Potatoes are the world’s most popular vegetable and people love this humble spud. Unfortunately, in my family, I am the only person who strongly loves potatoes. My husband and daughter eat them in some preparations but generally, they avoid them. So, when I make something, I really want it to be amazing so that they could also enjoy it and not complain. Such as these smashed potatoes. Its the best side dish that goes with basically any dinner or if you are like me, give it a makeover and serve as wholesome chaat tossed with all the flavorful chutneys and salad greens.
Watch the recipe in action in a video on my YouTube channel.
There is nothing complicated or fussy about this recipe. It’s just so easy! The first step in making these potatoes is to boil them with salt. This season the potatoes from the inside out.
The second step is letting the potatoes air dry for about 5 minutes, to ensure that all the water has evaporated. You want them to be completely dry and somewhat cool before you smash them.
I use the bottom of a ramekin to push the potatoes down, but you could use anything, even smash with the heel of your hand. Place smashed potatoes onto a Silpat lined or unlined baking sheet greased with oil. Brush those smashed potatoes with some garlic butter. I just heat butter and olive oil in a pan and cook crushed coriander seeds and garlic in it. Then I strain the mixture and brush the potatoes just with the infused butter. The garlic and coriander seeds are spooned after the potatoes get crunchy and delicious in the oven. These are SO GOOD.
Turning smashed potatoes into chaat is a whole new level of yum! Chaat is a sweet, savory and tangy Indian snack made with a mix of crunchy, soft, and fluffy textures. let’s see what these are.
Components to make Smashed Potatoes Chaat
Smashed potatoes Of course they are the main ingredients. To make the chaat don’t put garlic on top but brushing with garlic-infused butter is fine.
Yogurt: Plain yogurt works great for this chaat. It is watered down a bit for a pourable consistency and flavored quite simply with salt, pepper, and cumin.
Chutneys: Chutneys play an important role in assembling chaat and they are easy to make. Here I used cilantro mint chutney and sweet tamarind chutney. The recipe of making these chutneys can be found here and here.
The Toppings – Once we have the above-mentioned ingredients, adding extras makes the chaat more wholesome, hearty, and flavorful. There are no rules, work with what you’ve got on hand. Personally, I like to add chopped salad (store-bought or made from cabbage, broccoli stems, and kale) and dried cranberries. I also love adding some extra crunch on top with some sev (thin noodles, normally made from Bengal gram flour). You can buy ready-made sev in an Indian sweet or grocery store. It’s way too time consuming to make this at home and you need a special apparatus to make extremely thin crispy noodles. If you are Celiac please omit this, using crunched-up tortilla chips or even chopped peanuts will work too.
Once you have layered everything together, the most important thing is to serve right away. Chaat is best enjoyed fresh. If making it for a party keep chutneys, seasoning on the side, and let the guests help themselves. Have fun with it! Let me know if you try it!
You can find me, on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. And if you do try, post a photo of your creation on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #simpleglutenfreekitchen. I would love to see your pictures. Let’s stay in touch.
Ingredients
- 1 bag (3 1/2 lbs.) baby potatoes ( I am using a mix of red and white)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup coarse salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 5-6 cloves of garlic, thickly sliced
- 1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
- 1-2 cups plain yogurt
- Salt, red chili powder, roasted cumin powder to taste plus extra for sprinkling before serving
- Mint and cilantro chutney
- Sweet tamarind chutney
- 1 cup of finely cut salad
- Besan sev (thin crisp noodles) or crunched up tortilla chips or roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with 3 quarts of cold water. Add salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently for about 10-12 minutes or until a knife easily slides in and out of the potatoes . Remove from heat and drain well. Let potatoes cool just until they're safe to handle.
- On medium low heat, heat olive oil and butter in a small saucepan.
- Add crushed coriander seeds and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until butter begins to bubble, garlic turns light golden brown and coriander seeds are roasted, about 3-5 minutes. (Watch so the garlic doesn't burn). Remove from heat. Strain and reserve the garlic and coriander seeds.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 metal baking sheets with silicone baking mats or aluminum foil and generously brush on with oil.
- Gently smash each potato using a heavy object until 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick. Transfer onto a sheet pan, being careful not to overlap potatoes. Very generously drizzle and brush the melted garlic infused butter on top.
- Season generously with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Bake potatoes in the preheated oven until well browned and crunchy, 35 to 45 minutes.
- Carefully transfer potatoes onto a serving platter, drizzle more garlic infused butter (if there is any leftover) and scatter over the reserved roasted garlic and coriander seeds. Serve hot.
- Add yogurt in bowl whisk it with little water to thin it to drizzling consistency and season it with salt, black pepper, red chili powder.
- Transfer baked smashed potatoes into a serving bowl.
- Pour seasoned yogurt over top.
- Drizzle the mint and tamarind chutney.
- Sprinkle with the remaining topping ingredients, some salt, red chili powder, roasted cumin powder and serve immediately.
angiesrecipes
I love the one with garlic topping! So good!
John / Kitchen Riffs
Big potato lover here! Haven’t made smashed potatoes in ages, but now I really want to get in the kitchen and make a batch! Love the flavorings you’ve used — really nice. Thanks!
Laura
I love smashed potatoes, Balvinder, but these are on a whole new level! I love the idea of the chaat with them! Can’t wait to give this a try!
Judee
Nothing is more satisfying to me than potatoes. Your recipe sounds delicious and certainly easy to make. The toppings put the recipe over the top
2pots2cook
So agree with Angie. Garlic topping for me please ! 🙂
sherry
yum yum yes you are so right. everybody loves potatoes! and to think there are over 2000 types! these look great.
Kelly | Foodtasia
Oh wow, Balvinder! Both look amazing! With my chaat obsession, I’ll have to try that one first!
Easyfoodsmith
A very tough choice to make. Loving both the versions.