Ratalyacha Kees - Sweet Potato Snack

Story: Wow!. Switching to a real ;-) job can keep you from blogging for a month or more.. I recently changed jobs and got so busy with the new one that blogging had to take a back seat. Now that I am learning to manage my time a bit better.. I am back! I have missed you and and your comments for the last month...

ok - now let's get on with the story..

Today's story is dedicated to good-old Bollywood.. not the Bollywood that brings us movies like No one killed Jessica.. but the DabanGG Bollywood where you have actors dancing around trees, where a movie almost always has a song celebrating a festival - any major one like Diwali, Eid or Christmas will do.. but even a festival like Mahashivratri works - the actors can get drunk! and if a festival like Holi provides a situation where the Heroine (lead actress) has an opportunity to get drenched.. of course - Bollywood welcomes that!!

Connection with Ratalyacha kees? - This sweet potato snack is usually made for upwas.. or a fast. Today is Mahashivratri - one of the major fasting days where you hog on fast-proof food - yeah - it's complicated - read my other post on Sabudana khichadi for a little more info. Anyway - we love to eat ratalyacha kees with its fast-proof friends - banana, taak/chhas/buttermilk, and sweet lemon pickle as a brunch meal.

To bolo Jai Jai Shiv Shankar...



Source: Aai

Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 medium size sweet potatoes - peeled and shredded
  
• 1 green chilli - slit into two halves
• pinch of red chili powder
  
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp oil
• pinch of hing/asafoetida
  
• 1/2 cup crushed roasted peanuts
• finely chopped coriander and shredded coconut for garnish
• juice of half a lemon
• salt to taste
  

Recipe:
Make sure you put the shredded sweet potato in water so that it does not lose its color and stays some what crunchy.

Heat oil in a pan, once the oil is hot add hing, cumin seeds and green chili and let the cumin seeds splutter. Lower the heat and drain the water from shredded sweet potato to get that ready to go.

When the cumin seeds turn brown, add shredded sweet potato, salt, and red chili powder. Mix well and saute for half a minute. Then cover the pan and keep it covered for 3-5 minutes on low heat. If some of the sweet potato gets stuck to the pan.. don't get scared - that tastes really yummy..

Once cooked, add lemon juice and mix well. It is usually not needed - but you could add very little sugar if you feel like..

Garnish with coriander and coconut and serve hot with sweet lemon pickle and chhas..