It's just something about their soft, gooey texture. Their capacity to fill with a buttery taste. And their propensity to taste divine in hot oil that I just can't live without.

But then there is the inescapable guilt I can't possibly avoid. After all, every intelligent woman knows, potatoes are starchy carbohydrates. When eaten in excess by the desk bound like me they waste no time to turn into stored fat.

So what is one to do? I can't live without potatoes, so I try to remember a few golden rules when it comes to them.

According to nutritionist and fellow blogger Kathryn Elliott, there is a 50/25/25 rule when it comes to how much of the spud we should eat. So 50% of the dinner plate should be vegetable, 25% a protein and the remaining 25% grains or potatoes. Note that she doesn't count a potato as a vegetable owing to its high carbohydrate content.

I limit the amount of potato I eat at dinnertime. I have noticed a direct correlation to the amount of potatoes I eat in the evening and the size of my belly the next morning. Besides the energy they provide is hardly going to be of much use in the middle of the night.

And finally, I avoid deep fried potatoes completely. If I'm craving French Fries or oily fried aloo bhaja, I simply resist. This stuff is unhealthy for obvious reasons.