THE SWEET ROOT TO GOOD HEALTH
Food blogger Nandita Iyer’s cook book provides nutritional advice and fussfree vegetarian recipes. This excerpt reveals how she started cooking and features an excellent sweet potato recipe perfect for winters
Fifteen years ago, for a brief period of time, I lived in Shivaji Park, Mumbai, in a shared paying-guest accommodation with four other women. A terrace converted into a large hall-like room with five single beds, five small steel almirahs and a bathroom – it was the most basic of spaces to live in. A cudappah (stone) slab in one corner of the room with a two-burner gas stove and a couple of stone shelves underneath it constituted the kitchen. The five of us took turns cooking, and the constraints of space, appliances and ingredients ensured that the food was utterly basic – essentially dal-rice, khichdi, poha or anything else that could be made in a small pressure cooker and/or a kadhai. My studies and job left me with no time or energy to experiment in the kitchen, after all. During that phase in my life, there was neither the time nor the wherewithal to cook anything beyond the basics. Perhaps to compensate for this – and to nurture my passion for food – I started scribbling down recipes or ideas for dishes in the form of a makeshift cookbook. However, these armchair cooking escapades in a foolscap notebook seemed silly even to me.
After I got married, I moved to the United States and my books... were packed in cartons, left at my parents’ home in Mumbai, and consequently forgotten. This move brought food back into my life, and I started cooking a great deal more. Thankfully, my husband... welcomed my culinary experiments with enthusiasm. His encouragement pushed me to let loose my creativity in the kitchen and, in March 2006, I started my food blog... The blog, which I named Saffron Trail, began as a place where I could record the recipes I had created on an impulse... Given my medical degree and study of nutrition, the food I prepared always followed the basic principles of healthy eating, but did not compromise on taste. Over the years, my focus shifted to recipes that would benefit people who wanted to lead a healthier lifestyle. My attention to diabetic-friendly recipes, quick weeknight dinners for working professionals, incorporating superfoods into one’s diet, etc., received a lot of positive feedback... Saffron Trail slowly grew... and today has over 700 recipes with a wonderful and loyal reader base... When I shared the news of signing a book deal with my Amma, she unexpectedly brought up the forgotten notebook of recipes I had left with her. ‘I saw that notebook with your handwritten recipes among your packed things years ago. I’m proud that your dream has turned into reality,’ she said. Her gentle praise brought back memories of the girl who had dreamt of writing a cookbook even when she had a barely-functional kitchen.
I strongly believe that every little dream, even those that are buried deep within our subconscious, become building blocks for our future. This book is proof of that.
SWEET POTATO PARATHA
MAKES 4 parathas
INGREDIENTS — DOUGH
1 large sweet potato (approx. 300 g), 1¼ cups wholewheat flour, ½ tsp grated ginger, ½ tsp salt, 2–3 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaves, 1 tsp raw mango powder (amchoor), ½ tsp red chilli powder, 1 tbsp yogurt, 1 tsp groundnut oil,
INGREDIENTS — PARATHAS
2 tbsp wholewheat flour, 1 tbsp ghee or gr oundnut oil
METHOD — DOUGH
1.Scrub the sweet potato and put it in a pressure cooker. Pour some water into the cooker and pressure cook... until there (first whistle). Turn off the flame. Open the cooker after the pressure subsides. 2.Peel the sweet potato and mash it. 3.Transfer mash to a large mixing bowl. 4.Add all the ingredients for the dough, except the oil.
5.Work the flour into the mashed sweet potato and yogurt.
6. Add water 1 tsp at a time, kneading well, till you have a soft, pliable dough. 7.Give the dough a final knead with oil. 8.Cover and keep aside for 15 minutes.
METHOD — PARATHAS
1.Divide the dough into 4 portions. 2.Roll out each portion into a slightly thick paratha, using dry flour to prevent it from sticking to the surface. 3.Place a tava over moderate heat. 4.When hot, place the rolled paratha on it and cook for 1 minute.
5.Flip paratha and apply ghee. 6.Press down on it with a spatula. 7.Turn over, apply ghee on other side. 8.Flip and cook for few more seconds.
TO SERVE
1.Remove the paratha from the tava and keep warm in an insulated box or in a kitchen towel till ready to serve.
2.Make the remaining parathas in the same way.
3.Serve with my favourite roasted pineapple chilli chutney… or any other accompaniment of your choice.
These parathas are best eaten hot off the tava. If you are packing them for lunch, wrap tightly in foil and pack in an insulated lunch box that will keep the parathas warm. Sweet potato is a rich source of vitamin A, more specifically carotenoids, providing antioxidant and anti inflammatory benefits and boosting immunity.