Persian potato patties with garlic chives

Kookoo, also spelt as kuku, is the Persian answer to a lovely egg dish. The French have omelettes, the Italians frittatas, the Spanish tortas, and the Persians kookoos. This dish is often seen on most festive tables and is integral to the cuisine of the cultures, from Iran to Afghanistan.

These delicacies are divine, soft, fluffy, and delicately flavoured. They come in a number of variations with different fillings, each with a distinct taste. Here is a very delicate variation with beautiful garlic chives from the Cullinarium in Ooty. Garlic chives are a Chinese plant with a strong garlicky flavour. They are often used in stir-fries and other quick-cooked dishes. I love their delicate and strong flavour, and they add beautiful colour to the dish.

This kookoo was decadent, brightly coloured and well-flavoured from the herbs and topped with a tart-spicy yoghurt dressing. The patties were super soft and melted on your tongue, leaving fleeting soft flavours.

Greg and Lucy Malouf have travelled across the Middle East extensively, publishing several specialized cookbooks along their journey. This cookbook is one of my favourites, a thick volume filled with amazing recipes, like this one, and photographs. This cookbook will make you want to get out to the closest Mediterranean store (or on Amazon) and order a pantry full of new ingredients for this cuisine. I have cooked a few, definitely not enough, recipes from this book, and each is spectacular. I need to complete the collection of their cookbooks, oh I wish I had a larger cookbook budget. This book is for those who are looking for spectacular Middle Eastern cuisine

For more delicious recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

2 large potatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, finely diced

3/4 cup garlic chives, chopped finely

2 teaspoon ground cumin seeds

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon white or black pepper

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2/3 cup cilantro, minced

5 eggs, lightly whisked

Salt, to taste

For the dressing:

1/2 cup Greek yoghurt

Spicy dill pickles, finely diced

Peel the potatoes and dice them into large cubes. Boil them in salted water till cooked through and soft. Mash to a coarse mash with lumps. Set aside.

Mix the pickles with the yoghurt to make the dressing. Taste for salt; the dressing should be bold and tart. Set aside in the fridge until needed.

Heat the oils in a frying pan and sautè the onions on low heat till soft. Do not let the onions colour. Add the garlic scapes and fry for another minute till they are also cooked through and soft. Add the ground cumin and turmeric and give the pan a quick stir. Empty the contents into the mashed potatoes and mix in well.

Add the pepper, flour, cilantro, eggs, and salt and mix well. The mixture should be quite sloppy.

Add 1 teaspoon of oil to the same frying pan. Depending on how you plan to serve these, you can fry one large pancake or a tablespoon-sized one.

For a large patty, preheat the oven to broil function.

I prefer to make a large one that resembles a frittata. Pour the mix into the pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Cook on low heat for 4-5 minutes for a large patty or 1-2 minutes for small ones. Once the patty is cooked, it will peel off the pan easily, and the edges will be released from the sides. Add the pan to the oven and cook for 2-3 minutes until the top is browned. Remove and allow to cool for 2 minutes, slide off the pan to a cutting board or large platter, cut into wedges and serve with the dressing.

You can flip the small ones and cook for 1 more minute. Remove and serve immediately with the dressing.