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Masala-Spiced French Fries
At Hyderabadi Spice in East Ham, London, chef Zuber Momin offers a South Asian take on french fries. He dusts freshly fried potatoes with a mix of spices, including chaat masala, a blend that includes amchoor (green mango powder) and black salt. For our version, we settled on a french fry formula that calls for simmering cut, rinsed potatoes in salted acidulated water, a technique from cookbook author J. Kenji López-Alt. The salt seasons the potatoes while the vinegar helps them retain their shape and aids with crisping. Before frying, we toss the spuds with potato starch (use potato starch, not potato flour) mixed with spices. The starch gives the cooked potatoes even lighter, crispier surfaces. For the spicing, we use a blend of cumin, ground ginger and Kashmiri chili powder (you can substitute ¾ teaspoon sweet paprika plus ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper for the chili). If you prefer chaat masala, skip the spices; instead toss 1½ tablespoons chaat masala with the potato starch, then season each batch of hot fries with an additional 1½ to 2 teaspoons chaat masala, plus salt and pepper.
4 to 6
Servings
Tip
Don’t use any type of potato other than russet for making french fries. Their high starch content is key for obtaining light and fluffy interiors, and delicately crisp exteriors. When frying, be sure the pot is not overcrowded. Too many potatoes added at once will cause the oil temperature to drop. We had best results frying in three batches.
1½ hours
Ingredients
-
3
pounds russet potatoes
-
3
tablespoons white vinegar
Directions
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01Fill a large bowl with water. Peel the potatoes and drop them into the water to prevent discoloring. Remove 1 potato at a time from the water and slice it lengthwise into ¼-inch-thick planks. Stack a few planks at a time and cut lengthwise into ¼-inch batons; return the batons to the water as they are cut. Drain the potatoes in a colander and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear. Drain again.
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