Chilli potato is a Indo chinese starter made with fried potatoes tossed in spicy, slightly sweet & sour chilli sauce. This chilli potato recipe will give you restaurant style crispy potatoes in chilli sauce. Chilli potato is quite popular in the Indian restaurants & is mostly eaten as a appetizer. There are 2 versions – dry & gravy. Gravy dish is good to eat as a side with Fried rice or Veg noodles.
I sometimes make chilli potato if my kids’ ask for it or when I have guests home. We usually don’t prefer very saucy dishes so I make the dry version. But I have shared both the dry & gravy methods in this post.
To make this chilli potato recipe, potatoes need to be crisp fried and then tossed in sweet sour chilli sauce. Alternately for a better healthier option, they can also be grilled or pan roasted and added to the sauce.
Making chilli potato is similar to the way we make Chilli paneer and Chilli chicken
Tips to make best chilli potato
1.To make the best crisp fried potatoes for this recipe always soak the potatoes in water for at least 30 mins. Then boil then in fresh water for 3 to 4 mins until slightly tender but still hold shape.
This step makes the crispiest potatoes as the excess starch is removed.
2. Parboiling the potatoes before frying also helps to cook them completely from inside without browning too quickly.
3. I have made chilli potato for this post by deep frying but you can avoid that completely and grill them first. Then add to the prepared sauce.
4. Coating the potatoes in corn flour makes them crispy. However for health reasons you can also replace it with rice flour.
More potato recipes
Aloo bonda
Aloo chaat
Aloo tikki
Potato bread pakora
Potato bread rolls
Chilli potato recipe
Chilli potato recipe | How to make chilli potato | Chilli aloo
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
Ingredients for chilli potato
- 3 medium potatoes or aloo (about 250 grams)
- 2 tbsp corn flour (or corn starch or rice flour or organic all-purpose flour)
- ¼ tsp red chilli powder or paprika powder
- salt as needed
- 1/3 cup oil or as needed
Ingredients for chilli sauce
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1½ tbsp garlic chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped or sliced (or 2 sprigs spring onions chopped)
- ¾ cup capsicum or bell peppers diced
- 1 green chili deseeded
- ½ tbsp soya sauce (naturally brewed)
- 1 tbsp red chilli sauce
- ½ to ¾ tsp red chili powder or paprika or red chilli paste (optional)
- ½ to ¾ tsp vinegar (prefer apple cider vinegar)
- Salt as needed
How to make the recipe
Prepare potatoes for chilli potato
- Peel potatoes and cut each to half inch slices.
- Then cut each slice to few half inch sticks.
- So you will have each stick of about half by half inch thickness.
- Immerse them in water for 30 minutes.
- Drain the water and boil them in fresh water for 3 to 4 mins until they are slightly cooked but firm.
- If you skip this step the potatoes may not cook while frying.
Frying aloo for chilli potato
- Sprinkle flour, red chili powder and salt over the drained potatoes.
- Toss well to coat the flour evenly.
- Heat oil in a deep pan. When hot enough slide one by one to hot oil.
- Deep fry on a medium flame or grill until golden & crisp.
- Remove them to a colander or kitchen tissue.
- Check if the potatoes are completely cooked from inside yet crisp.
- Do not over cook they need to be firm. Drain them completely.
How to make chilli potato
- Mix red chilli sauce with red chili powder using little water.
- Make a thick paste. Set aside.
- Heat one tbsp oil on a high heat in a pan.
- Fry garlic and chilli until they smell good.
- Add onions and saute until transparent or pink.
- Next add capsicums and saute for a 1 to 2 mins
- Add the red chilli sauce, soya sauce and vinegar.
- Pour 3 to 4 tbsp water and allow the sauces to bubble.
- To make gravy chilli potato , dissolve 3/4 tsp corn starch with half cup water.
- Stir and pour to the pan. Also you will need to add more chilli & soya sauces to make the gravy version.
