SWEET LI'L THING

TMS takes a bite into the origins, cultivation and health benefits of the starchy, mildly sugary winter wonderkid the sweet potato

ONE of the true marvels of nature would be the starchy, mildly sweet sugary, potatoes that especially appear on the streets and kitchen tables during the misty winters.

Imagine this, you're walking through the streets of Delhi, and in the air, you can distinctly pick up the aroma of some spices from a street cart. Sweet potatoes are being roasted on coal, before preparing the famous Delhi chaat called Shakarkandi. Spicy and hot, it's like a warm blanket on the wispy days.

These root veggies are also the perfect solution for the mild chill in other places that do not get the biting cold like North India. And it is the season of this unrelated friend of potatoes. Well, that's true.

Though they are named sweet potatoes, the vegetable belongs to a completely different plant family. While potatoes belong to the nightshade family, sweet potatoes are part of the morning glory group, a common name for the Convolvulaceae family.