These crispy baked curry fries are flavored with hot Indian spices and served with refreshing silken tofu cucumber mint raita.
I know. I posted a curry recipe on Monday and a Thai curry fries recipe just a few short weeks ago. This recipe is nothing like those though. Okay, maybe not nothing like them, but dissimilar enough that the likenesses didn't even occur to me until I sat down and typed out the title of this post. Those recipes: simmery, stewey, coconutty, vegetabley curries. This one: spicy fries. Really good, highly addictive, Indian-inspired spicy fries. See the difference?
A friend of mine emailed me recently after reading this post (more curry!) with some curry powder ideas. Curry powder on a pizza? That's on my list. This time around I wanted something to go with my veggie burger. Curry fries did the trick.
I also had an abundance of mint to use, hence the raita. Apparently mint is invincible. I finally got around to clearing the weeds out of my vegetable garden plot, which, I'm 99.999999% sure will get used this year. I was reluctant, as the garden went insane and got away from me last summer, and I'm even busier this year. But my mom has some seedlings she's been trying to offload on me, and being as I need to clean up the space anyway (or else get stuck with a monster weed garden), I figure I'll probably stick them in the ground and give it a go.
I planted mint last year, and it was the last thing to die off. I just confirmed this via mint sighting in a post from January. That stuff came out of my back yard. And now it's the only item of last year's crop to magically return, without any doing on my part. Can you believe it? So I yanked some mint out of the ground the other day and wanted to put it to some good use. Since I'm apparently obsessed with curry fries, my good use was quickly found.
Hot Curry Fries with Vegan Cucumber Mint Raita
Ingredients
For the Hot Curry Fries
- 2 medium russet potatoes scrubbed
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. cornstarch optional, but highly recommended for crisping
- 1 ½ tbsp. Madras curry powder*
- salt & pepper to taste
For the Vegan Cucumber Mint Raita
- 12 oz. silken tofu
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 medium cucumber cut into 2 inch chunks
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves
- 2 tbsp. fresh cilantro
- ½ tsp. ground cumin
- ¼ tsp. salt
Instructions
Make the Hot Curry Fries
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Preheat oven to 450º. Cut potatoes into ¼ inch thick matchsticks. Place in large bowl and add oil, cornstarch, curry powder, salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Arrange in an even layer on 1 large or 2 medium baking sheets.
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Bake until crisp and browned in spots, about 30-35 minutes, flipping 2-3 times during cooking.
Make the Vegan Cucumber Mint Raita
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Place tofu and lemon juice in food processor and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Add cucumber, mint, cilantro, cumin and salt. Pulse until finely chopped and well mixed. Optionally, thin with a bit of unflavored soy or almond milk.
Recipe Notes
*For a milder version, use a milder curry powder blend. For a hotter version, add some chili powder to the mix.
Love this idea, super clever and delicious! I always find my mint to be extra resilient too :)
I've found mint in our area to be almost like a weed, except that I don't feel any urge to pull it up. It is indeed invincible. People should be warned before they plant it that it has a zombie skillset.
The fries look so tasty! Great idea for curry and mint.
I wish I could say the same for my mint. I've tried it in pots, int he ground, north facing, south facing, west facing , shady spot, sunny spot, some shade/some sun..........nothing keeps it alive. Perhaps I'm buying the wrong sort of seedlings??
I wish I could remember what variety mine was. Dang! Maybe spearmint, but I can't say for sure. That's crazy because mine just keeps popping up all over the place
Well, these look AMAZING! Loving the curry with mint, not something I would have come up with on my own. It is always nice to jump around different blogs and see what recipe is going down in someone else's kitchen. this rocks! I happen to have some mint too ;)
Wow- those fries look REALLY amazing!!!
I love curry and I LOVE fries, so these sound delish!
I made this dish today, and it turned out really well! The raita turned out a little thin, so I didn't bother with the almond milk at the end. The only thing that I would change the next time around is the addition of a little more salt. Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed them. Thanks Holly!
Is it 12 ounces of tofu or one 2 ounce portion?
It's 12 ounces. Some brands of silken tofu come in 12 ounce packages. If yours doesn't, just divide it by eye. :)
Yes. I see the difference. These remind me of many of the savory snacks so popular during Diwali
I like to make several batches of these for football days with a range of heat and flavors
Garam Masala
Jamaican Curry
Ethiopian Berbere
And I really like your version of Cucumber Raita