Food Fun Lia!: Perkedel Kentang

Perkedel Kentang is some sort of potato cake made from freshly fried potatoes that is then smashed and formed into small, round shape. This Perkedel Kentang is usually served to accompany eating soup or soto. It takes some effort to actually succeed in frying it without seeing the nicely formed round potato cake crack from side to side (because the wrong choice of potato or because it isn't fried properly), but once you nail it, the smell of success will beat the smell of hot frying oil all over the house.

ingredients:
makes 20 pieces

900 gr/2 lbs potato (use the floury variant), peeled and cut into chunks
3 shallots, peeled
2 cloves garlic
30 pieces whole white peppers
a pinch of salt
2 eggs
oil for deep-frying

method:
1. Heat the cooking oil, fry the potato in two batches. On the last batch, just a minute before the potato chunks are turning golden brown, slide in the shallots into the frying pan and fry the shallots together with the potato in that hot oil only for one minute. Remove the potato and the shallots from the frying pan with slotted spoon. Turn off the stove. Let the potato chunks cool off on a plate that is already covered with kitchen paper.

2. Use a mortar and a pestle to grind the shallots, garlic and peppers until they are all crushed and incorporated.

3. In a big bowl, mash the fried potato chunks until a smooth consistency just like the consistency of mashed potato. Add the shallots+garlic+peppers paste and a pinch of salt to that mashed potato. Mix it all with clean hands. Add an egg and mix it all again.

4. Divide the mashed potato into twenty balls. Press each ball into thinner round shape.

5. Heat the oil for deep frying again. Beat the remaining egg and cover each Perkedel Kentang in egg mixture before sliding it into the hot cooking oil.