Who doesn’t love fries? It’s almost everybody’s go-to snack when eating out or when you are too tired or lazy to cook an elaborate meal at home. While a plateful of fries with ketchup or mayo feels sinfully good, there are many other easy and simple ways to up your fries game. With very little effort and ingredients already available in your kitchen, you can turn some basic fries into a wholesome meal. Here, The Week has listed out some recipes that you can try the next time you feel like enjoying some fries. Save these recipes so that you can go one step further and make plain, boring fries into something much more exciting and mouth-watering.
Baked pizza fries
Ingredients
Potatoes
Onions
Tomatoes
Cheese
Olives
Oil, salt, and black pepper
Chili flakes
Pizza sauce
Any herb of your choice
Directions
Begin by preheating the oven to around 250 degree Celsius. Take the potatoes and chop it into thin slices by first cutting it in half lengthwise and then each half into four quarters. Further, make three slices from each quarter. In a bowl, toss potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle salt, chili flakes, and black pepper. Then on a flat baking sheet spread the potatoes in such a way that they don’t touch or overlap. Bake the potatoes until the exterior gets roasted. When this is done, arrange them on a baking sheet again with a layer of sliced or shredded cheese, pizza sauce, and various toppings such as chopped onions, tomatoes, and olives on it. Return it to the oven. Allow the toppings to get warm and let the cheese melt. Finally, garnish it with herbs and serve hot.
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Batter-dipped fries
Ingredients
Raw potatoes or frozen French fries
All-purpose or gram flour
Oil
Salt and red chili powder
Directions
If you are using raw potatoes, then first slice them into wedges. Whether you want to peel the skin or not is up to you. Heat oil in a pan and deep-fry the potatoes. After it is cooked, drain it and allow it to cool. If you are using the frozen fries, simply prepare it according to the instructions in the packet. Then, in a bowl, prepare a batter with flour, salt, and red chili. Maintain the thickness of the batter. It should neither be too thick nor very thin. Heat oil again and take the cooked potatoes or the fries and dip it in the batter and fry until it turns brown. Remove and drain the oil. Serve the batter-dipped fries with ketchup or any of your other favorite sauces.
Seasoned fries
Ingredients
Oil
Frozen French fries
Spicy tomato ketchup
Tomatoes, onions, carrots, and capsicum
Ginger and garlic paste
Green peas
Salt, cumin, and turmeric
Coriander leaves
Directions
Ready the frozen fries as instructed in the packaging. Meanwhile, chop the veggies into small pieces. Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped onions once the oil is heated. Wait till it turns light brown in color and then add ginger and garlic paste, tomatoes, carrots, capsicum and peas, one after another. Next, add salt, cumin and turmeric powder to taste. Cover and allow it to cook in low heat. Make sure it does not look dry. Add spicy ketchup to maintain its texture. If it still looks dry, you may add a little water as well. Once this mixture is cooked, add the French fries and mix. Cover and let it simmer for few more minutes. Finally, garnish it with coriander leaves and serve hot.
Breakfast fries
Ingredients
Fried homemade potatoes or baked frozen fries
Tabasco sauce
Eggs
Minced garlic
Fresh parsley, chopped
Cheese
Oil
Directions
Prepare the fries and set it aside. Then take a skillet and heat oil. Add minced garlic and four tablespoons of Tabasco. Add the fries and turn off the stove. In other frying pan, cook eggs any way you like. You can make an omelet, or scrabbled eggs or even half fry it. For boiled eggs, cut it into thin slices. Next, take a plate and place the fries. Top it with egg. Sprinkle salt and black pepper and then garnish it with chopped parsley and shredded cheese. You may even add carrots, tomatoes, or cucumber in order to give the dish a healthy twist.
Four-alarm fries
Ingredients
Cooked potato fries
Sour cream
Lime
Honey
Melted butter and hot sauce
Salt, chili powder, and pepper
Hot chili sauce
Directions
Take a lime and squeeze and shave it to produce juice and zest from it. After this, whisk sour cream with the lime juice and zest along with some honey. Further, season it with salt, chili powder, and pepper according to taste. Keep this bowl aside and take another one. Prepare a batter by whisking melted butter and hot chili sauce together. Toss your already cooked fries with this spicy batter and arrange it on your baking tray. Bake until it turns golden in color. Take it out and let it cool for a while before serving it with the lime sour cream you prepared earlier.
