potato sagu recipe with step by step photos. potato sagu is lightly spiced potato curry from the karnataka cuisine usually served with pooris, chapati, dosa or rava idli.
when living in bangalore, we tasted potato sagu with rava idli at one of the MTR (mavalli tiffin room) restaurants.
the rava idli was much larger in size than what we make at home. posting a pic of it which i had taken about 6 years back from my point & shoot camera. the rava idli is accompanied with potato sagu and coconut coriander chutney.
potato sagu is also called as bombay sagu. but never i have heard or seen of bombay sagu being served in mumbai hotels, even in the udipi restaurants.
the combination of potato curry and poori is a favorite. every state has its own method of making potato curries. the north indian states have their own unique recipes. so is the case in south. in goa, they call the potato curry, patal bhaji and is served with pooris. the dry version is called as sukha bhaji. in tamil nadu, there is potato masala which is served with pooris. we have also travelled a lot in south maharashtra and poori bhaji is one of the breakfast dishes available in all the hotels or dhabas there.
recently, we stayed for a few days in banaras. there they had the banarasi style aloo ki subzi served with pooris. the taste of the recipe was similar to the aloo rasedar i had posted some time back.
like potato sagu, there is also a variation of sagu made with mixed veggies, which is known as veg sagu. veg sagu can also be served with pooris, chapatis or set dosa or neer dosa.
making this potato sagu recipe does not take much time. you just need to boil potatoes and the rest of the method is easy. so when you make pooris, rotis, dosa or rava idli, you can make potato sagu as a side dish along with coconut chutney. you can also add some green peas. do note that i have added onions, but you can skip them. i usually serve potato sagu with pooris, set dosa, poha dosa, neer dosa and sometimes even plain dosa.
few more tasty potato recipes for you!
poori sagu
INGREDIENTS FOR poori sagu
- 250 grams potatoes OR 3 to 4 medium potatoes - boiled, peeled and crumbled OR 1.5 cups crumbled potatoes (aloo)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)
- 1 teaspoon urad dal (split husked black gram)
- 1 teaspoon chana dal (husked and split bengal gram)
- 100 grams onion OR 1 large onion, chopped OR ⅔ cup chopped onion
- 1 or 2 green chilies, chopped (hari mirch)
- ½ inch ginger, chopped OR 1 teaspoon chopped ginger (adrak)
- 7 to 8 curry leaves (kadi patta)
- 1 small tomato OR ¼ cup chopped tomatoes (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
- a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
- 2 teaspoon besan (gram flour)
- 1.25 cups water
- salt as required
- 1 to 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves (dhania patta)
HOW TO MAKE poori sagu
boiling potatoes
- rinse 3 to 4 medium potatoes very well and then boil or steam them in a pressure cooker. if pressure cooking, then pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles.
- when the potatoes are still warm, peel and crumble them. you can also chop them and keep aside.
making potato sagu
- in a pan heat 1 tbsp oil. add 1 tsp mustard seeds and let them splutter.
- when the mustard seeds start to splutter, add 1 tsp urad dal and 1 tsp chana dal.
- stir and saute till the dals become golden.
- then add 2/3 cup chopped onion. saute the onions till translucent.
- now add 1 or 2 green chilies (chopped), 1 tsp chopped ginger and 7 to 8 curry leaves.
- next add ¼ cup chopped tomatoes.
- saute for 2 minutes and then add ¼ tsp turmeric powder and a pinch of asafoetida.
- mix and continue to saute for 2 more minutes.
- then add 2 tsp besan/gram flour.
- mix the besan very well and saute for a minute.
- add 1.25 cups water. stir and mix well.
- bring the entire mixture to a gentle boil.
- add the crumbled potatoes.
- mix the potatoes with the rest of the curry.
- season with salt. cover the pan with a lid and simmer potato sagu on a low flame for 7 to 8 minutes or more till the gravy thickens. do check once or twice when simmering.
- the potato sagu gravy should have a medium consistency and should not be thick or thin.
- a slight thin consistency is also fine. check the taste and add more salt if required.
- lastly add 1 to 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves and switch off the flame.
- serve potato sagu with dosa, rava idli, chapati, paratha or pooris.
preparation to make potato sagu recipe for poori
1. rinse 3 to 4 medium potatoes very well and then boil or steam them in a pressure cooker. if pressure cooking, then pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles. the potatoes should be cooked till soft and of a mashable consistency.
2. when the potatoes are still warm, peel and crumble them. you can also chop them and keep aside.
making potato sagu
3. in a pan heat 1 tbsp oil. add 1 tsp mustard seeds and let them splutter.
4. when the mustard seeds start to splutter, add 1 tsp urad dal and 1 tsp chana dal.
5. stir and saute till the dals become golden.
6. then add ⅔ cup chopped onions.
7. saute the onions till translucent.
