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Aloo fingers are made by frying a mixture of boiled and mashed potatoes with semolina, carom seeds, and other spices in cooking oil. Embark on a culinary journey and learn the steps to make aloo fingers at home from my recipe.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Aloo fingers are delightful snack that will please the crowd in any occasion.
Enjoy them with classic tomato ketchup, fresh mint chutney, sweet and tangy tamarind chutney, a cool and creamy yogurt dip, sweet chili sauce, coriander dip, or sweet mango chutney.

Aloo fingers taste spicy and savory.
Aloo chop, aloo cutlets, aloo pakoras, aloo samosas, aloo pockets, and aloo tikki will render a similar snacking experience as aloo fingers.

The Ingredients:

To make the fingers:

3 pieces potatoes (medium size, boiled and peeled)
½ cup semolina
1 piece green chili (finely chopped)
1/3 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
½ tsp salt
(1 + 1) tsp refined oil
5 tsp coriander leaves (finely chopped)
½ cup water

For frying the potato fingers:

Refined oil – An adequate amount

For serving the potato fingers:

Tomato ketchup – A small bowl

I had this recipe at an old Parsi café in Mumbai. The waiter said it was a “dying dish,” rarely ordered now. That was enough to make me try it. The flavors were odd at first, then absolutely compelling. I looked up recipes, cross-referenced aunties’ blogs, and finally landed on a version that clicked.

Now I make it when I want to feel connected to stories I wasn’t born into but deeply admire. My husband and kids love this recipe and appreciate my determination to come up with such a unique recipe.

How to Make Aloo Finger? (Step by Step Guide with Images)

Step 1: Take a frying pan and heat it on a high flame on your gas stove. When it is hot enough, put ½ cup of water and ½ tsp of regular table salt in it. Then, crush 1/3 tsp of carom seeds (ajwain) in your hands and add to it.

Step 2: When the water starts boiling and you see the bubbles, add 1 tsp of refined oil to it. Then put ½ cup of semolina in it.

Step 3: Stir it for about 5 to 10 seconds to mix it nicely. Turn off the gas stove and cover the frying pan. Let it sit for about 2 to 3 minutes so that the semolina is cooked due to the residual heat and swells up by absorbing the water.

Step 4: In the meantime, take a bowl and a greater to grate 3 pieces of medium-sized potatoes that are already boiled and peeled. Keep it aside.

(Pro tip: You can mash the boiled potatoes if you want. However, I recommend grating them because there are usually no lumps in grated potatoes).

Step 5: Now, knead the cooked semolina to make a dough. Do not press it too hard. The dough should be soft. Then, transfer the dough to the bowl of grated potatoes.

(Pro tip: There is no need to transfer the cooked semolina from the frying pan to a plate for kneading. You can do it on the pan itself, now that it has cooled down completely).

Step 6: Then, add 1 piece of finely chopped fresh green chili to it. Follow it with 4 to 5 tsp of finely chopped fresh green coriander leaves.

Step 7: Mix them nicely. Then, add 1 tsp of refined oil to the mixture and mix it once again.

Step 8: Now, it is time to make the fingers from this mixture. First, grease your hands with a little bit of cooling oil. Take a small portion of the potato-semolina mixture and roll it on your hands to give it the desired shape.

Step 9: Repeat the above process to make all the fingers and keep the plate aside for about 5 minutes for everything to blend and set properly.

Step 10: In the meantime, pour an adequate amount of cooking oil into a frying pan and heat it on a high flame. When it is heated up nicely, release the fingers one by one very carefully into the pan so that you do not splash hot oil while doing so.

(Pro tip: Do not put too many fingers at a time in the oil. This will prevent even frying of the fingers. Ideally, 4 to 5 fingers are enough for one batch. Cooking fewer numbers in batches also allows easy flipping).

Step 11: Let it cook for about a minute on a high flame and then use your spatula to separate each finger from the other if they are stuck. Let them cook for another 4 to 5 minutes.

(Pro tip: Do not try to separate them as soon as you put them in the oil. You might break them in the process because these are soft and uncooked).

Step 12: Take the fingers out one by one when they turn to a lovely golden color.

(Pro tip: You may put it on a piece of tissue paper on a plate to drain the excess oil. However, I do not recommend it because it may compromise the crispiness of the potato fingers due to the heat and steam trapped in the tissue paper).

Step 13: Your tasty and crispy homemade aloo fingers are now ready to serve. Arrange them nicely on a plate and serve them hot with a bowl of tomato ketchup or any other condiment of your choice.