Is it your routine to devour rava idli with just a simple chutney? If so, we suggest you switch over to this potato sagu to pair with rava idli and make your family’s morning breakfast a delightful affair. And it always tastes so good that you might never even think of altering the practice. Potato sagu is a gently spicy potato dish from Karnataka cuisine that is typically eaten with chapati, dosa, or rava idli but pairs exceptionally well with pooris. Potato sagu is also called Bombay Sagu.
Making Bombay Sagu is a no sweat job and requires no trips to the grocery store. The cupboard ingredients are plenty to make this. It is a soupy version of potato curry with two exceptions. The first is that besan (chickpea flour) is added to the potato sagu, and the second is that sagu is thinner and soupier than potato curry.
The potato was endemic to Peru until the 16th Century. Christopher Columbus’ explorations opened up other sections of the world and its bounty, resulting in the Columbian Exchange. As a result, the potato was able to spread beyond its native home and overseas to practically every continent on the planet. Potatoes were initially brought to India by Portuguese and Dutch immigrants. However, at that time, potatoes had a limited but progressively growing influence. The cultivation of potatoes experienced a surge as demand for them increased throughout time.
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Servings: 3
Ingredients:
• 250 gms potatoes or 3-4 medium potatoes (boiled, peeled and crumbled)
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp urad dal (split husked black gram)
• 1 tsp chana dal (husked and split Bengal gram)
• 100 gms onion or 1 large onion (chopped or ⅔ cup chopped onion)
• 1-2 green chilies (chopped)
• ½ inch ginger (chopped) or 1 tsp chopped ginger
• 7-8 curry leaves
• 1 small tomato or ¼ cup chopped tomatoes (optional)
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 2 tsp besan
• 1.25 cups water
• Salt, as required
• 1-2 tbsps coriander leaves (chopped)
Method:
For boiling potatoes:
1. Rinse 3-4 medium potatoes and then boil or steam them in a pressure cooker.
2. When the potatoes are still warm, peel and crumble them
3. You can also chop them and keep them aside.
For the potato sagu:
1. In a pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and add 1 tsp mustard seeds and let them splutter.
2. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add 1 tsp urad dal and 1 tsp chana dal.
3. Stir and saute till the dals become golden.
4. Then, add ⅔ cup chopped onion and saute them till translucent.
5. Now, add 1 or 2 green chilies (chopped), 1 tsp chopped ginger and 7-8 curry leaves.
6. Next, add ¼ cup chopped tomatoes.
7. Saute for 2 minutes and then add ¼ tsp turmeric powder and a pinch of asafoetida.
8. Mix and continue to saute for 2 more minutes.
9. Then add 2 tsp besan.
10. Mix the besan very well and saute for a minute.
11. Add 1.25 cups of water and stir and mix well.
12. Bring the entire mixture to a gentle boil.
13. Add the crumbled potatoes.
14. Mix the potatoes with the rest of the curry.
15. Season with salt and cover the pan with a lid and simmer potato sagu on a low flame for 7-8 minutes or more till the gravy thickens.
16. The potato sagu gravy should have a running medium consistency and should not be thick.
17. Check the taste and add more salt if required.
18. Lastly, add 1 to 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves and switch off the flame.