french fries recipe with step by step photos – we love french fries. who doesn’t!!! let me tell you that these homemade french fries come very close to the ones we get in mc donalds or any other fast food chains. these finger chips are crisp as well as soft from inside and taste too good.
i had got a couple of recipe requests for posting french fries. when i make french fries at home, i just chop the potatoes, rub some salt and directly fry them. the potatoes are not perfectly crisp like the mc donald’s french fries – but for all of us, these easy to prepare, quick homemade french fries are alright.
when i got the requests, i searched a lot of recipes on the web for that perfect french fries. i stumbled upon many and they all tell me to parboil the potatoes first, then fry it not once, but twice at different temperatures.
now being a busy woman, i cannot afford to spend a major chunk of my time cooking the potatoes, then cooling them, then frying them, cooling them and again frying them.
so i gave up the quest for the perfect french fries and even if some recipe comes close to it, i will be more than happy & satisfied.
this is my friend anamika’s recipe. she has kept it simple and easy.
an easy method to make homemade french fries
in this method, the potatoes are kept in cold water for 30 minutes. i actually kept the whole bowl of chopped potatoes with cold water in the fridge. then drained & dried the potatoes with a napkin and later fried twice. yes to get that perfect crispy french fries, you need to fry them twice. you can fry the potatoes once if you want, but they will be less crispy.
as a result of being fried twice, these homemade french fries are crisp from outside and soft & tender from inside. the way the french fries should be.
this finger chips recipe can also be a navratri fasting recipe if you use rock salt (sendha namak).
how to make french fries
1. firstly take 1 extra-large potato or 2 large potatoes or 3 medium potatoes (315 grams). rinse well in water and then peel the potato.
2. then slice the potato in slices having 1 cm thickness. before slicing, you can remove the top and bottom part of the potato to get a square or rectangle shaped potato. you can also use a french fry cutter if you have it.
3. then begin to cut them in sticks having 1 cm width.
4. cut the remaining potato slices in sticks as well.
5. you can also rinse these potato sticks for a couple of times in water to get rid of the starch. in a bowl take 3.5 cups cold water and dunk the potato sticks in it. keep this bowl outside or in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 45 minutes. in a hot and humid climate, keep the bowl in the fridge.
6. after 30 minutes or 45 minutes, drain the potatoes in a colander.
7. rinse the potatoes with running water. drain all the extra water.
8. then place them on a clean kitchen cotton napkin.
9. place the second half of the napkin above and press, pat and dry the potatoes. the potatoes have to be completely dried before you begin to fry them.
first frying – making french fries
10. heat oil in a wok or pan. keep the flame to medium. the oil should be medium hot or having a temperature of 130 to 135 degrees celsius.
11. now add the potatoes in the oil. you can fry in two to three batches. i fried in two batches. do not overcrowd the wok (kadai) or pan.
12. begin to fry them.
13. stir often while frying them for uniform cooking.
14. fry till the potatoes get cooked, but they should not brown from outside. they should just get a crust from outside without any major color change. light browning of the edges is fine. remove with a slotted spoon.
15. place the half fried potatoes on paper kitchen towels. stack 3 to 4 paper towels. press some paper towels from top also to absorb extra oil. let the half fried potatoes cool down at room temperature. after removing this batch, you can fry the second batch of potatoes. by the time you fry the second batch of the potatoes, the first batch will cool down. so in the same oil, you can fry the first batch of half fried potatoes.
second frying – making french fries
16. now increase the flame to a medium-high or high. the oil should be hot and have a temperature of 180 to 185 degrees celsius.
17. add the half fried potatoes to the hot oil.
18. stirring often begin to fry the potatoes.
19. fry french fries till crisp and golden.
20. remove finger chips with a slotted spoon.
21. place french fries on paper tissues again to remove the extra oil.
serving french fries
22. while still hot, take the french fries in a bowl. sprinkle with some salt, paprika or red chili flakes, dried herbs or dry rosemary. you can add your choice of herbs and spices.
23. gently shake and toss the bowl so that the salt, herbs etc mix well with the finger chips.
