Sweet Potato Curry with Peanut sauce

Blogging Marathon# 27: Week 3/ Day 5
Theme: Seasonal Dishes - Fall Entree
Dish: Sweet Potato Curry with Peanut Sauce

Before I talking about Fall and the dish, just wanted to tell you what my 5 year old asked me this morning: "Weekend separates one week from the other, that means weekend has to be really strong, right??" I was like 'I guess so', not knowing what else to tell him.

We say fall is in the air as soon as the days start to get shorter. We have sunlight until around 8:30PM in summers i.e., June-August. Around the end of August, it starts to get dark around 7:00PM and nights start to get chilly. There's a slight nip in the air and the trees start slowly changing color. Its beautiful to watch trees go from green-yellow-red, very pretty. What's not pretty is when the leaves start to fall and you have to clean the yard constantly :-(

We crave for dishes that are spicy, warm and comforting. This is one such dish that gets its spiciness from ginger, garlic and some good dose of sriracha hot sauce. It is quick and easy to make too, perfect for weeknight meals. I added some chopped Chinese Broccoli, but any hearty greens like kale, collard greens or swiss chard can be used.

Ingredients:

Sweet Potato - 2 medium, chopped

Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Chinese Broccoli - 2 cups, chopped (or use Kale, Swiss Chard or Collard greens)

Ginger - 1tbsp, finely grated

Garlic - 2 cloves, finely grated

Peanut Butter - ¼cup (alternately grind some roasted peanuts to a paste)
Tomato paste - 2tbsp
Sriracha sauce - 2tsp (or adjust as per taste)
Curry Powder - 1tsp (I used Madras Curry powder)
Coconut milk - 1 cup (optional)
Salt and pepper - to taste

Method:

• Combine peanut butter and tomato paste in a bowl. Add 2-3 tbsp water to get a saucy consistency. Set aside.
• Heat 1tbsp oil in a pan, add ginger and garlic and cook until they are fragrant. Next add onions and cook until translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
• Next add sweet potato and coconut milk (or just use 1 cup of water or vegetable broth), bring to a boil and cover and simmer until sweet potato is just tender, about 8-10 minutes.
• Next add the chopped greens and cook until they are wilted, about 3-4 minutes.
• Add the peanut butter-tomato paste slurry, curry powder, sriracha sauce, salt and pepper. Add water if the curry looks too thick. Simmer for 5 minutes for all the flavors to mingle.

Serve hot with brown rice, quinoa or a chunk of bread.

Lets check what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 27.