Persian potato patties
Makes 12
These potato patties are light, fluffy and incredibly tasty. You can also make the mix into one big tortilla-like pancake and serve it in wedges – although you have to be careful flipping it over when cooking.
2 desiree potatoes, peeled
sea salt
olive oil
30 g unsalted butter
1 large onion, diced
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons self-raising flour
3/4 cup shredded coriander leaves
3/4 cup snipped garlic chives
5 eggs
thick natural yoghurt and pickles, to serve
Boil the potatoes in generously salted water until tender, then mash them coarsely and allow to cool. It’s nice to leave a bit of texture – you don’t want the potato too smooth.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil with the butter in a frying pan over a low heat and fry the onion until it softens. Stir in the turmeric and cumin and fry for another minute. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Combine the potato and onion and mix in 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper, flour and herbs. Whisk the eggs until frothy, then stir them into the potato so that everything is well combined. The mixture will be quite sloppy.
Heat a shallow layer of oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a low–medium heat. Drop in large spoonfuls of the potato mixture and flatten gently. Cook for about 5 minutes, checking from time to time to make sure the patties are not burning. Turn them over and cook for another 5 minutes. Transfer to a warm oven while you cook more patties, adding more oil as needed. If you make one big pancake it will take about 8 minutes on each side.
Serve piping hot with thick yoghurt and your choice of pickles.