Viazi karai

Ingredients

The potatoes

• 800 gwaxy potatoes
• peeled and cut into large chunks
• or halved if small
• 1 teaspoonsalt, for boiling

The batter

• 150 ggram flour
• besan, chickpea flour
• 50 grice flour
• or cornflour, for crispness
• 1 teaspoonground turmeric
• 1 teaspoonground cumin
• half a teaspoon chilli powder
• or to taste
• half a teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• a pinch of asafoetida
• optional
• about 200 ml cold water

For frying

• 1 litrevegetable oil
• or enough for 6 cm depth

The tamarind chutney

• 4 tablespoonstamarind pulp
• soaked in 200 ml warm water
• and strained
• 2 tablespoonssugar
• or jaggery
• 1 teaspoonground cumin
• toasted
• half a teaspoon chilli powder
• salt, to taste
• a handful of coriander, chopped

To serve

• lime wedges
• sliced raw onion
• extra chilli sauce

Directions

1. Cook first, then crisp. Use waxy potatoes. Cut them into large chunks. Large ones give a soft interior. Boil them in salted water. Give them about fifteen minutes. Cook them until just tender. Not until soft. Drain them thoroughly.
2. Let them steam dry in the colander. Give them five minutes. Let them cool completely. Hot potato thins the batter on contact. Boil them well ahead, or the day before. It is optional and it helps. Whisk the flours and spices together dry. Add cold water gradually.
3. Whisk until smooth. Whisking the dry ingredients first prevents most of it. Sieve the batter if lumps remain. It should coat a spoon thickly. Dip a potato piece in. It should hold an even coating. Use cold water in the batter. A cold batter hitting hot oil crisps harder. Use a deep heavy pot. Fill it no more than one third full. Never leave hot oil unattended.
4. Keep a well fitting lid within reach. If it catches fire, turn off the heat and cover it. Heat the oil to one hundred and eighty degrees. Hot oil crisps it fast without soaking in. Drop a little batter in. It should sizzle immediately and rise.
5. Dip each potato chunk in the batter. Let the excess drip off briefly. Use a fork or your fingers. Work quickly so the batter does not slide off. Fry four or five at a time. Do not crowd the pot. Fry them for four or five minutes.
6. Turn them so they colour evenly. They should be deep golden and crisp. Lift them out with a slotted spoon. Drain them on a rack over kitchen paper. A rack keeps them crisper.
7. Let the oil recover between batches. Soak the pulp in warm water twenty minutes. Work it with your fingers. Squeeze the pulp off the seeds. Strain it, pressing hard. Simmer the tamarind water with the sugar. Add the cumin and chilli powder. Add salt.
8. Simmer it until it coats a spoon. So stop while it still seems thin. Toast whole cumin seeds in a dry pan. Give them a minute until fragrant. Grind them. Serve them hot, within minutes. Spoon tamarind chutney over or serve it alongside. Squeeze lime over. Serve sliced raw onion. Serve extra chilli sauce. The dish is otherwise vegan.

Technique

• Boil the potatoes first, then batter and fry them. A raw potato in batter never cooks through — the batter burns long before the potato softens.
• Boil them until just tender, not soft. A knife should meet slight resistance; overcooked potatoes break apart when handled, battered and fried.
• Cool the boiled potatoes completely, ideally boiled ahead or the day before. Hot potato thins the batter on contact and steams inside the coating, while cold potato takes a proper coat.
• Drain and steam-dry the potatoes for five minutes. Wet potato makes the batter slide off and spits in the oil.
• Cut them into large chunks. Small pieces are all crust and no potato, and the soft interior against the crisp coating is the point.
• Use cold water in the batter. A cold batter hitting hot oil crisps harder — the same principle as tempura.
• Fry at 180 degrees. The potato is already cooked and you are only crisping the coating; cooler oil gives a greasy soft batter.
• Keep the batter thick enough to coat opaquely — you should not see the potato through it. Too thin and it slides off, too thick and it goes doughy.
• Whisk the dry flours and spices together before adding water. Gram flour lumps readily, and sieve the batter if any remain.
• Use the batter within twenty minutes. Baking powder starts working as soon as it is wet.
• Deep-frying rules apply: fill the pot no more than a third, never leave it unattended, keep a lid within reach, and if the oil catches fire turn off the heat and smother it. Never throw water on burning oil.
• The tamarind chutney is essential rather than a dip on the side. Make it assertive — sharply sour first, then sweet, salty and hot — because the battered potato is plain. Stop cooking it while it still seems thin, since it thickens considerably as it cools.
• Work the soaked tamarind with your fingers and press it hard through the sieve. A spoon leaves most of it behind on the seeds.
• Lime as well as tamarind is not excessive. Fried potato absorbs a great deal of acidity.
• Most asafoetida is blended with wheat flour, which matters for anyone avoiding gluten. The dish is otherwise vegan.
• This is Kenyan food with Indian roots rather than Indian food eaten in Kenya — the result of centuries of Indian Ocean trade along this coast and of communities descended from traders and from indentured labourers brought to build the Uganda Railway.

Substitutions

• Cornflour replaces rice flour for crispness.
• Cassava or sweet potato can be treated the same way.
• Asafoetida is optional and can simply be left out.
• Any hot chutney or chilli sauce replaces tamarind chutney, though tamarind is standard.
• Jaggery replaces sugar in the chutney and gives more depth.
• Shop-bought tamarind chutney replaces homemade.

Variations

• Bhajia, thinly sliced potato in the same batter, is sold at the same stalls.
• Mahamri, the coconut and cardamom doughnut, is the sweet coastal counterpart.
• Mkate wa nyama and samosas come from the same street food tradition.
• Batata vada in India is the closest South Asian relative.
• Viazi karai served with a coconut chutney is a variation.
• Mishkaki, the grilled meat skewers, are eaten alongside at the same stands.

Frequently asked questions

What is Viazi karai?

Viazi karai is a street food from Kenya: turmeric-battered fried potatoes with tamarind chutney, coastal snack.

How long does Viazi karai take to make?

Viazi karai takes 20 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Viazi karai?

Yes, within limits. Cornflour replaces rice flour for crispness. Cassava or sweet potato can be treated the same way. Asafoetida is optional and can simply be left out. Any hot chutney or chilli sauce replaces tamarind chutney, though tamarind is standard. Jaggery replaces sugar in the chutney and gives more depth. Shop-bought tamarind chutney replaces homemade.

What is the most important thing to get right in Viazi karai?

Whisk until smooth. Whisking the dry ingredients first prevents most of it. Sieve the batter if lumps remain. It should coat a spoon thickly. Dip a potato piece in. It should hold an even coating. Use cold water in the batter. A cold batter hitting hot oil crisps harder. Use a deep heavy pot. Fill it no more than one third full. Never leave hot oil unattended.