Indian Fries (Masala Fries)

 

 

I confess to having a great love of Indian Food.  I first became acquainted with it when we lived in Alberta many years ago.  I had some British friends and they introduced me to chicken curry. (Of course it was very much Anglicized, but it was enough to whet my appetite for the stuff!)

I then explored many other kinds of Indian foods through the years.  It was not easy back when I started as the ingredients were very difficult to find. I further fell in love with it when I moved to the U.K.  I watched Madhur Jaffrey on the television over there and bought a few cookbooks.  Curry is one of the national dishes of the U.K. right up there with fish and chips. In fact, it may even have knocked fish and chips off of it's pedastal!

 

I recently discovered a gal on YouTube,  Beryl Shereshewsky.  She is a delight.  She uses her channel to explore all the flavors and foods that the world has to offer, finding common ground through food. I think I binge watched about 10 episodes, one right after the other as soon as I discovered her. I love her enthusiasm for everything foodie!  She is just entertaining and very interesting.

She did one episode totally dedicated to How The World Eats French Fries. In it she explored French Fries from five different countries:  The Dominican Republic, The U.K., India, Hawaii and Chili.  I was intrigued, but most especially by the Indian ones, which you can see at 10:48 in the video. 

I just had to try them for myself and so I did.  I thought they were fabulous and I thought you might also like to try them for yourself, so here you go! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE INDIAN FRIES (MASALA FRIES)

Not a lot of ingredients.  Just the basics for the spice blend and some frozen fries, and an air fryer or an oven.  I have also included a lovely homemade Chutney Mayo for dipping!

For the fries:

• 1 (4-serving size) of your favorite brand of frozen oven chips
• 1 tsp Chaat Masala
• 1 tsp Chili Powder (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp fine white sugar

For the chutney mayo:

• 1 cup (115g) good quality mayonnaise
• 1 TBS Mango chutney

 

Just use your favorite brand of oven chips. Or, if you are really keen, you can make your chips from scratch.  Here in I like the Cavendish Farms, Extra Crispy Fries.  They always come out beautifully, and I like to do them in the air fryer, which is a lot quicker than the conventional oven. They come out beautifully crisp each and every time!

I have explained about Chaat Masala powder below.  The recipe calls for 1 tsp of chili powder, and by that it means the unadulterated pure chili powder, not the North American Mexican type.  I confess, I did not add a full teaspoon. My guts cannot take the heat.  So add it according to however much heat you can handle!

Do add the sugar. It is integral to the recipe.

Use a good quality Mayonnaise and Mango Chutney for the dipping sauce. You could also use Sour Cream in the place of mayo if you are not a mayo fan!

Or you can use Curry Ketchup which is as simple to make as stirring some curry powder into tomato ketchup to your own taste.

 

WHAT IS CHAAT MASALA

Also known as Chat Masala, this is a unique, powdered Indian spice mixture commonly used for street foods in India. It is composed of eight different spices:  Amchoor (dried Mango powder), Coriander, Cumin, Dried Ginger, Salt, Black Pepper, Asafoetida,  chili powder, Mint and a few others.  As you can see quite a lot goes into it.

It is very easy to make your own, although with all of the components required, I recommend buying it already made.  You can read a lot more about it  here. 

I bought mine, ready-made on Amazon.  There were some Samosa Wraps that my sister and I wanted to try a few months back and we needed it for them.  It has a lovely pungent taste. I quite understand, after tasting it, how it is so popular to be used in Chaat, or Indian Street foods and snacks!

 

HOW TO MAKE INDIAN FRIES (MASALA FRIES)

Nothing could be easier. I have made mine in the air fryer, but you could also bake your fries in the oven. Just follow the package directions!

To cook in the air fryer. Preheat your air fryer to 350*F/180*C. Dump your frozen fries into the fryer basket.

(My Air Fryer is a Kuraidori that I bought at my local Home Hardware. I love it!)

 

Air fry for 10 minutes. Remove from the air fryer and give the basket a good shake. Return to the air fryer and fry for an additional 8 to 10 minutes, until golden brown.

While the fries are frying, whisk together your Chat Masala, Chili Powder and sugar.

Whisk together the mayonnaise and chutney until well combined. Place into a serving bowl.

Remove the done fries from the air fryer and dump into a bowl. Add the seasoning mixture and toss everything together to coat the fries with the spice.

Plate up the fries and serve hot with the chutney mayo for dipping.

 

These were incredibly delicious and every bit as moreish as Beryl had said they would be.  I was really pleased with how crispy the fries turned out in the air fryer and that spice was perfect on them!  Such an easy snack or side dish to make!

I hope that you will be inspired to want to cook these for yourself!

  

If you like fries as much as I do, and would like to try some other recipes, why not consider the following. They are delicious, I promise you!

COPYCAT ANIMAL FRIES (FOR TWO) - A copycat recipe from the In and Out chain of eateries.  This dish brings you crispy fries topped with grilled cheese, caramelized onions and a special sauce.  Oh so easy to replicate at home and oh so delicious!

DIRTY FRIES - These can be as naughty as you want!  Oven baked chips dressed up with some of your favorite toppings. And trust me when I tell you that there is no such thing as "over the top" as far as toppings go. The sky is really the limit here.  Tossed together with Cajun spice and Worcester sauce prior to baking, they are topped with your favorite potato toppings. I topped mine with plenty of cheese, chopped peppers, bacon, and spring onions. They are incredibly tasty!

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

Indian Fries

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 25 Min

Lovely, crisp and spicy fries. Easy and delicious. Cooked in the air fryer, or oven as you wish. Served with a lush chutney mayo for dipping.

Ingredients

For the fries:

• 1 (4-serving size) of your favorite brand of frozen oven chips
• 1 tsp Chaat Masala
• 1 tsp Chili Powder (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp fine white sugar

For the chutney mayo:

• 1 cup (115g) good quality mayonnaise
• 1 TBS Mango chutney

Instructions

1. To cook in the air fryer. Preheat your air fryer to 350*F/180*C. Dump your frozen fries into the fryer basket.
2. Air fry for 10 minutes. Remove from the air fryer and give the basket a good shake. Return to the air fryer and fry for an additional 8 to 10 minutes, until golden brown.
3. While the fries are frying, whisk together your Chat Masala, Chili Powder and sugar.
4. Whisk together the mayonnaise and chutney until well combined. Place into a serving bowl.
5. Remove the done fries from the air fryer and dump into a bowl. Add the seasoning mixture and toss everything together to coat the fries with the spice.
6. Plate up the fries and serve hot with the chutney mayo for dipping.

All rights reserved The English Kitchen

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it #TheEnglishKitchen

 

Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again! 

 If you like what you see here, why not consider signing up for my newsletter and/or subscribing/following me on Grow. You can also bookmark my recipes via the Grow platform. Check out the heart on the right hand side of the screen. 

 I have now shut down my Mad Mimi Newsletter account so if you still wish to get newsletters from me and had previously subscribed via Mad Mimi, you will need to resubscribe via Grow, if you haven't done so already.