Sweet Potato Chaat
The perfect tongue-tickling Indian street-style sweet potato chaat recipe! This super easy-to-make and healthy chaat is made by mixing air-fried sweet potatoes with spices, and chutneys (green chutney, tamarind date chutney) and garnished with roasted sesame seeds and crushed peanuts.
In Hindi language, this is called ‘Shakarkandi chaat’.
❤️ You’ll Love This Recipe
Taste & Texture:
- A perfect balance of sweet, savory, tangy, and spicy flavors just like any other chaat recipes
- Crunch and nutty flavor from peanuts and sesame seeds in every bite.
- Perfectly cooked, soft (not mushy) air-fried sweet potatoes unlike boiled sweet potatoes.
Satisfying Snack or Meal: Sweet potato chaat is a tasty snack or light meal option. It fills you up and keeps hunger away, yet it’s not heavy on calories.
Healthy Alternative to Traditional Chaat: While traditional chaat dishes are often deep-fried and high in calories, sweet potato chaat offers a healthier alternative.
🧾 Ingredient Notes
- Sweet Potatoes: I’ve used orange flash sweet potatoes, but you can also use white flash sweet potatoes (known as shakarkandi) commonly found in India. Personally, I prefer the orange variety because they’re less fibrous compared to the white ones.
- Sesame seeds and Peanuts: Both add crunch and nutty flavor. For a variation, you can try pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc.
- Roasted Cumin Powder: Dry roast cumin seeds until fragrant and then grind them into a powder.
- Black Salt: Also known as kala namak, black salt has a distinctive flavor. If you don’t have black salt, you can use regular table salt, but the flavor will be different.
- Cilantro Chutney: Adds a burst of freshness and tanginess. You can make your own cilantro chutney at home or use store-bought.
- Tamarind Date Chutney: Provides a sweet and tangy flavor. You can make your own tamarind date chutney or use store-bought.
- Lime Juice: Adds a refreshing citrusy flavor. You can substitute with lemon juice if lime is not available.
👩🍳 Step By Step Photo Instructions
1) Dry roast the peanuts over medium-low heat until they turn golden brown and become crunchy. Once done, transfer them to a bowl and allow them to cool slightly.
2) Similarly, dry roast the sesame seeds until they start to splutter and fly away from the pan. Transfer them to a separate bowl.
3, 4) Once the peanuts have cooled down a bit, roughly crush them using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle.
5) Add sweet potatoes in a bowl and adding salt and oil. Toss them until evenly coated.
6, 7) Transfer the seasoned sweet potatoes to the basket of an air fryer. Cook at 400°F (200°C) for 10-12 minutes, shaking halfway through, until they are tender and slightly crispy.
8, 9) Once the sweet potatoes are cooked, transfer them to the bowl. Add roasted cumin powder, black pepper, black salt, and red chili powder to the sweet potatoes. Toss everything well to ensure even coating.
10, 11) Drizzle cilantro chutney, tamarind date chutney, and lime juice over the mixture. Toss again to mix.
12, 13) Finally, add the roasted sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, and chopped cilantro to the mixture. Give it one final mix and serve immediately.
💭 Expert Tips
- Uniform Cubes: Cut the sweet potatoes into uniform cubes (½ inch size) to ensure even cooking. This helps them cook evenly and prevents some pieces from becoming overly soft while others remain undercooked.
- Don’t Overcrowd the Air Fryer Basket: Spread the sweet potato cubes in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Overcrowding can lead to uneven cooking.
- Shake the Basket: Shake the air fryer basket halfway through the cooking time to ensure that the sweet potatoes cook evenly on all sides.
🥣 Storage Instructions
- For optimal freshness and crunch, it’s best to enjoy sweet potato chaat immediately after preparing it.
- However, if you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. Just note that the peanuts may lose their crunch over time.
Did you try this sweet potato chaat recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review in the comment section below.
Sweet Potato Chaat
US measuring cups are used (1 cup = 240 ml)
Ingredients
- 500 grams Sweet potatoes, (~3 cups, cut into ½ inch cubes)
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons Peanuts
- ½ teaspoon Roasted cumin powder
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper powder
- ¼ teaspoon Black salt (Kala namak)
- ½ teaspoon Red chili powder
- 1 tablespoon Green chutney
- 1 tablespoon Meethi chutney (Tamarind date chutney)
- 1 ½ teaspoon Lime juice, or lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons Cilantro or coriander leaves, finely chopped
Instructions
- Begin by placing sweet potatoes in a bowl and adding salt and oil. Toss them until evenly coated.
- Transfer the seasoned sweet potatoes to the basket of an air fryer. Cook at 400°F (200°C) for 10-12 minutes, shaking halfway through, until they are tender and slightly crispy.
- While the sweet potatoes are cooking, dry roast the peanuts over medium-low heat until they turn golden brown and become crunchy. Once done, transfer them to a bowl and allow them to cool slightly.
- Similarly, dry roast the sesame seeds until they start to splutter and fly away from the pan. Transfer them to a separate bowl.
- Once the peanuts have cooled down a bit, roughly crush them using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle.
- Once the sweet potatoes are cooked, transfer them to the bowl.
- Add roasted cumin powder, black pepper, black salt, and red chili powder to the sweet potatoes. Toss everything well to ensure even coating.
- Drizzle cilantro chutney, tamarind date chutney, and lime juice over the mixture. Toss again to mix.
- Finally, add the roasted sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, and chopped cilantro to the mixture. Give it one final mix and serve immediately.
Notes
- Uniform Cubes: Cut the sweet potatoes into uniform cubes (½ inch size) to ensure even cooking. This helps them cook evenly and prevents some pieces from becoming overly soft while others remain undercooked.
- Don’t Overcrowd the Air Fryer Basket: Spread the sweet potato cubes in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Overcrowding can lead to uneven cooking.
- Shake the Basket: Shake the air fryer basket halfway through the cooking time to ensure that the sweet potatoes cook evenly on all sides.
