Nutritious Benefits

Sweet potatoes, or ngwaci, as they are commonly called where I hail from, or mabwoni as we call them in my local dialect, are nutritious tuberous vegetables that are rich in nutrients and minerals.

These minerals and nutrients such as vitamin A and Vitamin C, are very beneficial to the health of the human body.

Sweet potatoes are also rich in fiber and antioxidants, both of which are useful to your body too.

Preparing Sweet Potatoes Growing up

Growing up, sweet potatoes were always a welcome breakfast meal.

What could beat a libwoni (singular) roasted in hot ash, or a steaming piece of sweet potato right from the pan?

Not only did we find sweet potatoes delightfully tasty, but even when just boiled, they were very filling. That meant remaining full for an extended period of time while in school or at play.

We loved sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes were not a very common treat in our household. My mom could only buy them when she got to go to town where they were sold.

As you might know, the semi-urban environment in which we lived didn’t allow for the planting of sweet potatoes that would guarantee a whole year’s supply of mabwoni or ngwaci.

We knew only one or two ways of preparing and cooking sweet potatoes. I’ve actually mentioned them above lol!

You either boiled your sweet potatoes or roasted them if you had access to firewood and you were using it to cook.

If you were cooking with firewood, once your firewood began burning up and releasing ash, the sweet potato would be slid into the hot ash. Once it was ready, you could then peel it and enjoy it with your tea.

As I grew up, I got exposed to other cultures and how they prepared this delightful healthy food.

God would later use this to get my creative juices going!

Variety in Preparing Sweet Potatoes Even Without an Oven

As I later began managing my household, I wanted variety when it came to serving food especially.

I would also later experiment with new ways of working with my sweet potatoes, especially without an oven.

This was because some of the ways sweet potatoes were prepared by many cultures around the world included using an oven.

No-oven cooking came with the awareness that, just like me at the time, there were so many around me who didn’t use an oven to cook.

I realized that I didn’t have to miss out on enjoying this nutritious food prepared in various creative ways simply because I didn’t have an oven.

I hence sort to find out how I could prepare sweet potatoes in ways that didn’t necessarily require an oven.

With my growing children’s input, I set out to develop recipes with sweet potatoes that my family could enjoy.

Most of them can be found here over on our YouTube Channel.

I’ll soon share them on this blog.

Sweet potatoes are indeed one of those foods that can be prepared in myriad ways.

Out Came Sweet Potato Masala!

This sweet potato Masala recipe was one of those that recently got born as I got busy washing them and wondering how to cook them.

As the thought formed in my mind, I wondered, why not?

I set to work.

Indeed, out came this masala recipe!

My household loved it so much.

I finally decided to share it with my internet friends, hopeful that you too will enjoy this sweet potato recipe.

I was grateful too to know that sweet potatoes do not have to be served only during breakfast as I grew up knowing.

Sweet potatoes can be served as a dinner recipe the way we are serving this one.

The ingredients are also readily available as well. They might already be in your pantry if you even now have sweet potatoes.

Try this recipe and I trust you too will enjoy it as you enhance your hospitality for the glory of God.

Sweet Potato Masala Recipe

Clara Karushi

This is a delicious Sweet Potato Fries Recipe with a delightful mix of spices and selected vegetables, cooked and mixed evenly together to form a tasty sweet potato or ngwaci dish, suitable as a dinner meal.

Accompanying this recipe is a video tutorial at the end of the recipe in case you'd like to watch the exact process of how I make this sweet potato recipe.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Course Main Course

Cuisine African, Indian, kenyan

Servings 5

Equipment

1 Deep frying pan
1 Wide Cooking Pan
1 knife
1 grater
1 Slotted Spoon
1 Wooden Spoon
1 Table Spoon

Ingredients

3 to 4 Large Sweet Potatoes
1 Large Chopped Onion
2 Medium size Chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp Finely Grated Fresh Ginger
1 tbsp Finely Grated Fresh Garlic
1 tbsp Ketchup
Lemon Juice of One Large Lemon
4 tbsps Finely Chopped Fresh Dhania/ Celantro
1 Medium Size Green Bell Pepper
¾ tsp Salt, or as preferred
Cooking Oil for Deep Frying (The oil should be slightly below half in your frying pan)
Selected Spices- you could use spices of choice (I used ½ a tsp each of paprika, curry powder, cumin seed, ginger, & ⅓ a tsp each of black pepper and turmeric powder)

Instructions

Begin by washing your sweet potatoes and the other ingredients that need washing thoroughly.
Cut your sweet potatoes, slicing them into the characteristic elongated fries-shapes. I like mine not too thin or too thick.
Give them a final rinse in clean water to get rid of the starch on the surface of the fries pieces.
Meanwhile, begin to heat up your cooking oil until it is hot, not too hot though.
Transfer your sweet potato pieces onto an appropriate clean kitchen towel. Dry them before frying them.
I like to ensure my cooking oil is hot enough by first frying one sweet potato piece. When it gets ready and crispy, I add in the other pieces.
Go ahead and begin to deep fry the sweet potato pieces. My pan is a big one so I fried them in two batches. In case yours is smaller, fry them in more batches. You only need to ensure not to crowd the pieces in the pan.
Once they are ready, with a soft interior and a crispy exterior, transfer to a tray lined with paper towels to drain out any excess oil.
As you begin to fry the last batch, begin to prepare the masala mixture.
In a suitable pan, begin by frying the diced onion with a little cooking oil until the onions are translucent and starting to turn to a light golden color.
Add the garlic and ginger and fry to a light golden color.
Add the tomatoes. Stir them in evenly. Cover the mixture, lower the heat, and allow it to simmer for about a minute or two to soften the tomatoes.
Next, uncover and stir the mixture. The tomatoes should break down further to form some form of puree.
Add the salt and spices. Stir until evenly mixed. Cover the mixture, lower the heat, and allow it to simmer for two minutes for the spices to cook.
Uncover, pour in the fresh lemon juice and the ketchup. Evenly stir them in.
Stir in about ¼ cup of water then cover. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat and allow it to simmer for half a minute just to bring everything together.
Uncover, evenly stir in the bell pepper and dhania.
Finally stir in your sweet potato fries, ensuring each piece is covered by the masala mixture.
Cover and cook for a minute.
Your meal is ready.
Serve hot with an appropriate sauce.

Video

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Sweet Potato Masala: A Flavorful Twist on a Classic