23. serve french fries hot with some any dip or sauce of your choice. here i have served these crispy finger chips with sriracha sauce.
more delicious snacks recipes !
- potato wedges – this recipe post details both the fried and baked methods of making potato wedges.
- potato chips – these homemade baked potato chips are crisp as well as delicious.
- chilli potato – crispy fried potatoes in a spicy, sour and slightly sweet sauce.
- cheese balls – easy to prepare tasty and foolproof recipe of cheese balls.
French Fries
INGREDIENTS
- 3 medium size potatoes or 2 large potatoes or 1 extra large potatoes or 315 grams potato
- 3.5 cups cold water
- dry rosemary or oregano or mixed herbs - as required
- rock salt or black salt or regular salt - as required
- red chili powder or paprika as required - optional
- oil for deep frying - as required
INSTRUCTIONS
preparation
- firstly take the potatoes and rinse well in water. then peel them.
- then slice the potato in slices having 1 cm thickness. before slicing, you can remove the top and bottom part of the potato to get a square or rectangle shaped potato.
- then begin to cut them in sticks having 1 cm width. you can also rinse these potato sticks for a couple of times in water to get rid of the starch.
- in a bowl take 3.5 cups cold water and dunk the potatoes in it. keep this bowl outside or in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 45 minutes. in a hot and humid climate keep the bowl in the fridge.
- after 30 minutes or 45 minutes, drain the potatoes in a colander.
- rinse the potatoes with running water. drain all the water.
- then place them on clean kitchen cotton napkin.
- place the second half of the napkin above and press, pat and dry the potatoes. the potatoes have to be completely dried before you begin to fry them.
first frying french fries
- heat oil in a wok or pan. keep the flame to medium. the oil should be medium hot or having a temperature of 130 to 135 degrees celsius.
- now add the potatoes in the oil. you can fry in two to three batches. i fried in two batches. do not over crowd the wok (kadai) or pan.
- stir often while frying them for uniform cooking.
- fry till the potatoes get cooked, but they should not brown from outside. they should just get a crust from outside without any major color change. light browning of the edges is fine. remove with a slotted spoon.
- place the half fried potatoes on paper kitchen towels. stack 3 to 4 paper towels. press some paper towels from top also to absorb extra oil. let the half fried potatoes cool down at room temperature.
- after removing this batch, you can fry the second batch of potatoes. by the time you fry the second batch of the potatoes, the first batch will cool down. so in the same oil, you can fry the first batch of half fried potatoes.
second frying - making french fries
- now increase the flame to a medium-high or high. the oil should be hot and have a temperature of 180 to 185 degrees celsius.
- add the half fried potatoes to the hot oil. stirring often begin to fry the potatoes.
- fry till crisp and golden. remove with a slotted spoon. place them on paper tissues again to remove the extra oil.
- while still hot, take the french fries in a bowl. sprinkle with some salt, paprika or red chili flakes, dried herbs or dry rosemary. you can add your choice of herbs and spices.
- gently shake and toss the bowl so that the salt, herbs etc mix well with them.
- serve these homemade french fries hot with some any dip or sauce of your choice.
NOTES
- soaking the potatoes in cold water help them to get crisp nicely and they get evenly fried.
- rinsing the potatoes in water or cold water helps to remove starch, which can cause the potatoes to stick together during the frying process.
- alternatively, for crispier french fries you can also soak the potatoes in salt water for several minutes before frying.
Hi Dassana,In this all the recipes are amazing specialy the French fries.
Thanks Saranya
Hello dassana iam a big fan of ur blog tried many recipes nd they all came out gudthanq
thanks deepthi for your kind words. glad to know that you are liking the recipes.
Can i keep potato in cold water & in fridge whole night . . & Then make fries in the morning?
you can do this way.
Can we first dip the potatoes in cornstarch batter before putting them into the oil?
How would they taste?
the corn starch batter will coat them and they will have a taste somewhat like the paneer fried during preparing chilli paneer.
Thank you darsana, you are really helping. I love your recepies
thanks shahana.
Can we make this in microwave ?
i have never made french fries in microwave, so i do not know how good they turn out.
