Potatoes for Fasting

Fasting is such a common thing among Indians. Though fasting means voluntarily not eating food for varying lengths of time, fasting can be a feast. There are various reasons for fasting most of them being religious. In India, on a fasting day some people would not eat or drink at all, some will only drink water and some will only eat specific kind of food. For my grandmother fasting was a weekly thing and for us kids it was a weekly feast :) Foods that are typically eaten on fasting include sago, potatoes, sweet potatoes, shingada, fruits and nuts mainly peanuts. Ghee is used instead of oil in such preparations. Sabudana khichadi and shingada thalipeeth were the two dishes that my granny made often. Then there was this potato dish that we kids simply loved and always demanded. In Marathi it is called 'Upasachi Batata Bhaji'. Today I had two large boiled potatoes leftover from previous day and 'A' demanded :p this upasachi bhaji. So here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
2 large potatoes (boiled and diced)
1/4 cup coarsely ground peanuts
5-6 green chillies (cut into pieces)
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste


Making these potatoes is a simple two step process. First, heat ghee and add cumin seeds and green chillies. Then add potatoes, peanuts, salt and sugar. Mix well and let it cook for about a minute or so. Top it off with cilantro and serve.