ROASTED GARLIC & RED CHILI PEPPER DIP WITH SWEET POTATO FRIES - Healthy in every way!!

Remember, I told you to watch out for the next post if you want accompaniments for the fried green tomatoesJ. Well, here it is - Roasted garlic and Anaheim pepper dip. This is the ones you call “one of a kind” guys!!

It’s the best, healthiest and tastiest substitute I have found for mayonnaise. Call it sauce, dip, chutney or whatever you want...use it with burgers, fries, tortillas, grills, sandwiches or even simply spread some on a piece of pita and chomp off!!

Did you know chilli peppers when consumed moderately had terrific health benefits? Capsaicin- a phytochemical in chilli peppers helps fight cancer, control cholesterol levels and even reduce weight!!

Measured for heat in Scoville Heat Scale Unit (SHU), good ol’bell peppers are said to be least hot at Zero SHU while an Indian chilli pepper called Naga Viper Pepper measures 1,382,118SHU. Just so that you know how hot that is the Jalapeño peppers reach a maximum of 8,000SHU only!!! Now, how hot is that!!!

Facts for the day are finishedJ.

Back to our recipe....about the sweet potato fries- these are the yellow/whitish variety of sweet potato and not the orange ones. Never, try to bake them on a foil, I promise you that they will stick to it!! So always use a slightly greased and floured non-stick baking tray.

The dip can be refrigerated for up to 2 days in an airtight container. I haven’t tried more than that, so that’s how much shelf life I can guarantee you!

Don’t get scared by the amount of garlic being used, its perfect when blended with the yogurt. If you reduce the amount, it won’t taste as good. So, just follow the recipe tightly J

Ingredients: (serves 1 ½ cups of dip)

Dip:

Garlic - 2 whole pods

Red Onion - ½ diced into 4 pieces

Ripe Anaheim pepper - 2 whole with seeds (remove seeds for less heat)

Low fat yogurt - 1 cup

Lime juice - ½ tablespoon

Vinegar - 1 tablespoon

Olive oil - 1 teaspoon

Salt to season

Sweet potato fries:

Sweet Potatoes - 2 cleaned & peeled

Freshly ground pepper - 1 teaspoon

Olive oil - 1 tablespoon

Salt to season

Method:

Dip:

1.       Cut off top of the garlic cloves and wrap in a piece of foil.

2.       Halve the chilli peppers.

3.       Place the wrapped garlic, peppers and onion in a baking tray.

4.       Drizzle olive oil and salt over the onion and pepper.

5.       Bake at 230⁰C in pre-heated convection oven for 20mins.

6.       Let it cool.

7.       Open foil and peel garlic cloves.

8.       Grind garlic, chilli and onion into fine paste.

9.       Add vinegar and lime juice.

10.   Whip in the yogurt slowly without allowing any lumps to form.

11.   Adjust salt and refrigerate for couple of hours before use.

Fries:

1.       Evenly, slice sweet potatoes into fingers. Don’t make it too thin.

2.       Let it rest in a bowl of warm water for at least 1 hour. Note that the fries should be fully soaked in water. This will prevent it from sticking to the baking pan by removing excess starch from the outer layer.

3.       Now drain and pat with a dry towel. Rest for 15mins till they are dry.

4.       Coat with seasoning i.e olive oil, pepper, salt.

5.        Pre-heat oven to 220⁰C and bake for 30mins. Turn side and bake for another 10mins. Keep a check on them while baking. Cooking time will vary according to oven and potatoes.

Serve dip and fries garnished with some chopped celery leaves for an extra kick J.

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