Make Spicy Chips Masala + 9 Year Blogging Anniversary

Spicy and vibrant Chips Masala made out of chips/ fries and a spicy tomato masala base that is sure to tantalize your taste buds.

WordPress notified me this week that I signed up for a blog 9 years ago! 9 years is a long time and I cannot believe I am here still writing in this space. Clearly there has been a lot of memories, stories, experiences, trials but most of all growth. Tremendous growth. In fact you are going to be seeing that in the follow up posts where I want to shift my focus to incorporate more storytelling and research. I always feel like I am just scratching the surface when it comes to Ugandan food and culture. This storytelling and research will include a mix of written, photo and video essays. So watch out for those by subscribe to my YouTube Channel. I am also going to be sharing a few lessons I have learned for the past 9 years regarding food photography in a follow up post. So watch out for that as well. I am so excited for what these next months have in store. For now let us get into this tantalizing dish of chips masala.

It has been gloomy and rainy here a lot and I have found myself craving the comfort of potatoes but with the spicy kick of masala, hence chips masala. And because I could go on and on about how this dish makes me feel, I do not want to waste any more of your time so here is the recipe and an accompanying video.

Chips Masala Recipe

What you will need:

4 Large potatoes,

2 Medium tomatoes, chopped

2 Small onions, thinly sliced

4 Garlic cloves, minced

2 Green chilies, chopped,

1 Tsp. Tomato paste

Juice of  half a lemon/ lime

1/2 Tsp. Cumin seeds

1 Tbsp. Curry mix (cumin, coriander, turmeric, cloves, paprika)

1/2 Tsp. Smoked paprika

1/2 Tsp. Black pepper

Salt

A pinch of sugar

Oil for frying

Observations

When you combine, tomatoes, tomato paste and lemon juice, they tend to be sour. Use the pinch (or more) of sugar to cut through the sourness.

I opted to not peel my potatoes and thoroughly washed them instead.

You can see a variation of this recipe using sweet potatoes here.

If you want your chips masala to be more soupy, add water or stock accordingly

You don’t have to use all 4 garlic cloves especielly if you are not a fan of garlic

Method

Wash and slice your potatoes into thin chips. Place the chips in water and let them soak for about 20 minutes.

Chop, slice and mince your tomatoes, onions and garlic respectively.

After 30 minutes, drain the water from the chips well.

Place a pan with oil enough to fry the chips on high heat and let it heat up.

Fry the chips till golden brown. Remove from fire and set aside.

Place a separate pan on fire and let it heat up. Add the cumin seeds into the pan and let them toast for about 10 seconds. Add about 2 tablespoons of oil into the pan.

Add garlic and onions to the pan and let them cook till soft.

Next add the tomatoes and let them cook till soft. Keep stirring to avoid burning

Add the tomato paste into the tomamto mixture and mix well.

Next add your chilies, spices, salt and sugar and mix well.

Add the lemon juice and mix well.
Laslty add the fried chips into the tomato mixture and mix (for about 5 minutes) well till they are all well coated.

Remove from fire and serve hot

Let me know in the comments below if you have tried chips masala. Use #AkitchenInUg to share your creations.