Name: Honey Chilli Potato
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 3 Potato, large, cut into thick fries; 4 tbsp Corn Flour, divided (3 tbsp for coating, 1 tbsp for slurry); 2 tbsp All-Purpose Flour, maida; 1½ tbsp Garlic, finely minced; 1 tsp Ginger, finely minced; 2 Green Chili Pepper, slit; ½ Onion, cut into square petals; ½ Green Bell Pepper, cut into square petals; 1 tbsp Soy Sauce, dark; 1½ tbsp Red Chilli Sauce; 1 tbsp Tomato Ketchup; 1 tsp Vinegar; 2 tbsp Honey, added off the heat; 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds, white til, roasted, for garnish; 2 tbsp Spring Onion Greens, chopped; as needed Cooking Oil, for deep frying; 1 tsp Salt, divided

50 mintotal

35 min hands-on15 min hands-off

Prep 15 min · Cook 20 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: Medium

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Method

Lift the soaked potato batons out of their ice bath and dry them completely with kitchen towels. Any water left on the surface will make them stick together in clumps.
Tip the dried fries into a large mixing bowl. Add the cornflour, plain flour, salt and red chilli powder set aside for the coating. Toss them hard until every baton is covered in a thick, dry starchy crust. Sprinkle on a tiny amount of water only if the flour will not stick on its own.
Heat the oil in a heavy kadhai to medium-high. Lower the fries in one at a time. Fry them for 5-6 minutes for this first round, until they are half-cooked inside and lightly crisp outside. Lift them out and let them drain.
5–6 min
The second fry: bring the oil up to high heat. Put the rested fries back in. Fry them hard for 2 minutes, until the outside is very crisp and deep golden. Lift them straight out onto kitchen paper.
2 min
In a separate prep vessel, combine the reserved cornflour with water to synthesize the thickening slurry. Hold in reserve.
Make the glaze: heat oil in a wide wok over the highest heat. Add the minced garlic, ginger and slit chillies and toss them quickly for 10 seconds to bring out their aroma.
10 sec
Add the onion and capsicum pieces to the wok. Stir-fry them hard for exactly 1 minute so the outsides blister but they keep their crunch.
1 min
Turn the heat down. Quickly stir in the dark soy sauce, red chilli sauce, ketchup, vinegar and a small pinch of salt. Pour in the cornflour slurry and stir without stopping for 30 seconds, until the sauce thickens to a glossy glaze.
30 sec
Turn off the heat completely. Stir the raw honey into the sauce as it cools and fold it in gently. Cooking honey over direct heat spoils its delicate flavour.
Tip the crisp, twice-fried batons into the wok straight away. Toss them quickly and firmly so the sticky glaze coats every fry.
Finish with roasted sesame seeds and spring onion greens. Serve straight away.

How to tell it's done

The potato should be very crisp outside and soft inside, in a sticky, sweet, lightly hot chilli sauce.

Getting it right

Tip

Chef's Tip: Frying the potatoes twice is the whole secret. It gives a crust firm enough to stay crisp even after the fries are coated in a heavy, sticky glaze.

What to serve it with

Serve it hot and straight away. Once the sauce goes on, the crunch starts to go within ten minutes.

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