When S and S gifted us an air fryer for our wedding, frankly speaking, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t have a lot of faith in things getting deep-fried without oil and was almost sure it wasn’t going to taste like the “real thing”. It took me a long time to warm up to it. I took baby steps. French fries were the safest bet. I mean everyone makes them, that itself is a good enough reason to invest in an air-fryer IF and only IF the result was perfect. So after a lot of deliberation, I tried both normal and sweet potatoes and guess what? Both came out amazing. Emboldened by my success, I followed it up with ladies’ finger, cauliflower, bitter gourd, tofu, chicken breasts/wings and even fish steaks! My air-fryer is now my lifeline.
When one of the aforementioned S-es came to visit us last December, I had planned on making several air-fried delicacies for him as a token of appreciation😉. But he chose to dedicate himself to rice, ghee and podi (the things that you do when you live abroad!) and homemade Sesame Anise Pork that I could barely manage a meal where my skills with the air fryer would be put on display! What I could do though was throw in a handful of French Fries in an otherwise mundane lunch of Rice, Dal and Chicken. S was so kicked he immediately vowed to make it for the other S and little S (they too have got an air-fryer recently).
They’ve gone back a month now and I still haven’t asked S whether he actually made the fries for the others. Next time we speak, I must!
French Fries in Air Fryer
PrintIngredients
- Potatoes, sliced longitudinally: 4-5
- Olive oil: 1 tsp
- Salt: to taste
- Pepper: to taste
- Garlic powder: 1 tsp
- Your choice of seasoning: 1 tsp (I generally use cajun or paprika or sumac)
METHOD
1. Preheat your air-fryer at 180ºC for 5 minutes. As it heats up, marinade your potato wedges with the oil and seasonings. Mix well.
2. Topple the wedges in the basket of the air fryer and fry for 13-15 minutes. Pull out the basket and shake intermittently to ensure uniform frying.
3. At the end of 15 minutes, your potatoes should be golden and crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. If it’s not, fry for another 3-4 minutes, but keep track.
4. Devour immediately with your favourite dip and a glass of Thums Up.