Finger licking, plate licking, puniu licking, kadai licking...only way to describe aloo thukpa

This is a typical street food from Darjeeling. Ask anyone from Darjeeling and she/he will soon be raving about a stall selling aloo thukpa nearby. It is basically boiled noodles flavoured with raw mustard oil and potatoes in red slurpy hot gravy and sold in newspaper squares or bauhinia leaf plates (the gravy sodden newspaper/leaf plate is invariably licked by the consumer). Many a times the gravy is too red with food colour replete with carcinogenic properties and the dishes selling them are uncovered and who gives it a thought. Ask all those who remain aloo thukpa fans even after repeated bouts of jaundice, diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid etc. Here I have tried to recreate the magic of aloo thukpa sold near my house in a kitchen thousands of kilometers from home.

INGREDIENTS
2 large Potatoes
4-5 cloves of garlic (coarsely crushed)
3 tbs red chilly powder
1 tbs Turmeric powder
3 tbs wheat flour
Salt to taste
2 cups Water
3tbs mustard oil
Boiled noodles – 1 small packet
LET’S DO IT
Boil the potatoes, skin and cut each into eight pieces
Heat oil in a pan and add the crushed garlic.
Add turmeric powder, salt and wheat flour when the garlic turns golden and fry.
Mix the chilly powder in water and add it
Put in the boiled potatoes, cover and simmer for five minutes.
Take off from flame and keep covered for 10 minutes.
Add 1 tbs raw mustard oil to the noodles and toss well.
Serve the aloo with the noodles. Be sure to drench the noodles with the gravy.