Aloo Lachha Namkeen (Potato Trail Mix)

Aloo Lachha Namkeen or aloo lachha is a spicy savory snack (trail mix) made with deep fried potatoes, nuts and spices. It is super popular snack in northern India. Aloo lachha is amazing paired with chai and a perfect snack to make for Diwali.

What is Aloo Lachha

Lachha literally translates to something coil shaped or with a series of loops and it is a term often used in indian cuisine to describe the textures and looks of food like lachha paratha, onion lachha etc.

Spicy savory snacks often called namkeen are so popular in India and they are prepared using variety of flours, lentils, chickpeas., nuts etc.

Aloo or potato lachha is unique since its made with grated potatoes and is gluten free and vegan. This snack was popularized by Haldirams, a big confectioner in northern India. Their aloo lachha is really delicious, their lachha looks like matchstick potatoes coated in spices. However, please note that am not writing a copy cat haldirams recipe. I have no clue about their recipe. This is how make lachha namkeen at home and its quite delicious and addictive 🙂

How to make Aloo Lachha

Aloo Lachha an easy snack to make with easily available potatoes, some nuts and spices. Since I don't have any special potato cutter, I use the good old mix grater to grate the potatoes and make lachha. Use the largest side of the grater to grate the potatoes or you can hand cut them into match sticks. These are not fries. These potatoes resemble match sticks or small twigs after grating.

Tips

• Avoid using too starchy potatoes like russet potatoes. For laccha, I like using yellow or gold potatoes since they are waxy, not too starchy and crisp up quite well.
• Soak the grated potatoes in salted water for a little bit to remove starches and then deep fry.
• You decide how brown you like the potatoes, I keep them golden brown.
• While deep frying keep in mind to keep the heat constant and on medium high. Else the potatoes will get soggy and won't cook evenly.
• Do not over crowd the oil when frying, fry in small batches. You will still see that the potatoes will stick to each other, mainly because they are grated and form a coil shaped ring at the end.Dont worry its all good, once cooled, we are going to break it up and use up.
• You can add any kind of nuts that you like. Roasted almonds and coconut chips taste amazing as well.
• The masala I use in my recipe is the same as I use when making Kaju Masala. See the recipe here.

FAQ

Can I air fry the potatoes?

I tried. But the texture & taste- it's not the same. Due to thin grated potato they were dry and tasteless.Little burnt too. Maybe if you hand cut them in match sticks, you can air fry them but I haven't tried that method.

How to store Aloo Lachha?

Let the aloo lachha cool down completely. To make sure that its completely cooled, let it sit for 3 hours or so, uncovered on the kitchen counter. Then you can store it in air tight container for 2-3 weeks.

What do I do with the leftover oil after frying?

You can use it to deep fry pakoras, pooris or nuts, anything savory. Please don't use it to make curries/for cooking.

Can I use sweet potatoes?

Yes you can , however, don't swap the potatoes completely for sweet ones. However you can use a mix of sweet and regular potatoes for a sweetish bite. Aloo lachha is spicy savory snack o sweet potatoes don't fit too well in my opinion.

Variations

To the spice blend, add some garlic or chipotle pepper powder to change the flavor profile. You can mix it with just salt and black pepper for a farali/falahari/fasting snack.