- When the sauce thickens taste the sauce and adjust more salt and sauce if needed.
- Turn off and then add fried potatoes and toss. Add spring onion greens.
- Serve chilli potato hot or warm immediately as they lose the crispness if rested.
- You can serve it as a starter or as a side.
NUTRITION (estimation only)
If you are a beginner or new to Indian cooking, I highly suggest you to check the supporting step by step photos for best results. Step by step photos with description available below after the recipe card.
Preparation
1. Wash and peel potatoes. Cut each potato to half inch slices first. Then cut each of the slice to 2 to 3 sticks of half each thickness. Soak them in water for about 30 minutes.
Drain and boil them in fresh water for 3 to 4 mins. They should not be soft but should be firm and semi cooked. Skipping this step may not cook the potatoes well while frying. However I did not boil mine.
2. Drain them up completely in a colander.
3. Add them to a wide bowl. Sprinkle salt, chilli powder (or paprika) and flour. I have used organic unbleached plain flour. To make the restaurant style chilli potato you will have to use corn starch (white corn flour).
For health reasons if you want to avoid plain and corn flour as well, then skip using flour. It really doesn’t make much difference if making dry starter.
Frying potatoes
4. Heat oil and fry until golden on a medium heat. For a healthier option, you can also bake these in a oven even without using flour like i did for the potato wedges here.
5. When they are half done, the flame can be lowered a bit to make sure they are completely cooked inside without burning outside. When they are golden fried drain them on a kitchen tissue or on a colander. Do check if they are completely cooked.
How to make chilli potato
6. Heat 1 tbsp oil and fry slit chilli and garlic. You can also use fresh sesame or olive oil to enhance the flavors.
7. When the garlic begins to smell good, add tonions and white parts of spring onions. You can use any one kind of onions. Saute until the onions turn transparent.
8. Add bell peppers and saute for 1 to 2 mins. You may skip these as well but they add flavor and volume. So i suggest using.
9. While capsicum is getting sauteed, mix ½ to ¾ tsp of red chili powder with 1.5 to 2 tsp of red chilli sauce. Add few tsps of water and beat with a fork. Using red chili enhances the color of the dish without addition of too much sauce or food color.
Alternately you can also add only red chili sauce and skip using the powder. Saute capsicums for just 2 minutes. Then add sugar, ½ tbsp soya sauce salt and red chilli sauce.
10. Stir every thing well and fry just for a minute. Add half tsp vinegar.
11. Add few tbsps water to the pan and allow the sauce to thicken just for a minute or two. If you like to make a gravy dish, add ¾ tsp corn starch to half cup. Stir it well and pour it to the pan.
12. When the sauce thickens, taste it and add more sauces if needed. Turn off and add the fried or baked potatoes.
13. Toss well till the sauces coat the potatoes. Add spring onions.
Serve chilli potato hot while still crisp.
Indrani Sen says
Lovely recipe. I have a version on my website also. Loved the addition of bell peppers
Rashmi says
Hi..
I want to try this recipe today. Can I grill the potatoes in oven instead of baking? Should I boil the potatoes before grilling. Please reply I want to try this.
swasthi says
Hi Rashmi
Yes you can grill the potatoes. You don’t need to boil them first. I would suggest tossing the potatoes in oil first and then the flour. Then grill it. Hope this helps
afreen says
What can be d substitute for vinegar??
swasthi says
Hi Afreen
Just skip it. There will be little vinegar already added to most sauces.
afreen says
Thx for d reply.. M gonna try it soon:)
Raashi says
I tried this recipe and it was amazing
swasthi says
Thanks Raashi
Madhabika Chakraborty says
Hi Swasthi, awesome recipe!
Can we add Honey in place of sugar?
swasthi says
Yes but heating honey is not good. Honey if heated turns toxic. You can skip sugar and add honey when the dish comes down to warm temperature
Lydia says
Thank you for your Wonderful dish