You say potato...

The first Thursday in October was a memorable one; I did a four hour walk in bright sunlight with the dog which gave me a good chance to unwind and take stock during my week off from work.

On my return home I decided to make my tea a little more interesting by having a go at making a Potato Tarkari. I needed to cook something with potatoes as my cupboard seemed to contain more spuds than one man could realistically consume on his own.

The record of choice for today's meal was Fairport Convention's first album which is an exciting brew of musical virtuosity, covers of singer-songwriters and American West Coast music all turned inside out from the original versions. It was recorded by the band in mid-sixties prior to them turning into the somewhat cliched   folk-rock act they became the early seventies.

I peeled two large white potatoes and after washing them I diced them into cubes and steamed them for around five or six minutes.

While the potatoes were steaming I took two red onions, around four ounces of ginger root juice (if you don't want your Tarkari to be too spicy use two ounces) and then cut them into one or two centimetre long pieces. I then put a small amount of olive oil into the bottom of my Le Cresceut dish, turned on the heat on the hob and poured the onions, ginger, a pinch of mustard, half a teaspoon of paprika, two ounces of fresh coriander and a hint of saffron into the dish.

After the potatoes had softened I added them to the dish and stirred them constantly to avoid the ingredients sticking to the bottom of the Le Cresceut which would have inevitably caused trouble trying to wash it after the meal was eaten. I stirred the contents of the dish, while still cooking it on a medium light, on and off for around twenty five minutes. In order to make sure the potatoes were properly done I added an eighth of a pint of water to the dish so the potatoes could absorb it.

The dish was exceptionally spicy and definitely one for those who like their food strong tasting and tangy. As is often the case with dishes involving potatoes they provided the body of the meal and their stodgy taste was offset by the strong spices in particular the raw freshness of the ginger root. To help complement the meal, and to keep my throat damp after all the spices, I had a large glass of California Red Wine which I would recommend highly to accompany this type of meal.

Plenty of spices are hidden between the pieces of potato