Potatoes, any kind, and flavored any way, are extremely popular in India. Gujaratis like to put potatoes in all the vegetable dishes we cook. When potatoes are cooked dry with spices and a bit of oil in a pan, they crisp up beautifully and make for a very delicious meal, either as is or with any kind of daal and some cumin white rice.
Smashed potatoes are a popular appetizer, so I decided to make them with an Indian twist. Make the smashed potatoes with a brushing of the spiced oil, laden with spices such as ground turmeric, red chile, coriander, and chaat masala. Chaat masala is essential and available at any Indian grocery store or online. The chaat masala has a key component called amchur, which is ground dried mango, which makes the dish flavorful. The powder enhances the taste by giving the potatoes a sour tang.—Amisha Dodhia Gurbani
Masala Smashed Potatoes FAQs
Use smoked paprika or Kashmiri red chile powder instead of ground red chile to reduce the spice levels in your masala smashed potatoes.
As a matter of fact, we suggest that you make the cilantro garlic yogurt sauce a day ahead and store it in the refrigerator. You’ll find that everything melds together and just tastes that much better.
Actually…no. The masala smashed potatoes should be eaten the same day to preserve the desired freshness and crispness of the potatoes.
Masala Smashed Potatoes
Ingredients
For the cilantro garlic yogurt sauce
- 1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt, preferably full-fat
- 1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon table salt
For the masala smashed potatoes
- 1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes, washed well
- Cold water
- 2 teaspoons table salt
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon red chile powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Cooking spray
To garnish
- 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
Make the cilantro garlic yogurt sauce
- In a high-speed blender, combine all the ingredients and blitz until smooth. It should be a thick sauce that can be drizzled. If necessary, add water a tablespoon at a time to get it to a drizzle consistency. Dump into a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Make the masala smashed potatoes
- In a large pot, add the potatoes and enough cold water to cover the potatoes by an inch (2 1/2 cm). Add the salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium, and let the potatoes cook until they are fork-tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes in a . Let the potatoes cool until you can handle them, about 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200°C) with racks in the top and bottom positions.
- In a small bowl, combine the olive oil and the spices, and whisk to combine.
- Generously coat a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the potatoes on the baking sheet. Using a flat-bottomed glass, gently press each potato to flatten them slightly, so they are not more than 1/2 inch (1 1/4 cm) thick.
- Using a pastry brush, coat each potato with the spice-oil mixture.
- Bake on the top rack until the potatoes are golden and crispy on the edges, about 25 minutes. For the last 10 minutes of cooking, move them to the bottom rack to crisp up the bottom of the potatoes.
- Let cool for 5 minutes.
- Arrange on a serving platter and drizzle with the cilantro garlic yogurt sauce. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
These masala smashed potatoes are a delicious variation on smashed potatoes and a fun way to be introduced to chaat masala, a less familiar Indian spice I look forward to experimenting with in other dishes.
The potatoes were a perfect substitute for French fries when I served them with a sirloin steak sandwich, and we used the yogurt sauce as a spread for the sandwiches. It was a fun twist to our weeknight meal, which otherwise would have been very basic and lacking in international flavors.
Count me in. These masala smashed potatoes are a fabulous, unexpected twist on the trendy potato preparation and they go with so many dishes–steak, chicken, daal as mentioned in the recipe header, and they’re even great as part of a large composed salad.
The recipe works very well as written, with my only comment being to make the yogurt sauce a day ahead so that the flavors come together cohesively. Otherwise, I’d fast-track this recipe to the top of the class–simple and surprising and delightful. Don’t skimp on any of the spices!
I have been making smashed potatoes for years and have no idea why the idea of spicing them hasn’t ever crossed my mind. These masala smashed potatoes are outstanding, pairing the spiced crispy outsides with a cooling raita-esque sauce.
The sauce makes way more than you’ll need for this recipe, but the extra is great for grain bowls, salads, and other roasted vegetables. If this recipe could be improved, I think it would be adjusting the spice ratio. The garlic powder felt quite prominent and slightly overpowered the amchur tang I was hoping for from the chaat masala. I’d increase the chaat by 50% and decrease the garlic by 50%. Either way, make these potatoes. You’re bound to be happy with them.
I tried these masala smashed potatoes because I was looking for a new vegetarian recipe and I was not disappointed. The potatoes turned out creamy inside, crispy outside, and so flavorful. The chaat masala brings tang, the coriander perfumes the potatoes nicely, and the cayenne brings some heat. Top all that with the cilantro garlic yogurt sauce that is cool, bright, and herbaceous and you have a side that is addictive!
I made the cilantro garlic yogurt sauce a day ahead of time and popped it into my fridge. This allowed the flavors to mingle and chilled the sauce well, which ended up being a nice contrast to the warm spicy potatoes. The sauce came together easily–a little bit of rough chopping and a whiz in the blender. I added a tablespoon of water to help with “pourability.” This may or may not be necessary depending on the thickness of the yogurt used.
I will definitely be making these again. They are super tasty. I might even flip them and get them crispy on both sides next time. We had leftover yogurt sauce that kept well in the fridge for a few days. We ate it with raw veggies and served some with grilled chicken.
