Bhalla - Potato Pancakes with Tomatoes and Tamarind Sauce

Learn how to make this Indian party dish yourself at home with this delicious recipe.

How to cook Bhalla

Start your preparations by washing the potatoes. Boil them in a pot with hot water until they are soft. Hold the potatoes into cold water for a bit so that they are cool enough to peel them. Put the peeled potatoes into a bowl and mash them with your hands to a soft mass. In this mashing process you can right away mix the arrowroot starch. When you have a homogenous mass, you can start forming round balls which should be a bit bigger in size than tennis balls.

Heat up little bit of oil in a pan so that the Bhalla won’t stick to the pan. Put the first ball into the pan and press it a down a bit, so that the side on which it is lying gets a bit flattened. When the Bhalla is a bit golden at the bottom, turn it and press it down a bit more from that side. Put some more oil in the pan whenever it is necessary. When it is golden from this side, too, turn it again and press even a bit more. Let it roast for a while, turn it again and press it again. When it is nicely cross and brown from both sides, take it out of the pan and keep it warm in a hot pot or oven. With some practice you can also fry several Bhalla at once.

If you have a helper, he or she can go on frying the Bhalla while you prepare the tomatoes. Wash them and cut them into small pieces. Add a teaspoon of oil in a separate pan and heat it up. When it is hot, add the tomatoes in the pan and let them get warm. They should not get mashed, just heat them up and make them a bit soft. Add some salt.

The next step is to boil the tamarind in 100ml water. When they are soft, mash them in the water and take the stones out. Take a fine sieve and press the rest through to get out all the fiber. In the end you should have a thick paste of tamarind juice. Put this sauce back into a pot, add cinnamon, ginger, raisins and sugar and let the sauce get warm while you churn. The sugar will dissolve and make the sauce sweet and sour. You can add more sugar if you like it sweeter.

Another part of the garnishment that makes this dish so delicious is the yoghurt. Blend it with the hand blender so that it gets thinner and more liquid.

Last but not least you need to prepare the cumin. Put the seeds into a pan and roast them until they have developed their wonderful aroma. When they are brown, put them in a mortar and crush them properly to make them powder.

When all this is done, you can finally prepare your Bhalla for serving. Put one of the potatoe pancakes onto a plate. If you like, you can tear it in small pieces but that is not necessary. Add two tablespoons of tomatoes on top, spread one tablespoon of tamarind on it and another tablespoon of yoghurt and finally sprinkle some cumin powder and salt over the dish. Now you have a delicious Bhalla! Enjoy!