Thursday, July 25, 2013

Country Style Sweet Potatoes

Country Style Sweet Potatoes
When Paji was on the Ayurvedic diet, he was quite worried as to how he was going to go without regular potatoes, his all-time favorite food!  I used sweet potatoes in all his favorite recipes and it has been an amazing success much to my relief and his delight. This simple recipe for country style potatoes is one of our particular favorites :).  Choose any type of sweet potato - all kinds work well.

I have given the basic recipe here.  Other veggies that will work well here are carrots, zucchini, and corn.  I allot one sweet potato and bell pepper per person; you may use more/less if you wish.

If you have a wok, get it working for you here - it is my favorite cooking utensil :) - even heat distribution, lots of room so the veggies are not crowded and mushed - what's not to like?!  Alternately, put the whole thing in a baking pan and roast in a 400 F oven for about 30 minutes or until done to your liking.  Bon appetit!

2 Servings

Ingredients:

1 T Olive Oil
1 large Red Onion, diced
1/2 tsp Red Pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Sea Salt
2 medium Sweet Potatoes, large dice
1 each, red and green Bell Pepper (capsicums), diced
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Fresh Parsley/Cilantro, chopped

Method:

Trim the sweet potatoes and peel them if you wish.  I cut the veggies in the order of cooking as I go.

Heat the wok or other cooking utensil and add the oil and swirl to coat.

Add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook covered over low heat until slightly softened, a couple of minutes.

Stir in the sweet potatoes with the turmeric and stir well; cook covered until almost soft, about 10 minutes.  Turn the veggies occasionally so they do not burn.

Now add the peppers with the salt and keep cooking until they are tender.

Remove from heat and stir in the parsley/cilantro and serve hot with breakfast, as a side dish, or any way you like.  Enjoy!!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Ms.Geetha,

Good day!.

Why some sort of fungus/white/black sponge like micro organisma(in tamil it is poonjai) growth is there when pickles(lemon/lime)are made in home.

1)What is the correct method to avoid such things while making pickles?

Is it necessary to add chemicals.We want to avoid chemicals added pickles from super market ,because of this reason we have tried in home.

2)What is the science behind toasting the bread before eating as raw.

Geetha said...

Hello Anon, Fungus and mold spores are everywhere and can drop onto any food that is open to the atmosphere and grow on it if the conditions are right. So if we want to avoid fungi or mold, we have to wash all veggies and fruits thoroughly as well as the surfaces in the kitchen (including the cutting board, bowls, pots, knives, etc). This is why we sterilize jars or other containers with boiling water and do not leave food open. The lemons/limes may have spores clinging to them; you can clean them by scrubbing them well and rinsing them in fresh clean water. The lemons may be further cleaned by dropping them in boiling water (remove water from heat before adding lemons)for about 3 minutes; remove them and plunge them into fresh clean ice water to stop cooking; drain, dry and proceed as per recipe.
The bread is already cooked but we toast it so it becomes crisp, firm,and more flavorful; even stale bread becomes more palatable when toasted. Please read about Maillard reaction if you like more information. It is a complex chemical reaction that usually requires heat to produce browning and flavor.