Batata Nu Shaak (Pan fried potatoes)

RCI is a wonderful food event started by Lakshmi of Veggie cusine and the current month's event is hosted by Mythili of Vindu. Her choice is Gujarati cuisine. My exposure to authentic Guajarti food was pretty late in life. Better late than never yeah. I have two good friends who happen to be Guajarati and fantastic cooks. Through them I was introduced to goodies like Dhokla, pakoda kadi and Undhiyo, things I didn't know existed before. It will be a sin not to mention the soft rotlis they make. They turn out the same size everytime, soft and almost melting in the mouth. What I like best is that the rotlis stay soft even after hours. It is simply amazing the way Guajaratis create varieties of snacks with chick-pea flour (gram flour).
My entry for the RCI - Gujarat event is Batata Nu Shaak a simple potato fry, that can whipped up in less than 20 minutes. The recipe is from Madhu Jaffery's 'A Taste of India'. Here is how it can be made
Ingredients
Potato - 5 small potatoes (cleaned and diced)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Asafetida - a pinch
Cumin powder -1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
turmeric powder - a pinch
salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan, when hot add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter add the asafetida, turmeric powder and then the potatoes. Stir the potatoes to ensure even cooking. When the potatoes are cooked add the cumin, corriander and chilli powder. Mix well with the potatoes and continue frying for 2 more minutes. Remove from fire and serve as a side dish. It went very well with parupu sadam (lentils and rice). Madhu suggests that the dish can also be served with roast and grilled meat.