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Sri Lanka Ala Badun Potatoes and Onion

A Sri Lankan dish of spiced potatoes and onions sautéed with oil, mustard seeds, cinnamon, and lime juice.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Turmeric and lime match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 584 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Sri Lanka Ala Badun Potatoes and Onion

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Boil the potatoes, peel and cut into bite-size pieces; slice the onion.

  2. Place the potatoes in a bowl and add the salt, turmeric, chile powder, and paprika powder.

Fry and serve

  1. Heat the oil; when hot, add the curry leaves followed by the onion, mustard seeds, and cinnamon stick.

  2. Fry until the onions are golden brown, then add the potatoes and keep tossing with the onion until browned and heated through.

  3. Discard the cinnamon stick and sprinkle the lime juice on top just before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

353Calories
6 gProtein
14 gFat
54 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Turmeric1 tsp ground (3g)9
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Seednot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Turmeric + limetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together584 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Turmeric + cinnamontop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,197 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  3. Turmeric + mustardtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,279 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Cinnamon + limetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together470 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Potatoes
Provide the bulk and starchy body of the dish, and brown on the outside when fried.
Onion
Softens and turns golden, adding sweetness and depth as it browns.
Oil
Carries the heat and spices and helps the potatoes and onion brown and crisp.
Mustard seed
Releases a nutty, pungent aroma when fried in hot oil.
Cinnamon stick
Infuses warm, sweet aroma into the hot oil and onions.
Lime juice
Adds a bright acidity that lifts the rich, spiced flavours.

The step that matters

Frying the onions to golden brown. Browning the onions develops sweetness and savoury depth through the Maillard reaction. Taking them too far turns them bitter, while stopping early leaves them sharp and raw-tasting.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, turmeric, mustard, cinnamon, lime):

  1. Horseradishfits better
  2. Arrowrootfits better
  3. Broccolifits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, turmeric, mustard, cinnamon, lime. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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