POTATO BALLS

INGREDIENTS

ONION/GARLIC SEASONING

• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 head of garlic, peeled
• 3-4 fresh or dried thyme leaves
• 3-4 wiri wiri peppers
• ¼ cup water

POTATO MIXTURE

• 3 large potatoes
• 5 tbsp onion/garlic/pepper seasoning
• ½ tsp ground geera (cumin)
• ½ tsp salt
• 1-2 scallions, thinly sliced
• black pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make pholourie batter and set aside. (Instructions making batter below)
2. Peel and chop potato into quarters. If using smaller potatoes, chop in half.
3. Boil in salted water. Drain when potato feel cooked through, but still has a give to it.
4. Let potato sit for 5-6 minutes. Mash slightly then add salt, geera, scallions and blended seasoning. Or add chopped onions, pepper, and garlic, in place of the blended seasoning, based on your preference. Mix in well without over-mashing.
5. Roll potato mixture into balls and refrigerate for half hour.
6. Heat oil in deep pot for frying.
7. Drop potato balls a few at a time into pholourie batter, coating with a spoon.
8. Use spoon to drop into hot oil, fry until golden brown.

PHOLOURIE BATTER

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup dry split peas
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• 2 wiri wiri pepper or ½ red scotch bonnet or ½ tsp pepper sauce
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp curry powder
• ½ tsp geera (ground cumin)
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp yeast
• ¾ cup flour

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a bowl soak dry split peas with about 1 ½ cups of water. Leave this overnight. By morning the peas will double in size.
2. The next morning, drain the water from the peas. In a blender, put peas, garlic and pepper or pepper sauce, and enough water to cover the peas and blend on high till smooth.
3. Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl. Now add all of the dry spices and mix till they are incorporated. Add baking powder, yeast, and flour. Mix thoroughly.
4. Cover the batter and let it sit for 1-2 hours.

NOTES

Tips:

If you have trouble with the batter sticking to the potato ball, roll the potato ball in flour then coat with the pholourie batter.

You will probably have extra batter left over. It is hard to determine how much batter you would actually need for the potato ball, so either make more potato, or use the extra batter to make some pholourie.

If you notice the potato seeping through the batter when frying, it is most likely because the potato was too soft and smooth.

Test batter by frying one pholourie first. See if it has enough seasonings to your liking. Also use this as a test to see if the oil is ready.

Use a pot deep enough so potato balls can swim around, if the oil is too shallow, the potato balls may turn flat and unevenly browned.

I usually use my hands to fry the pholourie, but using a spoon works best for potato balls in particular because it keeps the balls coated. Using your hands to drop it into the oil might result in some batter coming off the ball. (Alicaspepperpot)