Blogger’s Culinary Adventure

Today I made something that is edible, O-so-yummy, and nutritious; instead of the insipid wordy dishes I serve my readers with annoying regularity.

Here is a pic of the salad made by Chef with a Dash,

and a quick Quiz for you, Dear Reader.

Part A

Name the ingredients of this salad (feel free to zoom the photo, and consult your spouse, too) and win an attractive prize, each of which will be cooked and served at his home by your blogger:

· All ingredients identified - 1^st Prize – a complete Sambalpuri meal

· Next best entry – 2^nd Prize – a mouthwatering Sambalpuri snack

· 3^rd Prize – a serving of home-made tamarind sweet pickle

Part B

By joining this quiz, you have agreed to T&C, and you are under an Integrity Pact; Part B is under sealed cover which you may open and read only after taking the Quiz and jotting down your answers.

Answer to the Quiz

List of Ingredients

1. Sweet Potato

2. Capsicum

3. Tomato

4. Onion

5. Boiled red chickpea

6. Mustard microgreens (from pots in the terrace)

7. Coriander leaves (from pots in the terrace)

8. A few almonds (soaked, peeled, and diced)

9. A few walnuts (soaked and diced)

10.Roasted peanuts for a crunchy bite

11.Home-made garnishing (no-mayonnaise):

a. Olive oil

b. Honey

c. Crushed garlic

d. A pinch of minced ginger

e. Roasted cumin powder

f. Red chili powder

g. Red chili flakes

h. Rock salt

i. Lemon

Look how very easy, only 19 ingredients, all readily available at home! Don’t stress if a few items are not at hand, the salad would still be very nutritious and tasty.

Time to prepare

· Dice thoroughly washed sweet potatoes to cubes and steam for 5-7 mins

· While steaming sweet potatoes; dice capsicum, tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, and green chili if you prefer extra zing

· 2 mins to prepare the dressing

· 2 mins to mix and plate the salad

· Chill it, if you like, for 5 mins

· Bingo, ready to savour in 10-15 mins

Sweet Potato: Superfood

It is called shakarkand or shakarkandi in Hindi, kanda in Odia, misti alu in Bengali, and ratalu in Marathi. Its botanical name is ipomoea batatas, but Marathis use batata for potatoes, influenced no doubt by Portuguese in which potato is called batata and sweet potato is called batata doce!

For long it was believed that sweet potato originated in the Americas 35 million years ago, but a recent study by palaeobotanists at the Indiana University has found 57-million-year-old morning glory leaf fossils in Eastern India.[i] We, the People of Bharat, may now feel no guilt for our love for sweet potato for it is no imported videshi vegetable but grew in Bharat Varsha long before that name was applied to Jambu Dvipa.

Botanically, the sweet potato belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, whereas the white potato belongs to the nightshade family.[ii]

Yesterday, buying vegetables at Bittan market, I spotted a heap of sweet potatoes, and remembered an unknown nutritionist’s recommendation[iii] to include in our daily diet this superfood – packed with beneficial starch, vitamins A, B6 and C, antioxidants, manganese, magnesium, potassium, and several other nutrients; she claimed. It boosts immunity, fights cancer, and helps managing Type-2 diabetes; it is claimed.

How much, I asked the vendor? Forty rupees for half a kilo, seventy rupees for a kilo; he said. Thank God, he had not read the nutritionist’s piece, or I wouldn’t have enjoyed this hefty discount.

I’ll make a sweet potato salad, I announced, and spouse looked askance, for neither she nor I had ever made such an experimental dish though we had eaten this humble subterranean root-tuber fairly regularly for long years.

I’m not one who is easily discouraged, surely not from lack of experience. Hey Google, show me a video for sweet potato salad, I asked, and G took me to YouTube which has several videos. I opened a 2-min video, and got going. Salad made, served, and savoured in about 15 mins. Isn’t that impressive? Would that be possible if your blogger weren’t a Chef with a Dash?!

Looked up a few more recipes in You Tube. I guess I can now make a sweet potato chat in authentic desi style, and also a quick curry to go with roti or paratha.

A few days ago, Bidyutmayee served me at her Raipur home a very tasty leafy green saag. What's it, I asked? Sweet potato leaves, she said. Wow, I had never before eaten that.

Other Salads by Dash

A few years ago, this Chef and his spouse were part of a team that had participated in a culinary contest at our Association’s Annual Festival. Spouse made chicken biryani, and Chef made Somtam Thai Salad. Not among the winners, but the dishes were polished off in a flash by a hungry and appreciative crowd of colleagues and their families. About Somtam salad, more later.

Chef once made guava salad for spouse’s kitty party at home, but she didn’t much like it when her friends were over the top in their praise for Chef’s culinary skill. They were just being polite to you, she snapped, after the party! Was she jealous? Not safe to ask her, so I kept my thoughts to myself.

Postscript

G Subbu, a friend and a versatile Limerick maker sent me this delectable ditty:

Prasanna was so glad ,

He rustled up a salad,

Doesn't claim to be a nutritionist ,

But if he wants familial peace to exist,

Shouldn't make his blog, a ballad !

Male Culinary skills not to be shown off ,

Especially in kitty parties !

Excuse the liberty !

Lest the nutritionist,

Faces the wrath of a taxidermist !

[i] https://www.ndtv.com/food/sweet-potato-is-native-to-india-not-america-says-new-research-top-4-health-benefits-of-the-tuber-1856317

[ii] https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/health-benefits-sweet-potato

[iii] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/sweet-potato-benefits#Meal-prep:-Everyday-breakfast-with-sweet-potato-hash; Your blogger is no nutritionist, so consult your dietician or use your own judgement and discretion.

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Prasanna Dash