Priya Hunt

We once went to Germany (Dusseldorf) to see the Christmas markets. It was an amazing and gloriously festive atmosphere. They had stalls where they made crispy potato pancakes – what they called “Kartoffelpuffer”. Delicious – though they didn’t contain things like chillies, peanuts etc. I replaced the egg and nutmeg they use with flour and all my herbs and seeds. I think the onion and chillies really adds great flavour. The chia seeds are incredibly good for health and the sesame seeds are a source of good fat – plus it makes the pancakes or rostis look great.

 

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What you need

  • Large potatoes : 3 (Washed and grated)
  • Red onion: 1 (chopped fine)
  • Spinach, rocket or coriander: 1/2 cup, chopped fine (I use a mix of all 3)
  • Brown rice flour: 4 tbsp. (you can substitute this with cornflour or tapioca flour)
  • Chilli: 1-2 chopped fine (remove the seeds if you don’t like it too hot)
  • Peanuts: 1 tbsp. (roasted lightly and crushed)
  • Sesame seeds: 1 tbsp.
  • Chia seeds: 1 tsp
  • Salt: to taste
  • Sunflower Oil: 6-10 tbsp.

What you do

  • Mix the grated potatoes with chopped onion, herbs, chilli, peanuts, seeds, salt and flour well.
  • In a pan, heat the oil. Keep the heat low so that the rosti’s don’t burn and cook properly.
  • Add a tablespoon of the mixture and spread to make a round rosti. Make sure the oil is hot before you do put this in but not so hot that you’ll burn yourself.
  • Depending on the size of the pan, you can fry 3-4 rostis at the same time.
  • When it browns underneath, carefully lift and cook on the other side. Dont lift it until you can see the brown edges clearly, otherwise it can disintegrate.
  • Serve hot with ketchup or chilli sauce. You can also serve it with apple sauce to give it a German twist!

What helps

  • Go easy on the flour but do add some. You can swap it with various types of flours, anything goes.
  • Make sure the oil is hot to begin with but turn it down after that so the heat is low to medium
  • Flatten the rostis so they cook evenly but don’t spread them too much as they will become hard to lift in one go
  • You can also serve this with a delicious salad to have a refreshing light meal

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