Madurai Urulai Pottalam Recipe also known as masala pottalam, potato masal, urulai pottalam is a popular recipe from Madurai. If you are from Madurai, a district in South India, you must have tried this most popular dish made with potatoes, gram flour and spices. The spicy potato dish is wrapped in lotus leaf and served in small parcels to enjoy with rice or curd rice. Learn how to make Madurai urulai pottalam easily at home with step by step pictures.
Madurai Urulai Pottalam
Potatoes are a staple in our house, we make side dish using potatoes often. Some of the most popular recipes which we try are my potato poriyal, potato podimas and potato roast. This version of cooking potatoes is quite unique, it is a popular vintage recipe available across Madurai.
About Madurai Masala Pottalam
Madurai masala pottalam or urulai pottalam is a popular recipe from Madurai. It is a spicy potato dish which is quite spicy, wrapped in lotus leaf and available in original nei mittai kadai which is near west gopuram tower, Madurai.
People used to buy it from there and enjoy it on its own or as side dish with curd rice, rasam rice and sambar rice.
As far as the recipe available online, it has a good amount of oil and an addition of gram flour which makes it irresistable.
Try My Other Madurai Inspired Recipes,
Madurai Masala Pottalam Ingredients
Potatoes – one of the main ingredient in this dish. Boil potatoes in pressure cooker with skins on for 4 to 5 whistle. Once cooled, peel of the skin and roughly mash it and use.
Tempering Spices – spices like fennel seeds, mustard seeds, dry red chillies, urad dal and curry leaves is added in a good amount of oil for flavouring.
Ginger & Garlic – I like to use lots of finely chopped ginger and garlic which helps with the flavour of this dish also in digestion.
Onion – use finely chopped onions for taste.
Spice Powders – this dish has kashmiri chilli powder and garam masala powder. But you can use turmeric, cumin powder as well.
Gram Flour – gram flour is the main ingredient which makes this stand out. Kadalai maavu when mixed with the potatoes makes it super tasty.
How to Make Madurai Urulai Pottalam (Stepwise Pictures)
Pressure Cooking Potatoes
1)Take washed whole potatoes in a pressure cooker and cover with water. pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistle. Once the potatoes is cooked, strain it and allow it to cool completely. Once cooled, peel the potato skin and mash it roughly into big chunks because once we mix into the onions it will be mashed more.
Tempering Spices
2)Heat good amount of oil. Add in spices like mustard, urad dal, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, dry red chillies, asafoetida and curry leaves. Once the spices is toasted, add in chopped ginger and garlic and saute for 2 minutes.
3)Add in finely chopped onions and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. You can use small onions as well. The onions has to be sauted till raw smell leaves.
Making masala pottalam
4)Add in the boiled potatoes, now use the spatula to break the potatoes even more.
5)At this point you can add in some salt and kashmiri chilli powder.
6)Mix the potatoes with salt and kashmiri chilli powder. Cook that for 1 minute.
7)Now take your gram flour and sprinkle it evenly over the potatoes. This is the most important step in this dish.
Pro Tip: You can add the gram flour with the onions and toast it for 2 minutes before adding the potatoes for better taste.
8)Once gram flour is added, toss it with the potatoes and roast for 2 to 3 minutes stirring constantly for the gram flour to cook. You can add few more spoons of oil at this time and mix well.
9)Finally add in a tsp of garam masala powder which is optional. You can skip this if you want.
10)Mix the spices and everything well with the potatoes.
10)Finally add in coriander leaves and mix well.
11)Serve Madurai masala pottalam immediately with rice.
Expert Tips
- You can add finely chopped small onions (sambar onions|shallots) instead of large onions.
- Instead of adding gram flour over the potatoes, you can add it into the onions and saute for 3 to 4 minutes till raw smell leaves.
- A splash or two of water is added once the gram flour is mixed in to help thicken the dish. It makes the dish thick like a thick masala.
- Use good amount of oil which is essential in this dish.
- Serve this masala pottalam in banana leaf or lotus leaf for more flavour.
More Madurai Recipes to try
📖 Recipe Card
Madurai Urulai Pottalam Recipe
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 407kcal
Notes
- You can add finely chopped small onions (sambar onions|shallots) instead of large onions.
- Instead of adding gram flour over the potatoes, you can add it into the onions and saute for 3 to 4 minutes till raw smell leaves.
- A splash or two of water is added once the gram flour is mixed in to help thicken the dish. It makes the dish thick like a thick masala.
- Use good amount of oil which is essential in this dish.
- Serve this masala pottalam in banana leaf or lotus leaf for more flavour.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servings | Calories: 407kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 90mg | Potassium: 1410mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1265IU | Vitamin C: 80mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 4mg
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