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.

Whole Wheat Flax Bread Loaf

Who doesn't love a warm toasty and buttered homemade bread for their breakfast? This is a soft, light and healthy sandwich bread rich in omega-3 fatty acids. I found this recipe from here. The flax seed has high levels of dietary fiber and helps in lowering cholesterol. Also, flax-seed needs to be ground to make the nutrients available, otherwise they just 'pass through', so make sure you grind your own flax-seed or buy pre-ground flax-seed meal to make the best out of it. And here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

2 cups Whole Wheat flour

1 cup All Purpose flour (Maida) + more, for dusting

1 cup Flax seed meal

1tbsp Active Dry Yeast

1 3/4 cups Warm Water

2tbsp Sugar

3/4tsp Salt

1tbsp Canola oil

 How to:

• Grease a 9x5 loaf pan with oil and keep it aside.
• Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let sit for 5 mins or until foamy.
• To the yeast, add sugar, oil and salt followed by flax-seed meal.

• Then add the whole wheat flour, one cup at a time, mix well.
• Now add the all purpose flour and start kneading with your hands.

• Transfer the dough onto a flat floured surface and knead it for 15 mins. 

• In a big bowl, spray oil and place the kneaded dough, wrap it with a kitchen towel and let sit in a warm place for 1 1/2hrs or until the dough is doubled in size.

• Then punch the dough and transfer the dough to the loaf pan. (Press the dough down to fit the pan.)

• Let the dough sit for another 1/2hr or until it rises to 1 1/2 inches above the pan.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake it for 45 mins.
• Let sit for 10 mins before you transfer the bread loaf onto the cooling rack.

• Bring the loaf to room temperature before you slice'em.

•  To serve, toast the bread, smother it with some almond butter and devour'em.

• To store, wrap the loaf completely with plastic wrap, place it in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate it.

I am Tagged-2 (7 Links Game)

The 7 links game, wherein each title has to be linked with a recipe that suits the name. And here are my links,

• Most Beautiful Post

Limoncello Granita

This is such an sweet, luscious dessert and absolutely beautiful to all your senses. 

Eyes see the 'white creaminess with tints of yellow' , Ears hear the 'smacking and licking of your lips', Tongue tastes the 'sweetness and tang', Nose smells the 'lemony flavor', and finally, it's smooth and silky texture feels heavenly.

• Most Popular Post

Mushroom Masala (dry)

This recipe has been viewed the most all time.

• Most Controversial Post

Unfortunately, there is no recipe under this category.

• Most Helpful Post

Hyderabadi Vegetable Biryani

Though all my recipes are shown step-wise, heard from quite a few that this particular recipe with all pics helped them in making their biryani.

• Surprisingly Successful Post

Basbousa/Hareesa

This is a finger-licking dessert that gave a little shiver and was a bit intimidating. But to my surprise it turned out successfully, just like the store bought.

• Attention Deserved Post 

Baked Samosa

Well, i expected this recipe deserved a little bit more attention and sadly it wasn't appealing to the viewers. 

• Post, I'm Proud of

Thick Crust Veggie Pizza

Pizza shops are around you every where. Ready made pizza dough and pizza sauces are available in almost every grocery store. What i am proud about is, that i made everything from scratch and the whole pizza disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Thanks for tagging me to this 7 links game, Shobha. It was really fun to pick the post and reviewing my blog from both reader's and blogger's prospective.

Pesarettu (Green Moong Dal Dosa)

Highly rich in protein, this moong dal dosa would be the perfect breakfast any day. A couple of these dosas keeps you full and satisfied until noon. If you don't like onions, add some grated carrot or zucchini or beets and make it fun and colorful. Researchers say, foods rich in protein should make your breakfast plate. So, ditch your regular rice dosas/idlies and start your day including more dals and eggs. Here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

1 cup Whole Green Moong dal

1/2 Yellow onion (finely chopped)

1 piece Ginger 

2 small Garlic

4 Green chilli (chopped)

1/2 cup Cilantro (chopped)

1 pinch Asafoetida

1/2tsp Cumin seeds

Water

Oil

Salt

How to:

• Soak the gram dal overnight or at least for 6hrs. Drain'em and keep it aside.

• Grind the dal along with ginger, garlic, green chilli, cilantro, asafoetida, cumin seeds and salt, in a blender/mixie to a smooth dosa like batter, adding some water.

• Now heat a griddle or dosa tawa, pour a ladleful of batter and swirl like you would for dosa, sprinkle some onions over the batter and pour drops of oil around the edges and on top.

• Cook for couple of mins or until golden brown, flip and cook the other side.

• Serve hot with any chutney or sambar.

Whole Wheat Focaccia (Italian Bread)

Focaccia is a flat italian bread topped with herbs and seasoned with olive oil and salt. It is eaten as a snack in Italy. Here in US, you would normally eat as a sandwich stuffed with cheese and meat/vegetables. It is similar to the making of pizza, instead of rolling the dough thin, it is hand pressed to a even thicker dough and dotting over the unbaked dough(that is making indentations)is practiced. The recipe calls for no wheat flour, so if you want a light airy bread, you can replace the wheat flour with all purpose flour. Pushing to be a bit more healthy turns the bread a little dense. But the bread was very soft and tasty. My food critic complained about the denser side, but he absolutely loved the taste. Feel free to top the bread with your favorites and enjoy the hot bread. Baking breads at home are so comforting and therapeutic and makes your whole kitchen smell heavenly. And here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Whole wheat flour

2 cups + 1/4 cup All purpose flour (maida)

1 pack Rapid rise yeast

1/4 cup + 2tbsp Olive oil

1 2/3 cups warm Water

1tsp Sugar

2 1/2tsp Salt

Topping:

1tsp dried Rosemary

few thinly sliced Red onion

How to:

• Grease a 15x10" baking sheet with olive oil and keep it aside.
• Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water and let sit for 5 mins.

• In a big bowl, add the flours and salt, mix well, followed by 1/4 cup olive oil.
• Once the yeast bowl is foamy, pour'em into the flour bowl and bring it together starting to knead.

• Dust the surface by slowly adding the remaining 1/4 cup flour and knead for 15 mins to a soft, non-sticky dough.

• Transfer the dough onto the greased baking sheet and flatten'em evenly by pressing with your hands.

• Cover the dough with a wet kitchen towel and let rest for 1 1/2 hrs in a warm place to rise.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Meanwhile mix the 2tbsp olive oil with the rosemary and onion and keep it aside.

• Once the dough is risen, make indentations all over the dough with your finger.

• Now, with a pastry brush, spread the oil mixture on top the dough. Also arrange the left over onion slices and sprinkle a pinch of salt on top.

• Bake the bread for 20 mins. Let it cool before you slice'em.

• Serve it as a snack, use it for making sandwiches or drizzle some almond butter and gobble it up like me.

To Store, refrigerate the left over bread in a tight container.