Pre-Cooked potatoes for restaurant style curries.

Name: Pre-Cooked Potatoes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: British Indian Restaurant (BIR)
Ingredients: 3 tbsp ghee or clarified butter; 1 tbsp cumin seeds; 2.5cm (1 inch) piece of cassia bark or cinnamon stick; 5 green cardamoms, lightly smashed; 2/3 litre water or vegetable stock; 2 large onions – finely chopped; 2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste; 1 tbsp mild Kashmiri chilli powder; 1/2 tsp turmeric powder; 1 tbsp garam masala; 400ml chopped tomatoes; 500g potatoes – peeled and cut into thirds; Salt and pepper to taste

Pre-cooking potatoes is an important step in making BIR (British Indian Restaurant) style curries and they also come in handy when using more traditional methods.

No one likes a hard potato, so if you pre-cook potatoes before you start cooking your curry, you will know that your potatoes will always be cooked to perfection.

In the following recipe, you will see how it's done at the best curry houses.

About this recipe.

When I first started writing this blog, my main focus was on British curry house style recipes. Nowadays, I share recipes from all over the world but it is still the British Indian curry house style recipes that many people are looking for.

This is a recipe I learned at the beginning of my food blogging journey at a local curry house. I have since seen potatoes prepared in this way at many curry houses but the recipes are all quite similar if not exactly like this one.

Using this recipe, you will get perfectly cooked potatoes for your curries, every time, without fail.

Can these pre cooked potatoes be used in other ways?

You bet! Although I first shared this recipe to help you achieve curry house curry perfection, you can use these potatoes in other ways too.

In fact, these curry-ready potatoes are actually a delicious potato curry in their own right.. Serve them as they are in the delicious sauce and it it very similar to a traditional bombay aloo or Bombay potatoes.

Combine the cooked potatoes with my pre cooked vegetable recipe and you have a delicious and hugely popular vegetable bhajee. You could also add spinach for saag aloo or paneer for a paneer aloo. Really, you can use these pre cooked potatoes in whatever curry calls for potatoes and also add some of the cooking stock for additional flavour.

It is difficult to overcook a potato!

You really can't go wrong with this pre cooked potatoes recipe. The most important thing is to ensure that the potatoes are for tender before you add them to a sauce.

As long as the potatoes are perfectly cooked before adding them, you can add them at the end of cooking and know that they will be just as you want them.

So be sure to try them before taking your pre cooked potatoes off the heat.

How do you add these potatoes to a curry?

The best way to add them is right at the end of cooking. So you prepare your sauce and if meat is being added, add it too.

Heat it all through and then stir in the pre-cooked potatoes and some of the cooking liquid for additional flavour?

Can you just add the potatoes without meat?

Yes. Many curry houses add pre-cooked potatoes to their sauces without meat. It's an easy way to prepare a quick curry house style curry that is also vegetarian.

How long can you store these potatoes in the fridge?

You can keep them, wrapped tightly in the sauce in your fridge for about 3 to 5 days. These are great to have on hand when you want to add potatoes to a curry house style curry.

Can you freeze these cooked potatoes?

Yes! Be sure to freeze them in portion sizes that are convenient for you. Freeze them in some of the cooking stock and you can add that to your curries as well for more flavour.

Just be sure to defrost them completely before adding to a curry. I usually defrost them in my fridge overnight but you could also defrost the potatoes and sauce in a microwave if more convenient.

How do you get started using these pre cooked potatoes?

I have written recipes for all the most popular curry house style curry sauces. These recipes are just the sauces and you can add to them what you like.

So if you are a meat fan, try preparing some tandoori lamb or tandoori chicken tikka. I have many recipes for those on the blog.

If you would like to keep it vegetarian, add more veggies and your pre cooked potatoes. You'll have a curry that is better than most you find at restaurants in about 10 minutes.

If you make these pre-cooked potatoes, you can add them to any of the following curries, with or without the meat.

A note about the following recipes: Each of the sauces below require you to make a curry house style base sauce. This is how these curries are prepared at the best curry houses.

If you would like to try your pre cooked potatoes in a curry house style sauce without first having to make the base sauce, be sure to try my no-base sauce versions of these curries here.

Step by step photographs.

Ingredients for the recipe. — Get all your ingredients measured out and prepared before starting.

Infusing whole spices into ghee in a frying pan. — Melt the ghee over medium heat in a large pan or wok. Add the cumin seeds, cinnamon/cassia and cardamom pods and fry for about 30 seconds.

Adding the chopped onions to the pan. — Toss in the sliced onions and fry for about 5 minutes or until soft and transparent, stirring regularly. Then add the garlic and ginger paste and stir it in for about a minute.

Adding the ground spices and chopped tomatoes to the pan. — Pour in the tomatoes, garam masala, chilli powder and turmeric and stir well to combine.

Adding the potatoes and enough water to cover. — Now add your cubed potatoes and fry for a further minute before pouring in the water/stock.

Covering the pan to let the potatoes simmer and cook through. — Cover the pan and simmer until the potatoes are soft and cooked through. It should take about a half hour.

Seasoning the potatoes with salt to taste. — Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and give it all a good stir.

pre-cooked potatoes — Serve the potatoes as they are in the sauce immediately or allow to cool and store for up to three days in the fridge.

Love Indian Vegetarian Recipes? Why not try one of these too...

All Indian Vegetarian recipes

Have you tried this recipe for pre cooked potatoes?

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Yield: 4