Quick and Easy Snack - Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Evenings are kind of stressful with two kids back from school hungry and the two adults back from work hungry. Nobody thinks straight with all that hunger running around. One adult is especially stressed with the need to put dinner out in a few hours and has no time for elaborate snacks. Anyway to tide over the few hours till dinner time it is better for everyone's sanity if something is put into the respective stomachs without too much hard work.

It is times like those that sweet potatoes are a life saver. They cook pretty quickly. Although they can be eaten just boiled nobody prefers them that way. I can understand because I don't much care for mushy (or not) boiled sweet potatoes either. Once they see the toaster oven for a few minutes the very same sweet potatoes become a sought after snack.

The other interesting thing I am noticing is a lot of people eating sweet potatoes with their protein instead of rice or pasta or whatever. I know sweet potatoes are kind of fad these days.

I prefer the white fleshed and purple skinned sweet potatoes over the orange fleshed and brown skinned sweet potatoes. Both work well for these fries. The white ones take a bit longer to cook than the orange ones. Toaster oven is what works best for this. The big oven takes longer to preheat and it is not worth it methinks for the small quantity.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients

1. 1 or 2 sweet potatoes peeled and cut in half
2. salt
3. chilli powder or any seasoning preferred
4. 1-2 tsp oil

Method

1. Boil the sweet potatoes till it is half cooked (do not cook it fully)
2. Cool and cut into thin strips.
3. Toss it with salt, chili powder and the oil.
4. Spread it on a baking tray in a single layer and broil (using toaster oven) for 8 minutes on one side, flip and broil for another 8 minutes.
5. If there are more than can hold do it in batches.

Zucchini Chutney (thuvayal)

Zucchini is one of those vegetables that seems to be available throughout the year. The good thing it can be easily adapted to Indian recipes with ease. Since it does not have a strong taste it adapts nicely to most recipes.

This Zucchini thuvayal (thuvayal is a thicker version of a chutney and is usually eaten with rice whereas chutney is a bit watery and eaten as a side with idli or dosai) came about when all there was Zucchini and a need for some side dish for rice.

The same recipe should work with any vegetable like ridge gourd, bottle gourd, brinjal or leaves likes cilantro or methi.

Zucchini Chutney (thuvayal) Ingredients

1. 2 Zucchini diced about 2 1/2 cups
2. 1/4 cup onion diced
3. 2 cloves garlic (optional)
4. 2 tbsp channal dal (bengal gram)
5. 1/4 tsp coriander seeds
6. a pinch of cumin seeds
7. a few pepper corns
8. 4-5 red chilies
9. a small piece of tamarind about an inch piece
10. salt to taste
11. 2 tsp of oil

Method>

1. Heat oil in a saute pan when hot add the channa dal and roast till it starts to turn brown, add in the red chilies, coriander seeds, cumin and pepper corn and saute for a couple more minutes. Set aside.
2. In the same pan saute the onions till they get translucent. Add in the tamarind and zucchini pieces and saute till it is cooked (no need to add any water). Add salt and turn off the heat.
3. Add the roasted dal and spices first to the blender and let it powder. Now add the rest of the ingredients and blend without any addition of water. (this should work if using the Indian blender else add a bit of water to get the blades to spin).

Serve with rice.