An Original Recipe
Today I came home in the afternoon and wanted make something different for lunch. I rummaged around the kitchen to see what I have at home and then I saw the Sweet Potatoes. When I see sweet potatoes I am reminded of the dish my Mom used to make at home. But today was not the day for that recipe. Remember I wanted something different!!!
So I decided to come up with something on my own. I decided to call this recipe Savory Sweet Potatoes. I basically came up with the recipe based on whatever was there in my refrigerator.
Ingredients:
- 2 large Sweet Potatoes
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
- 1 Green Chili
- 5-7 Green Onions
- 1 small Red Pepper or 3/4 large Red Pepper
- 1″ Ginger
- 4-5 Garlic pods
- 2 teaspoons ground Cumin
- 1 cup Chicken Stock (for a vegetarian meal you can substitute this with Vegetable Stock)
- 1 cup Paneer (1″ slices) (You will find this in any Indian store, or you can substitute this with cream cheese)
- 1/2 cup Peas
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Lime Juice
- 1 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
- Salt to taste
- 4 six-by-six inch square aluminum sheets.
- 4 teaspoons Corn Meal
Directions:
- Bake the sweet potatoes in the oven (heated to 400 deg F) for 30 – 45 minutes or till tender.
- Chop the green onions, red pepper and green chili.
- Mince the ginger and garlic together.
- Heat 1/2 tsp Olive oil in a saucepan.
- Toss in the chopped green chili and fry till brown.
- Add 1/3 cup of chicken stock and let it simmer.
- Add the chopped green onions and let it cook in the chicken stock for 3 minutes.
- Add the minced ginger garlic and cumin powder.
- Let it simmer till the mixture is almost dry.
- Now add 1/3 cup of chicken stock and the red pepper.
- Cover and cook till the red pepper has softened. (This will take about 10 minutes but keep an eye on the saucepan every 2 minutes)
- In the meanwhile cook the peas in the microwave for 3 minutes.
- If using Paneer: Sprinkle some water on the paneer and heat it in the microwave till it is soft.
- Once the red pepper has softened, add the peas along with the rest of the chicken stock.
- Add some salt to taste and let it cook for 2 minutes.
- Crumble the paneer and add to the saucepan. (if using cream cheese just toss it in and take the saucepan off the heat and mix well)
- Cook it uncovered and keep mashing the paneer to incorporate into the mixture.
- Let the water evaporate, add the black pepper, mix well and remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven, once tender, and peel off the skin.
- Mash the sweet potatoes and add the cooked mixture into it.
- Add the lime juice and mix well.
- Add salt to taste.
- You can refrigerate this till ready to serve.
- Shape the aluminum foil into small bowls.
- Divide the sweet potato into 4 parts and fill the 4 aluminum foil cups. (You could use ramekins instead)
- Sprinkle the 1 teaspoon of corn meal over each serving.
- Heat the oven to 350 deg F and place the sweet potato servings in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Then switch the oven to the broiler setting at 500 deg F and let the corn meal brown. (This should not take more than a couple of minutes)
This entire recipe takes about an hour from start to finish including prep time. I had green salad with some Italian dressing and roasted nuts with the Savory Sweet Potato. You can also serve this dish with some garlic bread.
This recipe can be modified to make smaller sized portions and then can be served as an appetizer.