8. now add 1 or 2 green chilies (chopped), 1 tsp chopped ginger and 10 to 12 curry leaves.
9. next add ¼ cup chopped tomatoes.
10. on a low to medium flame, saute for 2 minutes and then add ¼ tsp turmeric powder and a pinch of asafoetida.
11. mix and continue to saute for 2 more minutes.
12. then add 2 tsp besan/gram flour.
13. mix the besan very well and saute for a minute.
14. add 1.25 cups water.
15. stir and mix well.
16. bring the entire mixture to a gentle boil.
17. add the crumbled potatoes.
18. mix the potatoes with the rest of the curry.
19. season with salt.
20. cover the pan with a lid and simmer potato sagu on a low flame for 7 to 8 minutes or more till the gravy thickens. do check once or twice when simmering.
21. the potato sagu gravy should have a medium consistency and should not be thick or thin. a slight thin consistency is also fine. check the taste of potato sagu and add more salt if required.
22. lastly add 1 to 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves and switch off the flame.
23. serve potato sagu with dosa, rava idli, chapati, paratha or pooris.
My husband and I have just started cooking on our own. We followed your potato sagu recipe to the letter and the curry came out really superb. Thank you for the detailed instructions and pics. It would be great if you could mention a typical measure for salt also in your recipes, though the quantity can vary according to each person’s taste. Just to ensure that salt doesn’t become too much.
thank you ranjani. glad to know you liked the potato sagu recipe. i do not add the measurement of salt as the taste varies from person to person. when readers ask me about salt quantities, i tell them a benchmark. for a recipe that has 3 to 4 servings, initially add 1/2 (half) teaspoon salt. mix and check the taste. if the taste is less, then add a bit more. go easy when adding like sprinkling a few pinches of salt. mix and then again taste.
addition of salt also depends at which step it is added in the recipe. so if you add it first in a curry-based dish and then the curry is reduced, always add less initially- say 1/4th to 1/3rd teaspoon and then a bit more can be added later once the curry is done. for recipes where salt-based ingredients are used – like soy sauce, salted butter, cheese etc, always go easy on the salt. add a few pinches first and then if required add some more later. hope this helps.
Dear Dassana Ji, I came here to see what Potato ‘Sagu’ was …. I just made Potato bhaji ( for a Jhat-Pat dosa – just Urad dal and Mung dal and little chana dal batter – ). I used your dosa bhaji recipe to make the potato bhaji. Now, what is this potato ‘sagu’ ?? I thought it meant you added some sabudana or something equally exotic. To my surprise, the only added ingredient was sauteed mustard seeds, ( which I add instinctively, to the ‘tadka’, in any case.)
Finally, I realised that sagu is, maybe, a kannada word for a curry-bhaji combination.
I know just a few kannada words, and one I learnt recently, is ‘kai’ meaning vegetable – like Avvakai etc. . If you will indulge me, to diverge just a little bit, I will tell you a little story. As I was told, a few years ago, my ancestors, were saraswat brahmins, who never ate or touched meat. They were reputedly from Kashmir, and slowly travelled south, until they reached the konkan coast. There, they saw all this fish, that was going to “waste”, and slowly they started tasting and eating the fish, and developed a fondness for it …. (lol) 😉
Now, they had a moral dilemma, of killing, and eating the flesh of a living animal …. which they ‘rationalized’ as follows :
1. First of all, you don’t have to actually kill a fish …. you just take it out of the water, and it dies, … all by itself …..
2. Secondly, since God, in his eternal wisdom, provided the fish, in copious amounts, in the seas, it ‘must’ be a vegetable …. hence Jhal-kai …. the ‘vegetable-of the sea’ …. 🙂
Dilemma and problem solved …. 😉
I deeply respect your vegetarianism, and the above is merely a humorous story, for your entertainment and enjoyment. No offense is meant.
Best wishes for the continued success of your massive blog [email protected]!
sagu means curry in kannada. potato sagu is a like potato curry which can be had with pooris or dosa. besan is also added which gives a smooth consistency in the dish. even on facebook when i had shared this recipe, i got comments why it is called sagu as no sago (sabudana) is added 🙂. i know about saraswat brahmins and the story is interesting. thanks for sharing and also for your good wishes.
Hi ,
I follow your site regularly. The way you explain the recipe makes me feel ok I can do this . Today I have made this recipe and it came out well my kids just loved it thank you for your recipes !
Welcome Sravanti. Glad to know this. Thanks for your positive feedback.
Made it this morning and as always you are a rockstar who makes me a rockstar ?. Need I say more?
of course not. your comment is super duper. thank you much sheetal 🙂
So tasty and easy method recipe
thank you ankita 🙂
soooooo good! I’m so glad I found your recipes!!!! thanks?
thanks noelia.
tasty simple goes with dosa and puris. everyone loved it