The Sweet Road

Batata harra is the perfect side to any Middle Eastern meal. It is the perfect mix of spicy and crunchy and goes so well with many dishes. I love making this with musakhan!

Ingredients:
– 4-5 Russet potatoes
– 3 tablespoons salt
– 3 tablespoons pepper
– 3 cups vegetable oil
– 2 tablespoons olive oil
– 1-2 minced garlic cloves
– 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
– 1 teaspoon chili powder
– 1 teaspoon paprika
– 1 tablespoon cumin
– 1/2 cup chopped parsley
– 3 tablespoons tomato paste

Steps:
1. Cover a 3 inch deep pan with parchment paper.
2. Mandolin slice your potatoes and cover them in oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Lay the slices into your pan and stack the potatoes on top of one another.
3. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the potatoes and press down.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 and place the potatoes into the oven for 20 minutes.
5. Take the potatoes out of the oven and place weights (can be soup cans) onto the potatoes to weigh them down and place the potatoes to chill in the fridge.
6. Once the potatoes have chilled for a minimum of 1 hour, cut the potatoes into thin rows and cut those rows into small bite sized squares.
7. Heat up the vegetable oil in a deeper pot so it does not splash you.
8. Place a few pieces of potato at a time into the hot oil and fry until lightly brown.
9. Let the potatoes come to room temperature then refry the potatoes to give them a good crunch.
10. Heat up some olive oil in a separate pan and put the spices in there and saute for about 30 seconds before adding in some tomato paste. This will be the coating on the potatoes.
11. Toss the potatoes in and coat them in the mix we made. Plate and enjoy!