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Our sweet potatoes did not produce all that much last year, but we are eating them and they are good. Next year we will try to grow more of them. We grew 2 kinds, a fairly standard orange one and a white one called Frazier White. They do taste slightly different, although just as good as the darker ones. You can certainly use whatever sweet potatoes you like for this.

The Jamaican curry is something I picked up last time I was in Toronto and Im enjoying it very much. Mine is quite mild, so you may wish to adjust the amount of curry powder you put in, depending on what you are able to get.

4 servings
1 3/4 hours - 1 hour prep time


Make the Sweet Potato Topping:
1 1/2 kilos (3 pounds) sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Wash the sweet potatoes, and stab them with a fork. Bake for about 45 minute to 1 hour, until soft. Let them cool enough to handle, then peel and mash with the butter and salt. Meanwhile...

Make the Filling:
1 cup diced celeriac
1 large onion
2 medium carrots
2 cups frozen corn
500 grams (1 pound) ground beef
1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Jamaican or other mild curry powder
1/2 teaspoon rubbed thyme
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Peel and dice the celeriac, onion and carrots. Set the corn out to thaw.

Heat the oil in a large skillet and crumble in the beef. Cook until browned, stirring occasionally. Add the celeriac, onion and carrots, and continue cooking and stirring until they are softened and browned in spots as well. Add the seasonings and cook for another few minutes. Turn off the heat and mix in the corn.

Put the beef and vegetables into an 8" x 11" baking pan, and top with the mashed sweet potatoes. Return to the oven and bake for 30 minutes to an hour and a quarter, until lightly browned and bubbling. (Baking time will depend on whether it goes straight in or whether you allow it to cool, and refrigerate it before proceeding.)




Last year at this time I made Cocoa Oatmeal, Dried Corn Baked with Cream & Cheese and Ambrosia.

Just Ingredients  have one of the largest ranges of ingredients online, much larger than you will find on the high street or in your local supermarket.

From turmeric to oregano, carob to ashwagandha, they stock herbs, spices, powders, oils and tinctures. Their product range is exciting and diverse and with a quick search, you will be able to come across some interesting finds.
All their products are non-irradiated and GMO free. They also supply a number of products suitable for vegan, vegetarian, nut-free and wheat-free diets and have an organic range.  They sent me a parcel of samples to try including this pack of Chipotle Chillies and I turned some everyday potatoes into superstar Chipotle Chilli Wedges.


Chipotle Chilli Potato Wedges

4 medium potatoes, cut into wedges
2 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
1/2 tsp Just Ingredients Chipotle Chillies

Heat the oven to 200C/400F.  Put the potato wedges and oil in a roasting tray and mix thoroughly, sprinkle over the Chipotle Chillies and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and crispy.

The smoky chilli worked really well with the potato, not too spicy and  a lovely smoky flavour, the wedges would be lovely served with a soured cream dip or with grilled meats, burgers or sausages.


What are Chipotle Chillies?
Chipotle chillies are in fact, fully ripened jalapeno peppers that are smoke dried, they are dark reddish brown to black in colour and bursting with a delightful smokey, slightly chocolaty flavour with a medium heat, registering on the Scoville scale as have 15, 000-25, 000 SHU’s. Just Ingredients chipotle chillies have been heat treated to preserve their freshness and their unique flavour and have been pre-cut to 3-6mm for ease of use. Handle with caution! 

100g Chipotle Chillies from Just Ingredients - £3.50

I was provided with a hamper of  spice samples from Just Ingredients to review, I was not paid for this post and all opinions are my own.




More spicy recipes coming soon!

This picture was used in the post Potatoes in Tambram cooking even though it had no relation to it whatsoever, just because I thought these crunchy golden wedges looked so beautiful. And there was the promise for the recipe soon...which I was reminded non stop by my reader turned good friend Subashree. I sent her the recipe per email, but then when Anita poked me on this today, it was time to post it on the blog :)

I have always loved the wedges as against the fries, because they are chunky, the skins turn delicious and crispy and theres no frying involved. Last week, when we were in KL, we ordered a portion of wedges (for want of any other vegetarian options) at the premium coffee house cum diner, Dome and I havent had them any worse. They were batter fried and cold which made me miss these home-made beauties. Also check here.

These are perfect when you and your spouse want to sack out watching the latest season of Simpsons or Ugly Betty. The day it poured cats and dogs in Bombay, we enjoyed this, with lots of ketchup, even if we had to suffer hot-potato-speech.

Well 2-3 big sized potatoes for two greedy people. Wash well scrubbing with a brush, because we plan to retain the skins. Bring 2-3 L of water to boil in a large vessel. Once water boils, drop in the whole potatoes and boil for 5-7 minutes, till they are half cooked (thats why not pressure cooking them). Remove and cool. Cut into half length wise and then into thick wedges.

Preheat oven at 200 C.

In a large dish, mix together 2 tbsp sesame seeds, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder / flakes, pinch of turmeric powder for extra golden colour, 1/2 tsp salt, crushed pepper and 2 tbsp olive oil / cooking oil. Transfer the potato wedges onto the dish and coat them evenly with spices.

Cover a baking sheet with foil / parchment paper, place the potato wedges on their bottoms (skin side down), sprinkle a pinch of coarse salt over the wedges. Bake for 15 minutes, until they are golden and crispy on the outside.

Eat as hot as your mouth can take :)

Health note

Oven baking these wedges makes them infinitely healthier than fries. They are chunkier hence more filling than the skinny fries. Keeping the skins on increases the fiber quotient, which is a great nutritional plus point.

Leeks and potatoes; a classic soup. I was a bit surprised I havent posted about this before. Mr. Ferdzy really loves this and has been lobbying for it for a while. I used Alaska Sweetheart potatoes, which have pinkish flesh and so if you look closely you will see that the soup is also a bit pink. Nice! But you can use any starchy potato you like. I am lazy and leave the peels on but it is more traditional and makes a smoother soup to peel them. Up to you. If you decide to leave them on, they should be well scrubbed, and dont leave them too big. Guess who did.

8 servings
1 hour prep time


1.5 kilos (3 pounds) starchy potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
2 or 3 bay leaves
1 litre water
3 or 4 large leeks (6 cups once chopped)
3 or 4 shallots
3 or 4 stalks of celery
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon celery seed, ground
1 teaspoon rubbed savory
pepper to taste
2 cups light cream

Scrub the potatoes well, or peel them if you like. Cut them into chunks. If you leave the peels on, make sure the pieces of peel will be bite-sized. Put them into a large pot with the salt, bay leaves and water. Boil until tender.

Meanwhile, wash, trim, chop and wash again the leeks. Drain them well. Peel and chop the shallots. Wash, trim and chop the celery.

Heat the butter in a large skillet and add the celery and shallots. Cook gently until they soften somewhat. Add the leeks, and continue cooking, stirring occassionally, until all the vegetables are very soft. They will give off a fair bit of water as they cook; cook this off, then reduce the heat as they cook as you dont really want them to brown. Watch and stir them well. Towards the end of the cooking, add the ground celery seed and the savory.

Mash the cooked potatoes in the cooking water. Add the cream, and stir in the cooked vegetables. Season with pepper to taste. Can be served at once, or made ahead and re-heated.




Last year at this time I made Pumpkin Bran Muffins and Chocolate Syrup.