Locomotoring

This could be a case of me reinventing “Runny eggs and soldiers” …

Sorrel isn’t something you buy at the grocery stores here. They pop up in spring mixes, but they aren’t available in a bunch. I have been growing red veined english sorrels for the last few years. They had started with a skinny seedling and spread. Now I have three pots in my courtyard and some growing wild in the yard. They are hardy. They are pretty to look at. I have been adding them to Zhingyalov Hats (Armenian flatbread) along with other store bought greens. More recently, I learned that they are the same family as South Indian gongura. My local South Indian restaurant, Varam, makes a mean gongura chicken biryani.

The sorrels in my pots needed picking. And I didn’t want to get store bought greens and make Zhingyalov Hats. I also had a leftover Idaho boiled potato from the low fiber diet last week. It is inspired by flavors of South India (gongura theme), but made the way northern Aloo Methi (fenugreek) is made (what I am familiar with).

With one large potato, one small chopped onion and a two cups of cleaned and chopped sorrel, this is a side dish for two. Chop and pan fry the potatoes in one tablespoon of coconut oil. The goal is to get some color on the potatoes so it looks nicer on the plate. You can pretty much use any pan that you like for frying potatoes. I am using my iron kadai – it is an Indian wok that is smaller and heavier than Chinese wok. Set the potatoes aside, salt them to taste. Add one more tablespoon of coconut oil to the pan. Now add 1/2 tsp of fennel seeds. Once they are toasty and aromatic, add the chopped onions and let them caramelize. If you have curry leaves at hand, fresh or dry, you can chop/crush a few and add to the frying onions. I ran out and picked a fresh stem from my curry leaf plant, it is thriving in the yard thanks to our friend, Sudha, who trained the plant to tolerate Bay Area weather. If you prefer a little heat, add a chopped green chili and fry. If you want heat but don’t have green chili, you can use dry red chili, but I prefer adding dry chili to the oil along with the fennel seeds to get toasted chili flavor. Finally, add the sorrel and fry. Add salt to taste. At this point, add 1/2 tsp of coriander power. If you have other flavorful southern masala or garam masala, you can substitute the coriander powder with that. I did have some home made sambar powder at hand so I used that. Once the aroma is released, add the potatoes. At this point, you can smash some of the potatoes. Toss a bit to coat the potatoes uniformly and serve. I had a flax seed podi in my fridge that I scattered on top. I served the potatoes with a desi style plain omelette.

Sambar masala has fenugreek seeds in it, hence it gives the dish a faint hint of aloo methi taste. It is also a little tangy from the sorrel and very aromatic from the coconut oil and fennel. Last time the sorrels needed picking, I had made gongura pappu, a classic recipe from the Telangana cuisine. While both lentils and potatoes are forgiving ingredients, I prefer this recipe over the lentil dish. Partly because my gut continues to be sensitive to Indian lentils. Partly, potatoes and egg make for a fun balanced breakfast.