Many years seem to have passed without me having a real taste of ratadu or shakarkandi as most of you might know it, as my mother seldom made it for us assuming my children are weary of eating root vegetables of any-kind and are averse to it apart from potatoes and some basics off-course
But I vividly remember the days with my aunt after coming back from school when I would scour the kitchen platform for food and would find boiled ratadu kept on plates I didn’t know of them being seasonal for me they just came and went but boy did they satiate my hunger after a stressful day (well I know we are all adults now and reminiscence back on those days when we just had to worry about homework )
It was as easy as peeling a banana and taking a bite
That was my only definition of sweet potato but over the years having consumed and cooked it in various forms it goes on to say how versatile it is being a starchy tuber and being gluten free it occupies a special place in Indian fasting rituals
A richly nutritious super food filled with vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin B6 they are also a rich source of fiber and the best thing they are really inexpensive in season
Ratadu are a special street snack in northern parts of India where they are served in form of chats and people in south consume it usually as a form of stir fries with other vegetables.
It is also an important ingredient of gujrat winter speciality undhiyu.
I had prepared some sweet potatoes a few days back simply boiled them in salted water peeled it and had brought it for myself to eat but more than me I found my sister having it bite by bite unaware and immersed in conversation and really enjoying it which led me to post this recipe so that you all could also try the stomach feeling tasty sweet potatoes
But everything said and done ratadu eaten just plain boiled is what’s the best I like.
Rataadu nu salaad (Sweet potato salad)
Ingredients
- 2 nos Sweet potato
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Cumin powder
- 1 tsp Red chili powder
- 1/2 cup Split moong chilka (soaked)
- 1 nos Onion slices medium red (marinate with salt and red chili powder for half hour)
- 1 nos Orange (half segments)
- to taste Salt
- 10-12 leaves Mint
yogurt dressing
- 1 cup Yogurt
- 1 tsp Ginger (chopped)
- 1 tsp Chili (chopped)
- 2 tbsp Mint (chopped)
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1/2 nos Juice of lime.
- 1 tsp Sugar
- to taste Salt
Instructions
SOAKING MOONG
- Soak split moong for 5-6 hours. Drain excess water and season.
YOGURT DRESSING
- Take yogurt in a bowl. Whisk and add chopped ginger, chili, oil, sugar, chopped mint and salt to taste.
PREPARING ORANGE,SWEET POTATO AND ONION
- Remove orange segments and cut each in half.Make thin slices of orange horizontal to the petals and sprinkle with some salt and red chilli powder.Keep it refrigerated for half an hour. Wash, peel and cut medium sized cubes of sweet potato and cook in simmering water till just done. Drain water and sauté them in medium hot oil. Toss in red chili powder, cumin powder and salt while hot.
ASSEMBLY
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. And toss with the required amount of dressing so that it coats all the salad vegetables. Serve warm or chilled as per choice.