Sweet Potato Spicy Soup

Winter days always bring to mind, images of my older sister, wrapped cosily in a blanket, on a "charpoy" (rope cot) placed on the lush green lawn, sunning herself after a wonderful lunch.

Those were the days we used to live in Jodhpur, a city in the desert state of Rajasthan. Summers in Rajasthan were usually spent indoors to avoid the frequent sandstorms and blistering heat. But we invariably spent the winters outdoors taking in the sun!

The winter sun in Jodhpur was warm without being too hot and bright without being too dazzling. And Sunday afternoons in winter were meant for dozing in the sun, replete after a great meal. Winter meals too, were different from summer meals. Summer meals were light and cooling with lots of liquids and juices. In winter though, we could indulge in the winter vegetables that were available in plenty: the squashes, pumpkins, the gourds and the sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes were our favorite dish for the winter. They were usually brought in fresh from the fields with the mud still sticking to them, by the local farmers pushing their hand carts.

Sweet potatoes are one of the healthiest vegetables you can eat. They contain almost twice the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A, 42 percent of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C, four times the RDA for beta carotene, and when eaten with the skin, sweet potatoes have more fiber than oatmeal. All these benefits for only about 130 to 160 calories!

In honor of my sister, here is a recipe for a sweet and spicy winter soup: this is a low calorie, zero fat meal by itself. It is also very quick and easy-to-make. Serve with bread or just eat it hot off the stove!

Here is what you need:
1 large sweet potato
1/4 cup pink lentils
1 habanero or jalapeno (optional - beware the habanero is very spicy!)
2 medium sized tomatoes
2 - 3 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp red chili powder (if you are omitting the habanero or jalapeno)
1 tsp turmeric powder

Here is how you make this:
Wash and chop the sweet potato. Do not remove the skin. Wash the pink lentils. Add everything in a large pot and cook until the sweet potatoes and pink lentils are soft. Serve hot.

Sweet Green Chili Pickle

As a young child, I have heard many folklore about the British reign in India. The Brits, we were told, had a fascination for this country of stark contradictions.

This was a land where elephants roamed the unpaved roads; snake charmers with huge snakes wrapped around their necks knocked on your door; where extreme poverty co-existed with the lavish wealth of the Maharajahs who lived lives of unheard-of splendor. My grandfather would tell me stories about the vast treasures that were part of India's heritage: the Peacock throne, the Kohinoor diamond, and enormous amounts of gold, silver and precious gems set in ornate jewelery by artisans of exceptional skill. Not for naught was India called a "Jewel in the Crown".

The wonderful landscape, the wealth in the land, the diverse population, the rich culture, the varied and vast cuisine, the different kinds of vegetables and fruit, the elephants, camels, monkeys, snakes, peacocks, deer, tigers and lions that roamed the jungles - all went towards creating this aura of a mysterious land that attracted some adventurous people from Britain. They came to India with the eager anticipation of experiencing its wonder. They came prepared with their hats and white clothes to bear the heat and the dust. They brought their cuisine and their religion. They brought their cricket, croquet and tennis games. And they brought their wives, girl friends and family members.

Even though the British in India had mostly re-created a life similar to theirs in Britain, they also loved to mingle with Indian high society and rub shoulders with the Indian Kings. They especially loved being invited to the grand marble palaces for sumptuous dinners. And while they enjoyed being part of India's upper crust, they found it hard to eat Indian food. It was too spicy for their taste.

As the story goes, in the early 1900's, a young British couple had just moved to India. They made their first appearance at a dinner hosted by one of the local Kings. As course after sumptuous course was served by white-jacketed waiters, the young wife found she could hardly swallow the spicy food. She started to drink wine deeply from the bejeweled silver goblets and soon got pretty drunk. As each course was served, the butler would announce the name of the dish in stentorian tones. Finally, the butler announced, "Fried green chili". The young wife heaved a sigh of relief thinking that this dish would be cool - since the name was chili. Unfortunately for her, the green chili served was the spicy little roasted green peppers. A bite of the dish had her reaching for her water goblet and screaming for something sweet to offset the spice.

That story brings to mind my Sweet Green Chili pickle recipe, made spicy and sweet, in accordance to Indian cuisine's taste-bud rhapsody! Try it: it tastes simply fantastic especially when eaten with Aloo paratha (potato stuffed whole wheat bread).

The spice in the green chili is offset by the sweet taste of jaggery. And you needn't reach for your water glass after eating this dish: the chilis that you get here in the US are nowhere near as spicy as the Indian green chili and this dish is more sweet than spicy. :) All-in-all, this Sweet Green Chili pickle is the ultimate sweet and spice and all things nice.

Here is what you need:
4 large fleshy green Mexican chili
3 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp Red chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup jaggery powder (you can also use brown sugar)
Smidgen of tamarind paste

Here is how you make this:
Chop the green chili. Heat the olive oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. Wait for them to crackle and add the cumin seeds. Roast for 10 seconds. Now add the chopped green chili, red chili powder and salt. Stir fry on high heat for about 1 minute. Reduce heat and add the tamarind pastea nd powdered jaggery or brown sugar. Simmer until the chili is cooked and the jaggery is melted.

Remove from fire and serve with Aloo Paratha. Eat sparingly - not more than 1 tsp per meal. You can store this in the fridge for upto 1 week.