Mash it, fry it, bake it, chip it, disguise it in a gravy, roast it, curry it – it still doesn’t bite you back – the ever loyal, ever yummy tattie – thus proving ye olde adage – a potato by any other name etc (wrongly attributed by Shakespeare to the rose!). I’ve even tried eating it raw – a long time ago – when I was a teen reading a book on the Irish potato famine and wanted to “live” the book (not recommended – the eating, not the reading!) And here’s my guest blogger for today – my aunt – Malathi Mohan, a nutritionist/writer/very vocal feminist, actually telling you spuds are GOOD for you!! So, all you dieters out there, enjoy this cheesy-potatoe-ey dish guiltlessly – the doctor recommends it!!
Over to Malathi M:
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Who has not heard of Mashed Potato, the most beloved tuber in all our favourite meals. Only those who get carried away by the negative reports on it, try to avoid it and then relish it with guilt. Sorry folks, in spite of being a Nutritionist, I’ve never deleted it from my family meals. Just keep it for occasional inclusion. We don’t have to eat it every day and for every meal.
So when our guests from UK, Anne and Ash ((Ashok at one time) were visiting us and I was praising your cookery blog, Anu, I asked Anne if she could tell us about her family’s favourite. What else, but the famous Mashed Potato in a slightly different Avathar! She takes care of her grandchildren often and she has no trouble planning her menu. Just as my son Shyam tells me not to ask what he wants for Sunday breakfast… Akki rotti… forever, Anne has to make Cheesy Mash without fail. I noticed that she has made the original preparation, more nutritious and more interesting. Now, let’s hear it from Anne.
CHEESY MASH
(Can be a meal dish or even a snack)
Potatoes peeled, cut into big cubes, boiled and mashed, ½ kg.; ( My suggestion, you can boil and peel before mashing)
Cheese grated, 50 gm – you can add more if you are a ‘cheesy’ person
Milk 50ml
Butter 50g
Salt 1 tsp
Any other herb or flavor of your choice …optional.
To the mashed potato, add the milk, salt and half of the cheese. Mix well.
Heat a saucepan, add butter and add the mashed potato. Keep mixing slowly
So that it browns and get crispy. Finally add the remaining cheese and serve hot.
Anne adds any left over vegetables to add colour and interest and to negotiate for including vegetables for the reluctant!
The other day my granddaughter Prerna wanted Cheesy Mash with onion added. I grated a small onion and added it to the butter before adding the mash. She loved it! When I wrote to Anne, she said it was uncanny, as she read my e-mail while she was adding onion which she never does! Was that telepathy Anne?
Of course, our traditionalists might prefer Potato Podimas, but each one to his or her taste, isn’t it so?