontinent and in southern Asia and Africa. It is usually tart in taste.     

Ingredients:

2 cups diced, peeled potatoes
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 dried red chilies (or you can use fresh chilies, chopped)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
good pinch of asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
1 cup (or more) water
2 teaspoon tamarind paste
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, aka coriander

Heat oil over medium heat, then add the mustard seeds. After about 30 seconds, add the dried chilies, cook a few  seconds, then add the asafoetida and turmeric, stir, and then add the cubed potatoes immediately, stir well to coat. Add the coriander, cayenne, cumin, salt, stir to mix well throughout the potatoes. Add the water, stir again. Cover and cook, removing the cover to stir to prevent sticking, and to add a little more water, if necessary. Cook until potatoes are tender. Stir in tamarind paste and brown sugar. Add the chopped cilantro. Serve with rice. 

WORD HISTORY: 
Tamarind-This is a compound word for a type of tree and its fruit used in some medicines and to flavor food and sauces. It goes back to some Semitic word which produced Arabic "tamr," meaning "date;" that is, "fruit of the date palm." The ultimate origin of the second part is unknown, but it goes back to transliterated Sanskrit "sindhu," which meant, "river, flowing water," which was picked up by Persian as transliterated "hind," which produced transliterated "Hindus" for the name of the Indus River. Greek borrowed the river name as "Indos," and called the region of the river, "India," which was borrowed by Latin. English borrowed the word (circa 1200???) as "Indea," later changed to "India." The compound form was translated by Latin in the Middle East from transliterated Arabic "tamr hindi" as "tamarindus," which was passed on to Latin-based French as "tamarinde," which was borrowed by English in the early 13th Century. The word literally means, "date of India."