If you walk into a typical Indian kitchen, one vegetable is guaranteed to be present: the humble potato.
It sits there quietly in the corner, never demanding attention, always ready to transform itself into whatever cuisine wants from it—masala-fried, mashed, curried, roasted, stuffed, or deep-fried. It is India’s culinary shapeshifter.
But here’s the twist:
Potatoes are not Indian.
In fact, they are younger to Indian cuisine than many of your great-great grandparents.
Before the potato, the role of the “neutral, filling base ingredient” was played by something surprising:
Bananas. Yes—bananas.
For thousands of years, raw bananas and plantains were used in:
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curries
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chips
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koottu
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poriyal
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fritters
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vegetable bases for weddings and temple kitchens
Across ancient South India and coastal regions, they were the star carbohydrate.
The potato enters this story only in the 17th century—and turns everything upside down.
A Journey from the Andes to the Deccan
Potatoes were first domesticated in the Andes around 8000 BCE, then carried by Spanish conquistadors to Europe after the 1530s.
From Europe they reached the Portuguese empire—and their global port at Goa.
A 1596 letter by a Spanish Jesuit, Father Antony Monserrate, mentions “batata” being grown in Portuguese gardens of India.
But Indians were deeply suspicious of it at first.
Why Indians Initially Rejected Potatoes
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It grew underground, which invoked caste and purity concerns.
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Ayurveda had no category for it.
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Its taste did not match pre-existing flavour palettes.
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Its botanical origin was unknown—many feared it was foreign and “tamasic.”
So for 150 years, potatoes remained a “Portuguese curiosity,” grown in Goa, Daman, and along trade cities, eaten mostly by Europeans.
The East India Company Accidentally Popularizes the Potato
By the late 1700s, the Company faced a problem:
Its soldiers hated eating local Indian vegetables, and transport of European staples was slow.
Solution?
Encourage potato cultivation across India.
British botanists like Sir Joseph Banks, William Roxburgh, and Francis Buchanan-Hamilton pushed potato farming aggressively.
By 1780, the potato had reached:
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Bengal
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Bihar
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Awadh
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Punjab
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Western India
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Mysore
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Travancore
Indian farmers embraced it because:
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it grew well in varied soils
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it handled frost better than most vegetables
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it gave high yields
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it stored easily
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it provided a stable market in colonial towns
HOW POTATO REPLACED BANANA IN INDIAN DISHES
This is one of the most remarkable culinary substitutions in India’s history.
How did raw banana lose its throne?
1. Potatoes absorb spices better
Bananas have flavour.
Potatoes have none.
This made potatoes perfect for:
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masala gravies
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Mughlai dishes
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temple food replications
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mixed sabzis
2. Potatoes cook faster and blend richer
Gravies became smoother.
Tandoori ovens welcomed them.
Calcutta’s Jewish bakeries stuffed them into bread.
3. Potatoes democratized festive food
Bananas were seasonal.
Potatoes were year-round.
Suddenly, a cheap sabzi for the masses became possible.
4. Portability and storage
Bananas bruise.
Potatoes store for months.
This made them perfect for travel and military rations.
5. North India loved them instantly
Raw banana was a South-Indian favourite historically.
North India had no emotional attachment to them, so potatoes filled the gap easily.
Regional Potato Takeovers
Maharashtra & Gujarat
Batata poha, batata vada, aloo poori—these became staple foods by the 19th century.
Bengal
Aloo became so central that Bengalis added it to biriyani, creating a signature tradition later carried to Bangladesh.
Punjab
The invention of tandoori aloo and alu parantha in dhabas happened only after the 1940s.
Kerala and Tamil Nadu
Potato mezhukkupuratti, podimas, masala dosa filling—mostly 19th- and early 20th-century creations that replaced plantain.
Uttarakhand & Himachal
Potato cultivation transformed the Himalayan agriculture economy.
Modern India: The Potato Becomes an Identity Marker
From samosas to dosa masala
From biriyani to pav bhaji
From street chaat to temple prasad
From railway food to hostel canteens
The potato is everywhere.
It might be a foreigner by birth, but today it is the most Indian vegetable of all.
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