Spicy Homemade Tater Tots with Egg Breakfast

What are tater tots?

The king of fried junk food: greasy, crispy, sinful Tater Tots. If you don’t indulge frequently in such food, I guess it’s okay to cheat once a while.

The Origin of Tater Tots:

Originally, Tater tots were invented by F. Nephi Grigg of Ore-Ida in 1953 to use up excess potato shavings left after making frozen french fries. Then many brands took up the recipe with different names and the mini fried potato bites became popular as a quick snack side or side.

From Pizza Toppings to Breakfast Bowls

You can be creative with them and actually make casseroles and burgers with them. Top veg pizzas with them or , as I did, make a complete and fun breakfast with them. Since both my kids love tater tots, and believe me, they seldom agree on one food, I decided to make Sunday brunch with them, loaded with fresh and zingy salsa and a fried egg for protein boost.

Tips:

• Whether homemade or store bought, tater tots should always be cold before frying to maintain their shape while frying.
• It’s very imoortant that oil should be on medium heat, too hot oil makes the tots disintegrate. Preheat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees Fahrenheit before adding tater tots.
• Do not overcrowd the pan.
• If you are not confident in the kitchen or new to cooking, make your tater tots fool proof by rolling them lightly in corn starch before frying.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg potatoes
• 4 tablespoons plain flour or corn starch
• 2 teaspoon red chilli flakes
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• Salt
• Oil for frying
• 4 eggs
• Finely chopped onion, tomato, green chilli pepper and fresh parsley leaves for salasa
• 1 lemon

This Is What You Do:

1. Peel potatoes and cut into wedges or chunks. Soak potatoes in cold water for a 10 minutes.
2. Pat potatoes dry with a clean kitchen towel.
3. Heat oil in deep frying pan, wok or fryer to 350°F (medium heat), add potato pieces, cook till golden.
4. Remove the fried potatoes from oil, and drain through a wire sieve.
5. Add fried potatoes to a food processor and whiz briefly to break potatoes into tiny chunks or grate them using a cheese grater.
6. Add cornstarch, red chilli flakes,black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin powder, oregano and salt to processed fried potatoes.
7. Make tiny Tater Tot shapes, smaller than croquettes.
8. Heat the oil in the pan again to 350°F and toss in the shaped Tater Tots for second frying. Fry until golden brown.
9. Remove from oil and drain.
10. Fry eggs to suit your taste with runny or firm yolks. Ready salsa by mixing chopped onion, tomato, green chilli pepper and parsley leaves. Drizzle with lemon and season with salt. Toss to mix.
11. Srrve Tater tots hot, topped with salsa salad and fried egg.

Serves 4