My choice of recipes for Assyrian appetizers was very limited, so I decided to make these Potato Chap Patties even though the instructions for the original recipe warned that they were quite difficult to make. The other possibility was to make Potato Chap in a Pan, but that dish seemed to be too much like the meat pie I grew up eating in Argentina. The patties have the same ingredients, but instead of being baked in a pan, they are fried.

I don't know if it was a failure of technique, bad luck or just a bad recipe, but the patties did not turn out well. I just did not like how they tasted when fried. It certainly was not worth the effort. Pretty much all the patties I made went uneaten.

I followed the original recipe closely, but I made a few modifications. Instead of making a huge batch of Middle Eastern Spice, I added small quantities of the spices that go into this mixture. Similarly, the original recipe included the instructions on how to make fresh mashed potatoes - I decided to use potato spuds from a box instead. These shortcuts, of course, may have contributed to the failure. The recipe below is what I made.

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Potato Chap Patties

Ingredients

Mashed potatoes, cooked (enough for 5-6 servings)

1 tbsp. corn starch

1 tsp. salt

1/2 lb. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

1 tsp. ground allspice

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 cardamon pods

dash of ground cloves

dash of ground ginger

dash salt

vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Make the mashed potatoes, either by following the instructions from the box or by boiling 5 white potatoes until well cooked and then mashing. Add the corn starch and 1 tsp. salt, mix well and set aside.

Fry onion in a saucepan until soft, add beef, parsley, spices and salt. Cook until the beef is brown. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Assemble the patties. Take a spoonfull of mashed potatoes and flatten it in the palm of your hand. Place a little bit of meat filling in the center. Bring the edges of the disk together and close them on top of the meat. Make sure the filling is fully enclosed. Flatten the pattie with both hands and place aside. Do this until you run out of mashed potatoes/meat. Place in the fridge until ready to cook.

Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan or deep fryer until very hot. Gently place no more than 2 patties at the time in the oil. Fry for 2 minutes on each side, remove, dry with a paper towel and serve.

Adapted from: Assyrian American Association of Modesto Foods.