Slow-Cooked Baby Potatoes in a Yogurt-Fennel Sauce

Potatoes are such a wonderful, versatile food that I never seem to get tired of cooking them. These little potatoes absorbed the flavours of the curry beautifully without drying out too much.

One year ago: Thai Fried Rice with Chicken and Basil

Slow-Cooked Baby Potatoes in a Yogurt-Fennel Sauce (from 660 Curries)

Ingredients
1/4 cup ghee or canola oil
900g baby potatoes, scrubbed and pierced in multiples spots with fork or knife
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp whole cloves
4 black cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
1 small red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp fennel seeds, ground
2 tsp ground Kashmiri chiles (or 1/2 tsp cayenned with 1 1/2 tsp sweet paprika)
1 tsp Kashmiri garam masala
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp cayenne

1. Heat ghee in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and fry, stirring occasionally until skin shrivels and partially browns and just a bit tender, 12 - 15 minutes. Transfer to plate.
2. Sprinkle cumin seeds, cloves, cardamom pods, and bay leaves into skillet. Cook until spices perfume ghee, 15 - 30 seconds.
3. Add onion and stir-fry until honey brown, 5 - 8 minutes.
4. Add yogurt, fennel, ground chiles, garam masala, salt, and cayenne.
5. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally until liquid has evaporated and a deep red film of ghee is starting to separate, 5 - 10 minutes.
6. Pour in 1 cup water and return potatoes to skillet. Stir, cover, and cook over medium-low heat, basting every 5 minutes until potatoes are tender, 1 - 1.5 hours.
7. Remove cardamom pods, bay leaves, and cloves and serve.

Kashmiri Garam Masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 cinnamon sticks, broken into smaller pieces
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp black cumin seeds
1/2 tsp whole cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground mace
seeds from 4 black cardamom pods

1. Preheat small skillet over medium-high heat. Add cumin and cinnamon and toast until brittle and fragrant, 1 - 2 minutes. Transfer to plate to cool.
2. Grind all spices together.