These Arabic Potatoes are going to be your favourite side to any dish. They're pretty addictive! This dish is called "Batata Harra" in Arabic - batata meaning potatoes and harra meaning spicy. I mean, potatoes are naturally so darn delicious even the plain old boring way. But take normal regular potatoes and make them even MORE delicious by adding my favorite things: garlic, chilli, lemon and parsley. Now that's a winner.
Believe it or not, Batata Harra is so easy to make. Now I'm sure there are many variations of this famous Arabic potatoes recipe. I've seen it served in restaurants with a delicious spicy chilli sauce as well. This isn't to say my version is the most authentic, but one thing is for sure: it's quick and delicious.
How to make Batata Harra or Arabic Potatoes
I like to use baby potatoes so I can leave the skin on and get it nice and crispy when cooking. But you can use large yellow potatoes as well. You'll need to adjust the cooking time (see recipe notes). The secret to extra delicious batata harra is to first boil the potatoes until they're soft. That will ensure a soft fluffy interior.
Then the potatoes are pan-fried to get them nice and crispy. But do that only after the oil has infused with the garlic and chilli flakes. You then season them with the parsley, coriander, dill, and salt and allow them to cook for about 7 minutes. Once the potatoes look crispy and golden, remove them from the heat and squeeze the lemon juice on top and serve immediately.
I love serving batata harra with steak, chicken, or as part of an Arabic Mezze platter. Anywhere you'd serve regular potatoes, just substitute these Arabic potatoes. Now of course, you can adjust the level of heat you want in this dish. My family and I don't like it too spicy. Mainly so that my son can also enjoy it freely without gulping water after every bite.
If you try this Arabic potatoes recipe, pop over to Instagram and share with me! I LOVE seeing your recipe recreations. And don't forget to leave me a review! Happy cooking!
For more Middle Eastern sides, check out:
Batata Harra (Middle Eastern Spicy Potatoes)
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs small red potatoes or use regular potatoes if you don't have baby potatoes - see notes
- ¼ cup olive oil or vegetable oil
- 3 large cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp coriander powder
- ¼ tsp chilli flakes more per taste
- ½ tsp dry dill optional
- Handful fresh parsley
- Juice of ½ lemon
Instructions
- Start by boiling the potatoes whole for about 10-15 mins until a fork can be inserted (but they are not overly soft)
- Meanwhile finely chop the parsley and crush the garlic
- Once boiled, rinse the potatoes to cool them, then chop into bite size pieces (I keep the peel on which is optional)
- Heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat and add the garlic and chilli flakes and mix for a minute (make sure the garlic doesn't burn or brown too much)
- Add the potatoes right into the pan and season with the salt, paprika, coriander, parsley and dill
- Allow the potatoes to crisp up for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally to brown all sides
- When they're ready, squeeze the lemon juice on top, and turn off the heat. Serve as a side and enjoy!
Notes
- You can use large white or yellow potatoes, and cut them into bite size pieces (instead of the baby potatoes). Just be sure to adjust the boiling time, as they will need longer (closer to 30 minutes)
- Replace the parsley with Cilantro if you like
- Adjust the amount of chilli to your liking
Used this recipe and it came out so delicious.
Thanks Noor!
Followed the exact recipe (but using sweet potatoes) and oh my gosh--I think this is officially my favorite way to have my sweet potatoes now (sweet potato fries have been demoted). Going to try with regular potatoes too! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Thanks so much for the awesome feedback Sana! Now I need to try them with sweet potatoes too 😀
Tasted so great, thanks again!!
Just tried this recipe yesterday and it was the most delicious potatoes dish I've ever had! Thank you so much for the recipe and clear directions 🙂 I was too lazy to boil the potatoes so I just popped them into the microwave until they were cooked through
The Microwave idea is such a great quick hack. So glad you enjoyed it Sana! 🙂