Get 'em while they're hot! Extra crispy, Baked Curry Fries straight out of the oven and seasoned to perfection!
What kid doesn't like fries? I guess that there must be some kid out there that despises them but we'll just ignore him/her for now. They're ruining my point!
My boys are obsessed with fries and ask for them ALL THE TIME! However, they won't just eat any fries. They are definitely fry snobs. They prefer perfectly crisp, fresh out of the oven, seasoned to perfection fries. Fine by me. I prefer those kind too over cheap, made for the masses, fried french fries.
We've been experimenting a lot with different herbs and spices. Sometimes, definitely not always, I let my kids take control of the cooking. I let them go wild with the spice drawer and pick what to add to what. Daniel, my oldest, is into slight Indian flavors right now. He's not into full on, heavily-spiced curries...yet. However, he likes the yellowness turmeric adds to food and he's always been fond of coriander and cumin.
I can't say that my 7 year old "came up" with this recipe because I did have to take a bit of control. If I hadn't done that, we would have curry fries with liquid smoke, herbs de Provence and ancho chili powder. YUMMMM.
Instead of that disaster of a flavor profile...I "kindly" in my stern mom voice "guided" my son into creating these delicious baked curry fries.
Turmeric, coriander, cumin, mustard powder, and fenugreek give these curry fries the right amount of curry flavor.
Makes you want to just jump right in and eat a whole bowl...right?
These Baked Curry Fries weirdly remind me of...
Currywurst. If you haven't been to Germany then you'll be like, "WTF is that!?" For starters, it's definitely NOT VEGAN.
Curry = Curry and Wurst = Sausage
Most people would assume, that the sausage is curried flavored but that's not the case. It's basically a regular sausage with a glorified ketchup sauce that has curry powder sprinkled on top. It does NOT look appetizing. However, being vegan, no sausage does.
Either way, most of the time it's served with fries which ultimately, I'm guessing, are also eaten with the same ketchup-curry sauce.
These fries just prove that they are wayyy better because
- You most definitely don't need sausage...not even vegan sausage, to enjoy it
- You don't need any special ketchup to enjoy it. Regular ketchup will do! Kudos to those who make their own!
***Look at that 7 year old, hand-modeling like a professional hand model! Mad skills!
2 Golden Rules of Crispy, Baked French Fries
Last thing before I go off on another tangent. I'll mention this like I mention it for all my french fry recipes:
If you want extra crispy fries that are baked in the oven, you need to SOAK those potatoes.
Soaking the potatoes removes a lot of the starch in potatoes and will ultimately allow them to crisp up better in the oven.
DON'T FORGET to pat those soaked potatoes dry again with a paper towel. Even if you've soaked your potatoes but then forget to pat them dry, you'll end up with limp, sad, soggy curry fries that no one wants to eat :(
So...what did we learn?
- Soak
- Dry
Perfect! Now...Go grab that recipe and make those crispy, baked, curry fries!
Baked Curry Fries
When regular seasoned fries just won't cut it! These crispy, curry spiced fries are mild enough for kids but flavorful enough for adults to enjoy every single bite!
Ingredients
- 1.3 lbs Potatoes peeled and cut into ¼ inch (6 mm) strips
- 3 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric ground
- ½ teaspoon Coriander ground
- 1 teaspoon Cumin ground
- ¼ teaspoon Mustard Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Fenugreek ground
- ½ teaspoon Salt plus more to taste after baking
- Fresh, chopped Cilantro for garnish (optional)
Instructions
-
Soaking: Ideally you would soak your cut potatoes in water overnight. However, if that is not possible then at least soak them for a few hours, or one hour or the very least, 15 minutes. Even a short soak time will remove some the starch from the potatoes, allowing them to get nice and crispy in the oven.
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Preheat your oven to 410F (210C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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The trick to crispy potatoes is drying off the soaked potatoes with a paper towel. Just gently pat them dry to remove any excess water. This will allow you to get crispy fries instead of just steamed potatoes.
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Place the dried off potato strips in a large bowl and toss with olive oil, turmeric, coriander, cumin, mustard powder, fenugreek and salt until well coated.
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Bake the fries for 30 to 45 minutes, flipping them twice while baking, until fries reach desired crispiness.
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Remove fries from the oven, season with more salt to taste and sprinkle with a bit of fresh, chopped cilantro before serving them with your favorite ketchup or sauce.
Bored of these fries? Try my Rosemary Garlic Fries or Spicy Cajun Fries.
Dianne says
I DO want to jump into that bowl! I've heard of currywurst, but I've never had it. I love the idea of making a vegan version with fries! I can't wait to try it.
Nicole Dawson says
My husband and I joke that french fries are my favorite food, but in all seriousness, they really are! And these will be added to the list to try.
Cadry says
I agree with you. Who DOESN'T like fries? You'll hear of people who don't like tomatoes, beets, broccoli... But fries? That's incomprehensible. I like that your boys get involved with cooking, and that they aren't afraid to stray outside of the usual French fry spices. This sounds like an enticing change of pace!
Alisa Fleming says
Yum! I need to branch out in my fry seasonings, and need to give this a try! We bake wedge fries at least once a week.
Linda from Veganosity says
I would seriously eat the entire batch! I love the spices you put on these fries, totally my kind of snack.
Salt Valley says
These fries look so good. Thanks for sharing such a nice and simple recipe.
Vanessa Croessmann says
Thanks! Enjoy!
Paritosh biswas says
Thank you for the recipe. It looks amazing.
Vanessa Croessmann says
Thanks! Enjoy!
sanjay Mishra says
This looks great with wonderful explanations and pictures!
Vanessa Croessmann says
Thanks! Hope you enjoy the fries recipe :)
Vanessa Croessmann says
Thanks! Hope you enjoy the fries recipe :)
George says
Hello,
The fries came out semi crispy - but still delicious. Question: I dried off the soaked potatoes - but after I cut them into strips they were somewhat wet. I then tried my best try dry off the cut strips. Is this necessary? Wondering if my fries were less crispy because I needed to dry the cut strips more before putting into oven.
My 10 year old daughter and I loved these. Want my next batch to be even crispier.
Thanks!