In Kenya, viazi karai (deep fried potatoes) are very common. They are cooked in restaurants, homes and roadside vendors. They are highly favoured not only for their deliciousness but also for the fact that they are very simple to prepare.
Viazi Karai are typically made from Irish potatoes. These are readily available everywhere & I’m sure you can easily get them wherever you are.
Viazi Karai (deep fried potatoes) can be eaten for breakfast or as a mid-day snack.
How to Cook Viazi Karai
The cooking process involves boiling potatoes until they are cooked but still firm, and then deep frying them. It is a simple process and takes a few minutes to prepare. You can also opt to boil the potatoes with the skin on after thoroughly washing to remove any soil particles.
Once cooked (but not crumbly), the potatoes are peeled and immersed in a specially prepared batter. The batter’s consistency and spiciness plays a vital role in the final taste of the food.
The batter can be prepared by simply mixing water, a little salt and wheat flour. Then add one or more spices as you please.
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| Garlic Spiced Deep Fried Potatoes |
In this recipe, we will add crushed garlic to the batter. You will need to prepare the batter as you boil the potatoes. Note that the potatoes should never crumble. They must retain their shape.
These are the ingredients you will need.
Ingredients:
- 4 medium-sized potatoes
- 1 1/2 cups of water
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup wheat flour
- 4 pcs crushed garlic
- A pinch of food colour
You should use a ratio of water to flour based on how thick you want the coat to be. The lighter it is, the shorter the time it will take to cook & the crispier it will be.
Method:
- After the potatoes are cooked but still firm, peel them and set them aside to cool.
- Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and make sure there are no lumps in the batter.
- Pour enough oil in a deep frying pan and heat it, but don’t let it get too hot.
- In the meantime, cut the potatoes into your desired shape; cubes, oval pieces etc.
- Once the oil is hot enough but not smoking, immerse the potatoes into the batter and coat all the sides.
- Deep fry the pieces until the batter coating is cooked. Do not use very high heat.
- Once well cooked, remove the viazi karai and place them on paper towels to drain off the excess oil.
- Serve.
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| Garlic Spiced Deep Fried Potatoes with Amaranth leaves |
These super delicious garlic spiced deep fried potatoes can be served alongside homemade sauces like tamarind sauce, tomato sauce or pepper sauce. Try them with any sauce of your choice.
Viazi karai may be cooked in the morning & served for breakfast over a cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate. A glass of fresh juice will also go down pretty well with this snack.
Equally, you could serve with stir-fried vegetables to get more nutrients. As you can see from the above picture, the garlic spiced deep fried potatoes have been served with stir-fried amaranth leaves. They make a great accompaniment.
