Flavorful Gujarati style potato curry or stirfry with sesame seeds and freshly ground ginger, chili, and cilantro paste, popularly known as batata nu shaak or bateta nu shaak.
Recently we harvested some purple potatoes from our backyard garden, and I wanted to try something different with it instead of regular potato curry or roast. As I was planning to make theplas (recipe coming soon), I decided to pair it with this Gujarati style potato sabzi.
You can find two versions of batata nu shaak – dry version with sesame seeds, and that’s what I am sharing today, and raswala batata nu shaak the gravy version, which I will share soon. I adapted the recipe from Tarla Dalal’s website and adjusted the spices to suit our taste buds.
So what makes this potato curry unique-
- The freshly ground paste of green chili, cilantro, and ginger adds a distinct flavor to the sabzi.
- The addition of sesame seeds. The texture and the crunch that it provides is incomparable.
It pairs well with dal, roti, and theplas. I served it with theplas and made again and served it with trevti dal. It was a terrific and perfect combination.
Why purple potatoes and how is it different from regular potatoes-
There isn’t any specific reason for using purple potatoes. As I harvested it from our backyard, I went ahead and used it.
But when I read about the benefits, I was amazed. Even though purple potatoes have high starch content, they have a high amount of antioxidants as well. Anthocyanins are the potato pigments that give it the purple hue, and those pigments are the antioxidants.
Also, the dietary fiber amount and Vitamin C content are good as well.
You can very well use regular potatoes or red potatoes for this batata nu shaak. Once you have steamed the potatoes, you can put this dish together in less than 20 minutes.
Popular potato recipes from my archives-
Before getting into the recipe, check out my other potato recipes from the blog-
Batata nu shaak with detailed step-wise pictures-
Now without any further ado, here is the detailed recipe for the batata nu shaak or the Gujarati style potatoes with sesame seeds.
Cook the potatoes-
- You can cook the potatoes in your preferred way. Peel and cube them. I steamed my potatoes in Instant Pot for 5 minutes using my steamer basket and naturally release the pressure. I then peeled and cubed them.
Prepare the chili paste-
- In a mixer jar, grind the green chilies, ginger, and the 1 tbsp of cilantro coarsely – no need to add any water. Set it aside.
Prepare the potato sabzi-
- In a pan or kadai, heat 1 tbsp of oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, and hing.
- After about 30 seconds, add the curry leaves and when the mustard seeds splutter, add the boiled and cubed potatoes, salt, turmeric powder, and the ground paste.
- Mix well and cook for about 7 to 10 minutes over low heat until the potatoes get a slight crust. Make sure to stir in between the cooking process.
- Turn off the heat. Add the lemon juice and garnish it with cilantro and serve warm with dal and rice or thepla.
Recipe Notes-
- You can use any potato variety for this dish. Just make sure to cook them soft and firm so that it holds the shape.
- As the potatoes are pre-cooked, after tempering, you can cook them for 3 to 4 minutes. I went ahead and roasted them over low heat for 10 minutes.
- The original recipe doesn’t call for grinding cilantro along with ginger and green chilies. But as we like the refreshing flavor, I went ahead and added cilantro while making the paste.
- As always, adjust the salt and spices according to your preference.
Other Gujarati recipes from my archives-
- Gujarati style lobia curry
- Undhiyu
- Gujarati Kadhi
- Trevti dal
- Sweet and sour Gujarati dal
- and also the elaborate Gujarati thali
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📖 Recipe
Batata Nu Shaak | Gujarati Style Potato Sabzi with Sesame Seeds
Equipment
- Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
- wok or kadai
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml; 1 tsp=5ml; 1tbsp=15ml;
- 300 grams purple potatoes
For the green paste-
- 2 green chilies or to taste
- ½- inch ginger piece
- 1 tbsp cilantro roughly chopped, optional
To Temper-
- 1 tbsp oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1.5 tsp sesame seeds
- 10 curry leaves
- 2 tsp cilantro to garnish
- ¼ tsp asafoetida skip for a gluten-free version
- ¾ tsp salt or to taste
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
Cook the potatoes-
- You can cook the potatoes in your preferred way. Peel and cube them. I steamed my potatoes in Instant Pot for 5 minutes using my steamer basket and naturally release the pressure. I then peeled and cubed them.
Prepare the chili paste-
- In a mixer jar, grind the green chilies, ginger, and the 1 tbsp of cilantro coarsely – no need to add any water. Set it aside.
Prepare the potato sabzi-
- In a pan or kadai, heat 1 tbsp of oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, and hing.
- After about 30 seconds, add the curry leaves and when the mustard seeds splutter, add the boiled and cubed potatoes, salt, turmeric powder, and the ground paste.
- Mix well and cook for about 7 to 10 minutes over low heat until the potatoes get a slight crust. Make sure to stir in between the cooking process.
- Turn off the heat. Add the lemon juice and garnish it with cilantro and serve warm with dal and rice or thepla.
Notes
- You can use any potato variety for this dish. Just make sure to cook them soft and firm so that it holds the shape.
- As the potatoes are pre-cooked, after tempering, you can cook them for 3 to 4 minutes. I went ahead and roasted them over low heat for 10 minutes.
- The original recipe doesn’t call for grinding cilantro along with ginger and green chilies. But as we like the refreshing flavor, I went ahead and added cilantro while making the paste.
- As always, adjust the salt and spices according to your preference.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
I have never seen these cooked purple potatoes , though have seen the raw ones in US , for a minute , I did wonder why that colour , it didn’t strike that you would have used the coloured ones .
Good to know that they are from your backyard .
Thank you :-)