The first time I heard about Potato Sagu recipe is from my mother in law. She mentioned it when talking about a buffet lunch they went to and how the aloo sagu tasted really good. When I said I hadn’t heard of it before, she gave me the rough recipe. I made some notes but then forgot about it. This happened before I was gifted the awesome Simply South by Chandra Padmanabhan.
The saw the recipe again in that book with very detailed ingredients and a nice picture too, under the title Urulaikizhangu Sagu, so I had to try it. Its a bummer that khus khus (poppy seeds) are not available in Singapore (something to do with how you test positive for drugs if you have eaten this!). I hear its even banned so trying to ship it in from India may not be such a good idea either.
So my version does not have khus khus in it, sadly. But if you have it handy, please add it in. I am sure the taste will differ considerably!
Potato Sagu | Aloo Saagu Recipe
Ingredients:
5 medium potatoes – boiled, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 onion, chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1/2″ piece ginger
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
Grind to a Smooth Paste
1 tsp poppy seeds / khus khus, powdered (I didn’t have this)
3 dried red chillies
1 tbsp roasted Bengal gram / Channa dal / Kadala paruppu
1 tbsp coriander seeds / malli
1/2 tsp fennel seeds / saunf / perum jeerakam
1/2″ stick cinnamon
2-3 tbsp water
For Tempering
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds / jeera / jeerakam
1/2 tsp urad dal / ulatham paruppu / uzhunnu parippu
1 tsp Bengal gram / Channa dal / Kadala paruppu
1 sprig curry leaves
How to Make Potato Sagu Recipe:
1. Heat oil in a pan and add all ingredients for tempering. When mustard seeds start spluttering, add onions and saute till golden.
2. Mix in green chillies, ginger, tomatoes, turmeric and salt and fry for 1-2 minutes.
3. Stir in 1 cup water, lower heat, cover pan and simmer for about 5 minutes.
4. Mix in ground spice paste and potatoes and simmer uncovered for another 5 minutes until well blended.
5. Pour in coconut milk and simmer for 1-2 minutes longer.
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve sagu with roti, poori or steamed rice.
Notes:
– You can use this spice paste base for any vegetable or even a mix of vegetables. A great idea to use up the leftover vegetables almost rotting in the fridge.
– If you have a different version or do something differently, please leave a comment, I would love to try it differently!
Tried the recipe and the family simply loved it. Just skipped the coconut milk at the end. Still reeling from the after effects 🙂
Potato sagu looks nice creamy and is new to me! Luved the props used esp the sheet used underneath the bowl 🙂
Never seen a saagu recipe with coconut milk. The 2nd picture looks very good, foreground all bright, with a dark background.
That's an interesting factoid about the poppy seeds being banned in Singapore! I always thought potato sagu was the usual accompaniment to puris, as that's what the menus say – Puri Sagu. Didn't know there was all this to it. Am enlightened 😀
Looks yumm. Haven't had this version but a friend in B'lore used to make a potato saagu with some MTR saagu powder or some such stuff. That tasted great
You can never go wrong with potatoes, can you?
Like Sra said, that poppy seed info is something!