Lebanese Batata Harra

Name: Labneh
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 3 large potatoes peeled and cubed (1 cm size); 2 teaspoons olive oil; 2-3 grated garlic cloves; 3-4 teaspoons finely chopped coriander leaves; salt to taste; ½ teaspoon chilli flakes

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Lebanese Batata Harra

Batata Harra is one of Lebanon’s vegetarian recipes of potato cubes sautéed with coriander and garlic. Batata Harra literally translated to ‘spicy potatoes’ in Arabic. It is also popular as ‘Lebanese potatoes’, or ‘spicy potatoes. It is enjoyed with a squeeze of lemon and is often served with other small bites, known as ‘Mezza’ or ‘Mezze’ in Lebanon and across the Levant and the Eastern Mediterranean or served as a side dish with charcoal-grilled or fried seafood and meats.

For this delicious and simple recipe potatoes are either deep-fried or roasted until crispy from the outside, but fluffy on the inside and then tossed in garlic and coriander and finished off with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

I love tapas style food and I often prepare it on weekends and special occasions. I make Batata Harra with other savoury mezze like ‘Tabbouleh’, ‘labneh’, ‘saksuka’ with a traditional Lebanese bread flavoured with zaatar or feta. These delicious Lebanese potato cubes can also be served as a side dish since they pair well with seafood, such as fried or charcoal-grilled fish.
If you are up for a big mezze feast, definitely add potato next to other small dishes like hummus, muhammara, falafel, or salad with pide.

Ingredients

3 large potatoes peeled and cubed (1 cm size)
2 teaspoons olive oil
2-3 grated garlic cloves
3-4 teaspoons finely chopped coriander leaves
salt to taste
½ teaspoon chilli flakes
½ teaspoon black pepper
Oil for frying
Lemon wedges (to serve)

Directions

Step-1

Bring 4-5 cups of water to boil in a pan. Add the cubed potatoes and cook them in the boiling water for 7-8 minutes. The potatoes should be cooked through but still firm. Once boiled drain the water and leave the potatoes to cool down.

Step-2

Heat oil for frying and deep fry the boiled potatoes on medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Drain on an absorbent paper.

Step-3

Heat oil in a pan and add the grated garlic and chilli flakes. Sauté for a minute and add the coriander leaves, salt and black pepper. Try not to overcook the coriander at this point to keep its succulent taste.

Next, add the potatoes and mix. Taste to adjust the seasoning.

Serve hot with a slice of lime.

Tips & Variations

As you cube the potatoes, you can put them straight into a bowl of water, so they don’t oxidize, and change colour and it also helps to get rid of the excess starch.
Instead of deep frying you can shallow fry the potatoes or roast in the oven. To roast in the oven. Place the diced boiled potatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil and roast at 200C for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy. Remember to flip them halfway.
Any potato that works well for roasting, works well in this recipe like Russets, Yukon Golds, Maris Piper, King Edward and Dutch Cream.
Adding lemon juice at the last minute gives an instant tanginess to a dish, while incorporating it into the cooking will give off a completely different effect that misses out on the taste of raw acidity from a fresh lime or lemon.
Make sure not to overcook the garlic and coriander. All we need to do is to lightly sauté them in olive oil until they are fragrant and ready to be mixed with the potato cubes. The garlic specifically needs to be cooked for a little while just until it gets rid of its raw bite.
Traditionally Lebanese Batata Harra does not have any chillies in the recipe. So, you can adjust the heat level according to your preference. You can add more or less chili flakes, you can even use fresh minced chili, cayenne powder, or chili powder if you like or just omit it all together.