I don't make scalloped potatoes very often. I like them, but we tend to eat more rice and pasta than potatoes anyway and if I am doing potatoes, I generally prefer to either try something completely new or go for the classic and mash them. So scalloped potatoes tend to get left by the wayside, despite being delicious.

But, given that we had both potatoes and balchao masala on hand that needed to be used up, this seemed like the perfect dish for tonight. I don't think it will replace traditional scalloped potatoes for me, but it was quite good. And, even if I don't end up making this recipe again, I may try swapping out the milk in regular scalloped potatoes for coconut milk in the future. I liked the sauce it produced. (Although I may want to experiment with "lite" coconut milk next time; regular coconut milk is pretty calorically dense!)

Balchao Scalloped Potatoes

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 400mL coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp. balchao masala
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 450g potatoes, sliced
• 3-4 scallions, sliced
• 10 fresh curry leaves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and lightly grease a casserole dish.
2. Whisk the balchao masala and salt into the coconut milk.
3. Layer ~1/3 of the potatoes into the prepared dish and pour in ~1/3 of the coconut milk mixture, then sprinkle over ~1/3 of the scallions.
4. Repeat layers until all the potatoes, coconut milk, and scallions have been used up.
5. Place the curry leaves on top.
6. Bake, covered, for ~45 minutes.
7. Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes.