Hash Brown / Homemade Hash Brown

25 Sep Hash Brown / Homemade Hash Brown

Hash brown is a popular staple breakfast food across North America and UK. The word “hash” comes from the French word “hacher” which means to hack or chop. Which makes Hash brown a preparation with shredded potatoes that are pan fried. They are also called hashed browns. In western countries, its mass produced and sold in refrigerated, frozen or dehydrated forms. Frozen forms are in the form of compact, tight patty shapes which makes it easier to pan fry or bake in an oven.

The secret of best homemade hash brown lies in squeezing out the entire water from the grated potatoes. The more its dry, the tastier your hash browns are. Authentic hash browns do not use any binding agents because when a binding agent is added such a preparation makes it a pancake. But for convenience sake, people do add all purpose flour for binding. I have avoided adding any binding agent here.

Interestingly, many tend to avoid eating potatoes because of its starch content. But the starch that is in potatoes is known as Resistant starch. Normal starches break into glucose and get absorbed. This is why blood glucose, or blood sugar, increases after eating. But Resistant starch is resistant to digestion, so it passes through the upper digestive tract without breaking and stimulates good bacteria growth in the large intestine and colon. It is a type of fiber and can provide health benefits. However, if you have been medically advised to stay away from potatoes, you need to think twice before consuming Hash brown. Eating any vegetable in moderation is the key though.

Though hash browns are normally shallow fried in oil, I have roasted them in heavy, cast iron skillet with no oil to make it healthier.

Ingredients

• 2 big potatoes
• 1 tsp chilli powder / pepper powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp dry herbs (optional)
• 1 tsp onion powder / garlic powder (optional)

Direction

• Peel and grate the potatoes directly into a bowl of cold water.
• Strain and add to a clean muslin cloth / kitchen towel. Squeeze out the water completely. The potatoes should be super dry.
• Keep dry potato gratings in a bowl. Add salt and other herbs.
• Heat a heavy bottomed skillet.
• Take a handful of grated potatoes and place them directly in the pan.
• With the help of a flat spoon flatten the surface and the sides to make an oval/ rectangle shape.
• Cook on a low flame till a brown crust forms at the bottom and you are able to flip the hash brown.
• Mine is a heavy cast iron pan and so it did not require any oil. If your hash brown tends to stick to the bottom, you can add a tsp of oil around it.
• Cook till brown crust forms on both sides.

Tasty, fresh, soft, oil free home made hash browns are ready.

Tips:

• Rinsing the grated potatoes number of times and drying them well removing excess starch helps the potatoes cook to enticing, crispy perfection.
• If you have a ring, you can place it on the skillet and press the potatoes tightly in that to get a perfect round hash brown.