Destination
Nairobi
The story
Viazi karai ("potato karai") is Mombasa's street snack: boiled potato halves dipped in a bright yellow batter made from gram flour (chickpea flour), turmeric, cumin and coriander, deep-fried until the outside is crackly and the inside stays soft and steaming. Sold from small carts in the Old Town, at Fort Jesus, and in every Mombasa Old Town alleyway from 4pm, always with a small dish of tamarind chutney (or dhania chutney, made from coriander and green chilli) on the side for dipping. Six or eight halves in a small paper cone, eaten while walking.
Method
Combine all the chutney ingredients in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring, until slightly thickened. Cool.
Place the potatoes in a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and cook 15 to 18 minutes until fork-tender but still holding shape. Drain and cool briefly, then halve or quarter (depending on size).
In a large bowl, whisk together the gram flour, turmeric, cumin, coriander, chilli powder, bicarbonate and salt. Slowly whisk in the cold water until you have a smooth, thick batter that coats the back of a spoon (like thick pancake batter). Adjust with more water if too thick.
Heat the oil in a deep pot to 180°C (355°F). A drop of batter should sizzle immediately and turn deep gold within 60 seconds.
Working with a few potato pieces at a time, dip each in the batter to coat completely. Lower carefully into the hot oil. Fry in batches of 6 to 8 for 3 to 4 minutes, turning gently, until deep gold and crackly all over.
Lift onto kitchen paper.
Serve immediately in small paper cones with a spoonful of tamarind chutney and a wedge of lemon. Extra chilli sauce for those who want more heat.
Tips
- Gram flour (chickpea flour), not wheat or rice flour. This is essential. Gram flour has the specific savoury-nutty flavour and the ability to crisp into a golden shell. Wheat flour or cornstarch give you a completely different, worse batter.
- Waxy potatoes hold shape. Small charlottes or baby new potatoes hold together after boiling and battering. Floury potatoes collapse into the oil.
- Bicarbonate or ajwain in the batter. Both are traditional additions that help the batter puff and crisp. A pinch of either makes a real difference.
- 180°C is the target. Below that, the batter absorbs oil and turns greasy; above that, the outside burns before the potato heats through.
- Tamarind chutney is not optional. The sour-sweet-spicy tamarind is the specific Mombasa partner. Sold at Indian grocers as bottled chutney if you don't want to make it, but the homemade version is fast and better.
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