Saturday, October 4, 2008

Potato Goulash

Goulash is a stew or soup which originated in Hungary.It is originally/traditionally a stew but can also be converted into a soup.A goulash(pronounced go-yash) consists of meat,onion,vegetables and spices of which most important or must one is 'Paprika'.Paprika is a spice obtained from powdering dried red and green bell peppers.It is little similar to 'Degi Mirch' chilli powder from India.
I first came across this 'goulash' word a few days backs when I heard Paula Deen working on a dish.I could not see what it was as my daughter changed the channel.Yesterday while searching for paprika based vegetable dishes it popped up again and intrigued by it,I googled and yahooed and found this vegetarian German Potato Goulash.I have tried to recreate it with little adjustments and so here it is.

Ingredients:

Potatoes: 1 big
Green Bell Pepper: 1medium
Carrot: 1 medium
Onion: 1 medium
Tomato: 1 small
Paprika powder: 2 tsp
Bay leaves: 2 small crushed
Salt:as per taste
Olive oil: 2 tbsp

Preparation:

Finely chop onions and peel and cube the potato.Also chop into bite sized chunks the carrot and bell pepper.Chop/crush/puree the small tomato.

Heat oil in a deep kadai/soup pot/pan, add onions,saute.Once they start turning brown,add the vegetables except tomato,salt and paprika powder and mix well till coated.Add water to cover the vegetables,and bay leaves and bring to boil.Once it bubbles,simmer till the water is reduced to half,without covering the pan.Add tomato pieces and more water if needed for gravy and cover and cook till tender and thickened,about 10 -20 minutes.

Serve with crusty bread,pasta,rice,roti or as per your wish.




In this you can add whatever vegetables you want,but potatoes should be more and also can add other spices as per your taste but paprika is a must and it is paprika that flavours this otherwise spiceless dish.It is the real hero of this dish.Also green and not red bell peppers must be used and tomatoes are used just to enhance paprika but not overshadow.So keep tomatoes to minimum.
This paprika-based dish is my entry to Think Spice-Think Paprika ,an event started by Sunita and hosted currently by Mimi .




Since this is a sensational side dish-it is similar to Indian curry and Mexican chilli and it shadows the main dish and can be taken as a soup(in which case all the vegetables and finely chopped and croutons or cooked pasta and more water are added to it)-this is also my entry to Monthly Mingle -Sensational Sides hosted by Ruth.


I actually could not believe that it tasted like curry-"German and curry flavour!!!",but it was as spicy as curry if not spicier!!So do make this goulash and do not be frightened by the name.It is best with rotis and also easy to prepare.Remove bayleaves before serving hot with bread/rotis.

6 Comments:

Cham said...

I heard about goulash but never cooked at home , seems simple and delicious the potato Goulash :)

anudivya said...

Paula Deen! She adds tons of butter to her cooking! This seems like a very healthy option, I am pretty sure it is not from her :)

lubnakarim06 said...

Wow this is looking spicy and awesome. Simple and easy too. Nice entry to the events.

Meeta K. Wolff said...

I really like a good gulash, however until today I have to admit I have never had a purely potato gulash. this is a great idea. thanks for the entry!

Ruth Strong said...

This looks delicious!!!! A great entry to the mingle, thank you!

Jude said...

So simple but comforting. Thanks for the recipe.

Thanks for visiting my Blog

/*TYNT script starts here */ /*TYNT ends */