Calcutta’s Jewish families crowned their Friday-night table with aloo makalla, whole potatoes fried slowly into crackling golden shells. Here’s how one legendary grandmother made them, plus her leftover salad.
In the Jewish kitchens of Calcutta, the star of the Friday-night Sabbath dinner was aloo makalla: whole potatoes fried slowly for nearly an hour until each one forms a hard golden shell around a buttery soft center. Some called them “jumping potatoes,” because they bounce off the plate if you stab them too hard.
Granny Ruby’s were legendary, first in Calcutta and later in England. She insisted on perfection, working her peeler like a pencil sharpener until every potato was perfectly round, if much smaller. On Saturday, the leftovers got a second life in her cold chicken and egg salad, bright with cilantro, green chile and lemon. Here are both recipes.
Recipe 1: Aloo makalla
Peeled potatoes, parboiled in salted turmeric water, fried slowly in deep oil until they have a hard golden shell.
Recipe 2: Granny Ruby’s egg salad
This is Granny Ruby’s egg salad, made from leftover <i>aloo makalla</i> and chicken from the Friday evening hari kabab.
