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Aloo Chop

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Credit: Ghazalle Badiozamani

Aloo chop, best described as Bangladeshi potato fritters, has always been a favorite of mine. It’s something my mother used to make a lot and something I grew up eating. Now, it’s one of my family’s favorite foods.

The recipe is very simple: just mashed potatoes mixed with lots of fresh cilantro, small green chiles, and onion. The potato mixture is formed into these sort of oblong shapes and then breaded and shallow-fried. Shallow-frying transforms the breading into a perfectly thin and delicate crust. Although they look like they could be heavy, the fritters are actually very light and fluffy. Potatoes are pretty bland by themselves, so the dominant flavor here comes from the cilantro (leaves and stems!) and green chiles. The fresh flavor and spice that the chiles and cilantro give to the aloo chop are what make it so delicious.

Some variations of aloo chop make the potato mixture in a manner similar to aloo bhorta . While delicious that way, I prefer the freshness of this version. If you really love spice (as our family does), and depending on how spicy the chiles are, you can add more than four chiles. If you prefer your food on the milder side, add three or fewer.

An optional step that I sometimes like to take is to mash the onions and chiles together (it’s OK if some cilantro gets mixed in as well) with a little pinch of salt by hand to release their oils and liquids before adding them to the potatoes. I find that doing this really intensifies their flavors.

This same recipe can also be used to make dimer chop , where a hard-boiled egg is encased inside of the potato mixture before frying. The size of the hard-boiled egg you use is up to you (some people will use the entire egg, similar to a scotch egg), but this recipe works best with a quarter of a large hard-boiled egg inside each fritter.

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Aloo Chop

Yield Serves 4 to 5 , Makes about 10

Prep time 30 minutes

Cook time 27 minutes to 38 minutes

• shellfish-free
• dairy-free
• fish-free
• alcohol-free
• vegetarian
• peanut-free
• pork-free
• pescatarian
• sugar-conscious
• tree-nut-free
• soy-free
• red-meat-free

Per serving, based on 5 servings. (% daily value)

• Calories 429
• Fat 33.3 g (51.3%)
• Saturated 2.5 g (12.7%)
• Carbs 30.0 g (10.0%)
• Fiber 2.7 g (10.7%)
• Sugars 3.3 g
• Protein 4.9 g (9.9%)
• Sodium 477.7 mg (19.9%)

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds

  russet potatoes (about 3 medium)

• 1/2

  medium yellow onion

• 3 to 4

  small Indian green chiles

• 1/2 cup

  fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems

• 2 teaspoons

  kosher salt, divided

• 1 teaspoon

  ground coriander

• 1

  large egg white

• 1 teaspoon

  water

• 1/3 cup

  plain, fine bread crumbs

• 1/8 teaspoon

  freshly ground black pepper

• 3/4 cup

  canola oil

Instructions

1. Line a small rimmed baking sheet or large plate with parchment paper.

2. Peel and chop 1 1/4 pounds russet potatoes into 2-inch pieces. Place in a large saucepan and add enough cold water to cover by about 2-inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, 5 to 8 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, finely dice 1/2 medium yellow onion until you have 1/2 cup. Thinly slice 3 to 4 small Indian green chiles into rounds, depending on the spice level you enjoy. Finely chop fresh cilantro leaves and stems until you have 1/2 cup.

4. When the potatoes are ready, drain the potatoes in a heatproof colander. When cool enough to handle, pass the potatoes through a ricer into a large bowl. (Alternatively, transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and mash with a potato masher until smooth.)

5. Add the onion, chiles, cilantro, 1 3/4 teaspoons of the kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon ground coriander to the potatoes. Mix by hand until combined, slightly mashing the onions and chiles to release some of their liquids into the potatoes.

6. Whisk 1 large egg white and 1 teaspoon water together in a small bowl until the egg white is broken up and almost foamy. Place 1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper in a wide, shallow bowl or pie plate and stir to combine.

7. Divide the potato mixture into 10 portions (about 1/4 cup each). Use your hands to form each portion of potato into an oblong shape about 2 3/4-inches long and 1 1/2-inches wide.

8. Working with one portion at a time, dip in the beaten egg white and turn to coat evenly. Remove from the egg, let any excess egg drip off, and then roll in the breadcrumbs until evenly coated, being sure to coat the ends. Place on the baking sheet or plate. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to set. (Any leftover egg white and breadcrumb can be used to double bread the aloo chop before refrigerating if desired.)

9. Heat 3/4 cup canola oil in a small 8-inch frying pan over medium heat until shimmering. Line a plate with paper towels. Test the oil by dropping in a few breadcrumbs, the oil should gently bubble when it is ready. Working in batches to prevent crowding, add a few aloo chop to the pan. Fry, using a wooden spatula or 2 spoons to gently roll each aloo chop around in the oil frequently to fry evenly, until golden brown all around, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce the heat as needed if they begin to brown too quickly.

10. Transfer the aloo chop to the plate and repeat frying with the remaining pieces.

Recipe Notes

Chiles: Fresh Thai green chiles can be substituted for the Indian chiles.

Make ahead: The aloo chop can be shaped, breaded, covered in plastic wrap, and refrigerated up to 24 hours in advance. They can also be frozen for up to 1 month and fried straight from the freezer: fry over medium-low heat until the center is heated through and the outside is golden brown all over, 8 to 10 minutes.

Saida Chowdhury

Contributor

Saida “Dina” Chowdhury was born in Bangladesh and immigrated to the U.S. with her family in the late ‘70s. After moving away to go to college, she found herself craving her mother’s cooking. During this time away, she began to teach herself through trial and error (and frequent phone calls to her mom) how to cook the foods that continue to bring her a sense of comfort and home. Dina loves to incorporate the big, bold flavors reminiscent of Bangladeshi cooking into all her family’s meals and never shies away from a little — or a lot of — spice.

Source : food