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.

Spicy Rice Kichadi

One pot meal and a comfort food, perfect for those lazy days. Kichadi is prepared using rice or semolina or even cracked wheat mixed with lentils and a variety of spices and vegetables. You can also add roasted peanuts or cashew nuts for a little crunch. This recipe can easily be doubled when you have company over. With just a few ingredients from your pantry and easy to cook vegetables, this kichadi will be perfect for lunch boxes too. Hope you will enjoy the dish just like i did. And here goes the recipe, 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Rice

1/4 cup Toor dal

! 1/2 cups Water

1/4 cup Peas

1/4 cup Carrot (chopped)

1/2 Onion (finely chopped)

2-3 Green Chili (Finely chopped)

1 1/2 tsp Garlic (minced)

1 1/2 tsp Ginger (minced)

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Chili powder

1/4 tsp Cumin seeds

1/4 tsp Black peppercorns

1/2" Cinnamon stick

1 Clove

1 pinch Asafoetida

1 tbsp Oil

Salt

 How to:

• Wash the rice and toor dal together, pour the water and soak for 20 mins.

• In a pressure cooker, heat oil, add cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, clove, peppercorns, asafoetida and turmeric powder.

• Add the onions, saute for a min. Then add the ginger, garlic and green chilies and saute for a couple of mins.

• Add the carrots, peas along with chili powder and salt.

• Now add the soaked rice and dal along with the water, check salt and pressure cook for 1 whistle.

• Switch off, fluff the rice gently and garnish with cilantro.

• Serve warm with potato fry or chips.

Spicy Avocado Chutney

Avocado is a rich, buttery fruit but very bland to eat it by itself. You must be familiar with the guacamole(a dip made out of avocado) found in the Mexican cuisine. Just by adding a few spices you can amp up the flavor, increase the heat and blend it to an unbelievable tasting indian style chutney. With a healthy dosage of heart-healthy fats in every spoonful, you can gobble up the chutney as a spread for crackers or as a dip for vegetables. I actually prepared this chutney to accompany my Dosa . It tasted out of the world and I am sure you will love this chutney just like we did. Here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

1 ripe Avocado

5 pearl onions

2 green chili

3 Garlic cloves

1/4 cup Cilantro packed

Few Curry leaves

1 tsp Tamarind

Pinch Asafoetida

2 dry red chili

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tbsp Urad dal

Salt, to taste

1 tsp +1 tsp Oil

Seasoning (optional)

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Urad dal

1 pinch Asafoetida

Few Curry leaves

How to:

• Cut the avocado in half, twist and open. Carefully remove the seed. Now score vertical and horizontal lines without piercing the skin and gently scoop out with a spoon.

• Roast the dry red chili, cumin seeds and urad dal in 1 tsp of oil.

• Let cool, grind to a coarse powder and keep aside.

• In the same pan, heat the remaining oil, add the onions, green chili, garlic, curry leaves and tamarind and saute for 3-5 mins.

• Finally add the cilantro, saute for a min.

• Switch off and let it cool.

• In a blender, add the onion-cilantro mixture along with avocado, salt and grind coarsely.

• Now add the ground spice powder and pulse it until smooth (or bit chunky if you like it).

• Transfer it a bowl and add the optional seasoning.

•  Serve the chutney with idly or dosa.

Baked Spicy Chicken Wings

A perfect party favorite appetizer baked to crunchy outside, moist and juicy inside. This is actually my husband's recipe. Well i wouldn't say a recipe exactly, because his spice mix was prepared by adding some of this and some of that from the pantry. And it worked. He is familiar with those spice powders during his bachelor cooking times. (Check my No Name Chicken recipe for more details) So he experimented out with the the same mix and later i started measuring out ingredients and came up with a share-able recipe. Even now, i like the way he cooks (ahem! which happens rarely) casually without measuring any of the ingredients. Anyways here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:

12-14 Chicken party wings (drumettes and wingettes)

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tbsp Chicken curry powder

2 tsp Tandoori chicken powder

1/2 tsp Salt

2 tsp Oil

 How to:

• In a bowl, marinate the chicken wings by mixing in all the spice powders, salt and oil. 

• Massage the wings and let it marinate for at least 2 hrs or better overnight in the refrigerator.

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and arrange the marinated chicken wings.

• Bake for 20 mins, flip once and bake for another 20 mins.

•  Place the baking sheet on the counter for 5 mins before serving.

• Serve warm with ranch sauce.