Crisp fried potato cubes tossed with a huge amount of garlic, coriander and chilli, topped with fried eggs. A vegetarian dinner for well under a pound a head.
Prep
15 mins
Cook
35 mins
Servings
4
Per serving
£0.80
Difficulty
easy
Batata harra is usually a mezze dish but with eggs on top it makes a genuinely good supper. The potatoes need to be par-boiled and then dried before frying, which is what gives you a crust rather than a soggy exterior. The garlic and coriander go in at the very end so they stay pungent.
Put the potato cubes in cold salted water, bring to the boil and cook for 6 minutes until barely tender at the edges. Drain and leave in the colander for 5 minutes to steam dry.
Tip them onto a tea towel and pat completely dry. Any surface water will stop them crisping.
Give them a gentle shake in the colander first. Slightly roughed-up edges catch more oil and crisp better.
Heat 4 tbsp of the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the potatoes in a single layer and fry for 12 to 15 minutes, turning only every 3 or 4 minutes, until golden and crusted all over.
Season with 1.5 tsp of the salt and the ground coriander and toss well.
Push the potatoes to one side, add the chopped garlic and red chillies to the empty half with a splash more oil and fry for 90 seconds until fragrant but not browned.
Toss everything together, add the pul biber and most of the fresh coriander, and cook for a final minute.
Squeeze over the lemon juice and turn off the heat. Tip into a serving dish and keep warm.
Fry the eggs in the remaining olive oil until the whites are set and the edges lacy. Sit them on the potatoes, dust with sumac and the remaining salt and finish with the last of the coriander.