Potatoes With Onions

6 md Potatoes

5 tb Vegetable Oil

1/8 ts Ground Asafetida OR

-1/8 inch lump Asafetida 1/2 ts Whole Cumin Seeds

2 1/2 ts Whole Black Mustard Seeds

Dried Red Peppers (1-3) 1 md Onion-coarsely chopped

1/2 ts Ground Turmeric

1 1/4 ts Salt

1 ts Garam Masala

2 tb Lemon Juice

Boil potatoes in their jackets. Peel them and mash coarsely with a fork or hand masher. Heat the oil in a 10-12 inch skillet over medium heat. When hot, first put in it the asafetida; after it has sizzled for a few seconds, add the cumin and mustard seeds; then in 10 seconds or so, the red pepper(s). Use 1 for mildly hot, 3 for very hot. When pepper changes color (1 to 5 seconds), put in the chopped onions and turmeric. After the onions have cooked 3 to 5 minutes and turned brown at the edges, put in the mashed potatoes, salt, garam masala and lemon juice. Fry, stirring and mixing, for 5 to 7 minutes. To serve: Place in a warm dish and serve with Indian bread or remove whole red pepper and serve as an appetizer on top of Melba rounds. : An Invitation to Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey : uploaded by Diane Lazarus Note 1: the Indian name of this dish is Pyazwale Sookhe Aloo. Note 2: use a salt-substitute instead of salt Note 3: I've made this without the asafetida because I don't know where to find it.