Aloo Pie (Carribean Garlic Mashed Potato Patty)

There's a Carribean joint in my area that makes some glorious home-made fast food, derived from their roots in Trinidad. I usually have what's called "doubles" (a soft-shelled curry-fied twist on the more popular Jamaican patty; though much superior to it), and this recipe; "aloo pie". "Aloo" comes from the Indian word for "potato". What makes their mashed potato and garlic snack so delicious, is the hot sauce they use to season it. It has a banana-y overtones along with the hot pepper flavour.

I hunted it down, and I believe I found it, or very similar in a bottle of red Jamaican Hot Pepper sauce under the "Grace" brand. It doesn't specify, but I'm guessing by the picture on the label, they use scotch bonnet peppers. (That's common in Jamaican hot pepper sauce). So now it's about time to make aloo pie! Serve this with a salad, or an Island-style meat or vegetable curry, and you're laughing.


Ingredients

Filling

4 large potatoes
3 T olive oil
vegetable or peanut oil for frying
1/4 onion, thin slice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 t cumin (optional)
2 - 4 cloves garlic
1 to 2 t Jamaican/Carribean hot pepper sauce* (or 1 green hot pepper, minced)

Patty

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 t turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups water


Instructions

Filling

Peel, wash and slice potatoes in halves. Place in a sizeable pot, and cover with water. Boil and cook until tender (slip a sharp paring knife in the centre, to see if it slides fairly easily). (You can prepare the patty dough while its cooking). Next, mince and mash the garlic with salt (as I describe in this recipe) to form a paste. Place it in a small bowl and mix well with the hot pepper sauce, plus 1/4t salt (Optional: Add the cumin powder). When potatoes are cooked, drain and mix with the crushed garlic paste mix, until smooth and free of lumps. Taste for seasoning. Top with the onion slices. On med low, heat olive oil in a small skillet or pot until just below the smoking point, and pour directly over the onion slices and the potato underneath. Mix well.

Patty

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and turmeric. Add water and knead gently and briefly. Place the dough in a bowl, partially covered with a dish or fully covered with a wet cloth; and leave it to relax while you prepare the filling. Form the dough into nine balls, and flatten with palm. Using a rolling pin, flatten the balls into approx. 4" - 6" circles on a floured surface, and fill with a tablespoon or so of filling. (n.b. Floured surface should not normally be necessary, unless you added too much water. Normal dough should not be sticky or stick to the surface of the prep board, and have a little elasticity. It is best to risk having the mix too dry then too wet. If too dry, chill in fridge along with the filling, while you prepare the rest. If too wet, mix in a bit more flour, with minimal kneading). Spoon filling along one half, leaving room at the edges. Then fold over the half without filling, and pinch the edges closed to form a half moon shape, creating ridges with your fingers.


Then flatten the top of the patty with your palm to spread out the filling, and create a flatter, more uniform shape. Carefully remove it from the prep board and place it in a skillet (preferably non stick) on med.high heat, to which a few tablespoons of vegetable or peanut oil (with a relatively high smoking point) has been added. (The patties do not have to be fully immersed in the oil, just their surface). Add 2 or 3 patties to the skillet (depending on its size), and cook each side until golden brown. Remove immediately when browned, and drain on paper towels and/or a cooling rack.

p.s. Avoid eating more than two of these in a day! They're loaded with oil, so, not heart healthy.


* (n.b. The hot pepper sauce is hot by itself, but much more mild when mixed in well with the potatoes. I don't find it particularly hot with even 2 teaspoons).