Sweet Potato Masala Roast

A perfect roast as a side for sambar rice. Sweet potatoes are very healthy and if you don't like to eat just boiled like back at home, prepare this roast for weekday lunches and you will be hooked for sure. With our variety of spices, you never have to eat anything bland. These days sweet potatoes are a staple at my home. And here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

2 medium Sweet Potatoes

1 medium Red Onion (finely chopped)

6-8 Green Chili (slit)

3 Garlic pods

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tbsp Urad dal

3 dry red chili

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

2 tsp Chili powder/Sambar powder

Cilantro chopped

Salt

1 tbsp Oil

How to:

• Boil the sweet potatoes and chop'em to bite size pieces with or without skin. Crush the garlic and cumin seeds.

• Heat oil in a skillet, add mustard seeds, dry red chili and urad dal.

• Add the onions and green chili, saute for a min and now add the crushed garlic-cumin seeds.

• Add the turmeric powder and sambar powder, mix well.

• Add the sweet potatoes along with salt and cook for 5 mins in a medium heat. (Don't salt'em as you would for white/red potatoes, use sparingly.)

• Switch off and garnish with cilantro.

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

A healthy snack, to begin with and yet tasty and crunchy that you can't just munch one. It is  guilt-free and perfect for mindless munching when watching a movie. Ditch the buttered popcorn and opt for these 'good for you' munchies. Also play with the seasonings to make it even more flavorful. Here goes the basic recipe,

Ingredients:

1 large Sweet Potato (found this sweet variety of potato displayed under the name 'Yams')

Black Pepper

Salt

Oil Spray

How to:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Cut the ends of the sweet potato and thinly slice'em with a mandoline slicer.

• Line a couple of baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray with cooking oil.
• Now lay the potato slices on the sheet, not overlapping with each other. Spray the potato slices with oil and sprinkle salt and pepper.

• Bake for 15-20 mins or until golden brown. After 15 mins keep an eye on the baking chips as it might blacken very quickly.

• Serve hot as a snack.

Baked Spicy Sweet Potato Fries with Garlicky Lemon Yogurt Dip

Fries are one of the addictive finger foods, nobody can stop just eating one. These baked ones taste better than the fried ones with extra crispiness. You can taste the sweetness from the potato and little heat from the spicy seasonings at the same time. Also these sweet potato fries are a great healthy snack option, as they are rich in dietary fiber, vitamin A and C. The dip is made from Greek yogurt and other dried herbs and seasonings. The regular yogurt is strained to remove the whey, that results in thick and creamy textured Greek Yogurt. That is why it is higher in protein and low in carbohydrates and sugar.

These are super easy to prepare and makes a great pair. So dump the fast food restaurant's deep fried french fries and opt for endless baked fries at home. And here goes the recipe,

Baked Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

1 Sweet Potato

1tbsp Garlic Olive Oil

1/4tsp Paprika

1/4tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/2tsp Cumin powder

Garlic Salt, to taste

Ground Black Pepper, to taste

 How to:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and keep it aside.
• Cut the sweet potato into strips with 1/2 inch thickness. (wash and dry completely before cutting'em, otherwise it might end up soggy.)

• In a bowl, to the sweet potato strips, add all the remaining ingredients and give it a good mix. (You can replace or leave out any of the seasonings, if you don't want to use the listed ingredients.)

• Now arrange the potato strips on the baking sheet without touching each other and bake'em for 15 mins, flip and bake for another 10 mins or until crispy.

• Serve hot with a dip as a snack or an appetizer.

Garlicky Lemon Yogurt Dip

Ingredients:

5.3oz Greek Yogurt

2 Garlic cloves (minced)

1tsp Lemon Juice

1/2tsp dried Parsley flakes

1/4tsp Season salt (it has salt, paprika, celery, turmeric and black pepper)

1/4tsp Cumin powder

Ground Black pepper, to taste

How to:

• Mix everything together and make it smooth. Check salt for taste and add fresh herbs if you have it handy.

•  Serve alongside fries or baby carrots.