I love being an only child. While other parents kept asking me if I miss having a sibling, I was more than happy with my family structure. It maximised my time with my parents while also assuring all financial planning revolving around my aspirations— which to be honest — is pretty amazing. Being an only child made me independent a lot sooner than most other kids around me. By the fifth grade, I would come home from school and be at home alone until my parents came home. Until the fourth grade, we had help in the house but even that was switched to part-time by the following year.

I miss school days, especially before the eight grade. I would come home by 3:30, drop my bag and rush to the TV room to watch cartoons till 5:30 before reluctantly heading to my desk to finish my homework. During my TV time, our help would make me a snack. These would be anything from packaged pasta, coleslaw sandwiches (which we called “mayonnaise sandwich”), to tater tots. I remember these tater tots like I had them yesterday. McCain’s frozen taters annoyingly called “Tasti Tots.” They came in a blue colour bag and were probably the first snack item to be exhausted from the month’s rations. Once deep-fried (this was before my parents went into their health spiral, which seems to still be going strong. I mean, my mom literally owns a gym!). The tots were golden brown, almost always, with each total as perfect as the next. They were made of tiny symmetrically cube-sized pieces of potato held together by the tiniest sliver of batter that added to the crunch and nothing else. The cubed shape of the potatoes allowed them to hold a lot of steam, which made it virtually impossible to pop a whole tot in your mouth. They also had no distinct taste of their own. They were salted and full of texture but were easily morphed by the condiment you ate it with— be it ketchup or mustard.

My tater tots are an extension of the frozen taters I grew up having as a 12 year old kid who would come back home for school and find ways to delay the dreaded “homework time.” While they were cubed, I went for the vastly easier and also tastier shredded potato that works really well because as the middle of the potato shreds cook and steam up, the ends tend to get crispy and sweet— like a caramelised onion, adding both a great mealy bite while also retaining that signature crunch. I also add a lot more flavour to these tots to help them stand up on their own, and attain the holy trinity of potato goodness — texture, taste, and that nostalgic cylindrical shape!

Glimpses from the week

Ingredients

750 grams potatoes, washed (about 3 large)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion poder

2 teaspoons paprika

Rosemary dredged in olive oil (optional)

Handful of Parmesan cheese (optional)

Vegetable oil

Method

1. Scrub and peel potatoes. Use a box grater and grate potatoes into shreds. Once grated squeeze out the liquid from the potatoes and place in a dry empty bowl. You will have to squeeze a lot to ensure you get the driest possible potato shreds

2. Add all the spices and cornflour into your dried out potatoes and mix well

3. Add vegetable oil to a depth of 1/2 inch in a heavy-bottomed skillet set over medium heat.

4. When oil is hot, form thumb-size balls of the potato mixture and fry until golden, about 45 seconds per side.

5. Serve hot, with a good tumble in some rosemary oil and parmesan.