Al the receipes are gud…can u send the simple recipes to my mail
ruba, you can subscribe to the feedburner mailing list. link given below. whenever new recipe are posted, you will get notified of the same. for simple and easy recipe, you can check these links – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/recipe/30-minutes-recipes/ & https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/recipe/15-minutes-recipes/
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Am your fan….thanks a lot
thank you sriyaz 🙂
How to prepare ready to make fries?
Can we store them I’m the freezer after the first fry?
nagma, i have never made ready to make fries. so i have no idea.
An all time favorite snack…. Double frying trick has been helpful though tedious….. Amazing clicks….. Your children are lucky 🙂
thankyou priya 🙂
I love food
Thanks to give wonderful recipe
welcome rozina
Thanks a lot actually thanks is a very small word in front of my need as my kid is its fan a huge fan of burger and fries
welcome geetika. glad to know this.
Thank you soooo much for sharing this recp. I love french fries n wenevr i try n make it @ home it was always a complete disaster..
I followed ur recp n made absolute crisp fries. Tnx again
welcome nisha. thanks for sharing positive feedback.
Hi,
I am far from being an expert but my hubby is the Regional Manager of the most sought after outlets for fries (MCD)
Once we were making fries at home and I tried to make it in the same manner as most of the housewives will do, but then he told me one simple ingredient used by the chains all over the world.
Corn starch or if not available use arrawoot
Step
First cut the potato’s.
Let them soak in water for half an hour
Drain them
coat them either with corn starch or arrawoot
and fry them !!!
Yeppee you will have same crispiness
rita, thanks for sharing this trade secret on making french fries. i will give it a try. i hope it will help many readers.
waw.. thanks for sharing this… i will definately try this n let u know asap..
welcome vaishali. yes do share your feedback
Scrumptious fries!!!
nice one
thanks bhagyashri
hi dassana didi
i love frech fry
it is so Delicious.
thanks to give a wonderful recipe.
harjit
welcome harjit
hi Dassana i made the french fries today and they were crisp and tasty..i can keep munching on them all day long.. thanks for sharing..
hey shivani, even i can keep on munching the french fries all day long 🙂
good information for navratri recipe, but after navratri 9 days you have to join our kasturifinedining ………
french fry is very nice and delicious thank u nalinsai
thanks nalinsai.
Dassana I love french fries too my favorite 🙂
Great way to spice up vrat ..looks yum and who can say no to this …not me for sure 🙂
Hi Dassana!
Yumm, love french fries. especially when the weather is heating up outside. so easy and quick to make your own. I love that u sprinkled rosemary and chilli on top, great flavor combo. The shaks in Goa should take an example from your recipe. What they do here and what I dont like is that they add haldi to make them all yellow. I feel that spoils the taste of the french fries when u eat them with dips.
What I do to get them all crisp is, I keep the cut fries in water with a dash of coconut vinegar (that helps a bit in crispening the fries) then I deep fry them first, take them out, leave them to rest 5 min and deep fry shortly again. That will make them super nice crisp outside.
the shacks here serve horrible french fries. what you say is right, helene. i wonder why they add turmeric powder to the french fries. it does spoil the taste of the french fries. if they add some red chili powder, then it still the fries would taste good. i have to try the vinegar method.
I like the addition of herbs, as well as chili powder! Somehow making me feel like it’s less oily… I know, just a feeling… haha.
🙂
Oh my yum!!! Love that you double-fried the potatoes 🙂
Happy Navratri!!
happy navratri to you too kiran.
I boil the chips until it is tender but not cooked and fry them until it is cooked. Then I leave in the freezer for couple of hours and fry until it get nicely brown colour. This process helps to get crispy finger chips. My mother-in-low, she fries 3 times to get it right.
i know some recipes ask for frying three times. i have made the parboiled version but i feel it is too much of time consumed in the kitchen. but will try to make a perfect parboiled version soon.
Dassana,
I tried this process, semi-boil potato fingers ;then fry them next day. You will get really nice crispy fries…
thanks shruthi. will try this way soon.