What’s Cooking is a series in which I answer questions and share advice about food and cooking that you have but may be too shy to ask.
Last month I received several requests from people asking for a recipe for Fried Potatoes/Fried Aloo. Every request spoke of nostalgia, seeing an older member of their family making the dish and loving it. Perhaps simpler times, simpler food? For me, comfort food. On each occasion, I responded indicating that I did not have a written recipe (as in a prescribed list of ingredients with instructions), instead I told them how I make fried potatoes.
Fried Potatoes is one of my favourite dishes to eat. My mother loved it too. Gosh, that lady liked potatoes cooked any which way. One of the things she used to do when making Fried Potatoes was to cook them with fresh white-belly shrimp. The shrimp would be quickly fried in a smoking hot pan with a little oil. The high heat was important to cook the shrimp quickly and avoid it stewing or as we would say, “springing water”. Cooked separately, the shrimp was added to the potatoes about a minute or two before they were done cooking and mixed it when the heat was shut off.
