Aloo Bhaja is a delicious side of crispy fried potato slices from the Bengali cuisine. Made with fewer spices this recipe comes together quickly and pairs nicely with a side of lentils and rice or khichdi.
Rinse and then peel the potatoes. Cut in slices of 0.3 cm to 0.4 cm thickness. Also heat a tawa or frying pan with 1 to 2 tablespoon oil in it.
Take the potato slices in a mixing bowl. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt as required.
Mix very well.
Immediately place the potato slices in the hot oil. Fry on medium low to medium flame. Add less oil as potatoes absorb more oil.
When one side is lightly crisp, turn over and fry the second side.
Flip again and a couple of times and fry till the potato slices are crisp and golden. This way fry in batches and add more oil if required. Overall I used 2.5 tablespoons mustard oil for frying.
Remove each fried slice and place on kitchen paper towels for the extra oil to be absorbed.
Alternatively, you can also dredge the potato slices in some rice flour and then fry. This way the alu bhaja becomes more crisp and less oil is absorbed. Sometimes I follow this method also.
Serve aloo bhaja hot or warm as a side dish with khichdi, dal-rice, curd rice or rasam-rice.
Notes
For a spicy version, add a bit more of the red chilli powder.