Curry-Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Enliven a familiar side dish with exotic flavors. Curry powder, cumin, and cinnamon combine with a hint of heat from ground red pepper to make these Indian-inspired sweet potatoes stand out in a meal. Use leftovers to top a shepherd's pie, or thin them out with milk and broth to make curried sweet potato soup that you can sprinkle with chopped cilantro. This highly seasoned dish pairs well with chicken, pork, and turkey.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 2/3 cup)

Ingredients

• 6 1/2  cups  (1-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato (about 2 pounds)
• 1  tablespoon  butter
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped shallots
• 1  tablespoon  brown sugar
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  curry powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 1/3  cup  half-and-half
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice

Preparation

1. Place potato in a medium saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until tender. Drain well; return to pan. Keep warm.

2. Melt butter in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallots to pan; cook 6 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in brown sugar, salt, curry powder, cumin, cinnamon, and red pepper; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add shallot mixture, half-and-half, and lemon juice to potato. Mash potato mixture with a potato masher to desired consistency.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

183 (18% from fat)

Fat:

3.7g (sat 2.2g,mono 1g,poly 0.2g)

Protein:

3.7g

Carbohydrate:

35g

Fiber:

5.2g

Cholesterol:

10mg

Iron:

1.3mg

Sodium:

272mg

Calcium:

79mg