Purple sweet potato chaat is a delightful and refreshing chaat recipe popularly known as Shakarkandi chaat. This recipe is made more commonly using both potatoes and sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes are boiled and, then tossed in ghee to crisp up. Further layered with a special spice mix, chutneys, roasted sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, and chutneys!
I can eat chaat every single day, for any meal of the day! This shakarkandi chaat is a faral-friendly recipe, that I make for myself while I fast for Navratri. It is easy to make, filling and delicious. I usually like to pair it with paneer sauteed in ghee with black salt, black pepper powder and dry mango powder.
This recipe is a short-cut version of the traditional recipe. Instead of boiling the sweet potatoes, we will directly cook them until they become crispy in the air fryer. It saves time, and fewer dishes, so yes, I am in for it.
Jump to:
- What is Purple Sweet Potato Chaat?
- Why You Will Love This Chaat Recipe
- What is Chaat?
- Expert Tips To Make This Recipe
- Ingredients to Make This Chaat Recipe
- Step-by-Step Recipe for Purple Sweet Potato Chaat
- More Faral Recipes
- Variations of This Sweet Potato Chaat Recipe
- Serving Suggestions for Shakarkandi Chaat
- Storage Instructions
- More Recipes You Might Like
- Purple Sweet Potato Chaat | Shakarkandi Chaat
What is Purple Sweet Potato Chaat?
This sweet potato chaat is commonly available in India on roadside during winters. It is famously known as Shakarkandi Chaat, and is a delicious, crispy, sweet, tangy and crunchy all at once. These sweet potatoes are cooked directly on the coal, cut into cubes, and tossed in chutneys, and topped with delicious toppings.
In India, we get white sweet potatoes most commonly, while in the US purple sweet potatoes and yams are more common. I like to make this chaat using any sweet potatoes I have on hand.
To make this recipe at home, we will peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Toss them in ghee and salt, and air fry them until cooked and crispy. We then toss the special spice mix, made from salt, black pepper, cumin powder, and anardana powder/ dry mango powder. To this, we will add imli chutney and cilantro chutney and toss the sweet potatoes well! I like to add toppings like roasted and crushed peanuts, roasted sesame seeds, pomegranate arils, and finely chopped cilantro.
Why You Will Love This Chaat Recipe
- It is an easy and quick recipe if you have chutneys on hand
- It is a delicious way to enjoy sweet potatoes in season
- Makes for a great snack or lunch
- It is naturally gluten-free, and if you use vegan ghee, can be made vegan too
- Has a beautiful balance of flavors and textures
What is Chaat?
Chaat is an Indian street food cuisine, which translates the verb "to lick ". Chaat has bold elements from sour, sweet, and spicy chutneys, to bold spices, with a graciously simple filling of potatoes and chickpeas!
There are so many different kinds of chaat recipes made throughout India, but, the elements remain the same. These chaat recipes, truly are finger-licking good, and you just can't and won't stop eating them, once you have tried them!
Try my Aam Panna Pani Puri!
Expert Tips To Make This Recipe
- You can make this with any kind of sweet potatoes you have on hand. You can even mix Yukon gold potatoes, yams, and purple sweet potatoes to make this recipe.
- I am using an air fryer as I always make a small batch for myself. But, if you are making a large batch, cook the sweet potatoes in the oven at 425F for 15-20 minutes.
- Make chutneys, ahead of time. I always have chutneys stocked up in my refrigerator, it makes cooking chaats a breeze.
- I like to add roasted crushed peanuts, but if you want to make it healthier, you use crushed almonds or walnuts in this recipe.
- If you are not making this recipe for faral, top the chaat with sev!
- My green chutney recipe uses sev, substitute the sev with peanuts to make the chutney when making for faral.
Ingredients to Make This Chaat Recipe
Sweet Potatoes - Use any kind, I am using purple sweet potatoes. You can even mix, Yukon gold potatoes, yams, and purple sweet potatoes if you wish too.
Ghee - Using ghee adds a beautiful nuttiness to this recipe, and it just tastes more delicious. If you want to make this vegan, use vegan ghee/ any oil of your choice instead.
Spices - We will mix together, roasted cumin powder, anardana or dry mango powder, black pepper powder and salt. You can add sendha namak if fasting instead of using regular salt
Chutneys - Two main chutneys are the imli chutney and cilantro chutney in this recipe. If you are fasting and making this recipe, substitute peanuts with sev in my cilantro chutney recipe.
Toppings - Add roasted and crushed peanuts, roasted sesame seeds, pomegranate arils, and finely chopped cilantro for toppings.
Step-by-Step Recipe for Purple Sweet Potato Chaat
Prep the Ingredients - You can prep the chutneys as a part of the meal prep/ or make them fresh, along with roasting the sesame seeds and peanuts. Crush the roasted peanuts and keep it aside.
Preheat the air fryer on 375 for 2 minutes.
Cut the purple sweet potatoes into ½ inch cubes. I am using a crinkler knife hence the crinkle cuts on the potatoes.
Add ghee and toss them, so the sweet potatoes are covered in ghee. To make this recipe vegan, use any nuetral flavored oil. I prefer to use avocado oil.
Toss the prepared sweet potatoes in the air fryer basket. Cook them on 375F for 10-12 minutes.
Give them a shake at 5-6 minutes mark, to make sure they crisp up from all the sides.
In the meanwhile, make the spice mix. Mix together, roasted cumin powder, dry mango powder or anardana powder, black pepper and salt (sendha namak if fasting). Mix it well! Keep it aside.
I prefer the charred marks on the sweet potatoes. They are nice and crispy, along with adding the smoky flavor, which compliments the natural sweetness of the purple sweet potatoes perfectly!
Once the potatoes are cooked, take them out in a mixing bowl. Add the prepared spice mix, crushed peanuts, and roasted sesame seeds. This is a thorough mix, and the spices should properly coat the potatoes.
To this, add a generous drizzle of imli and green chutney, and mix again.
Top it off with some more crushed peanuts, roasted sesame seeds, pomegranate arils and finely chopped cilantro!
More Faral Recipes
Variations of This Sweet Potato Chaat Recipe
- You can add fresh coconut to the recipe. It is faral friendly and will taste delicious.
- Add some whisked yogurt, and make it an even more filling chaat.
- If you want to make this shakarkandi chaat healthier, I suggest you to add canned chickpeas, cucumbers and shredded carrots and beetroots! It makes a great chaat-salad situation which is nutritious and filling.
- Add red chili powder to make it spicier.
- Use Yukon gold potatoes and yams to make this recipe.
- You can also serve this chaat in small cups as a delicious appetizer. Add some thin sev on it if it is not a fasting day!
- You can use tater tots of your choice to make this recipe
Serving Suggestions for Shakarkandi Chaat
Serve the sweet potato chaat in small cups or plates, with a sprinkle of chaat masala, pomegranate arils, drizzle of cilantro chutney, and finely chopped cilantro.
Storage Instructions
I like to store the roasted sweet potatoes, and all the other ingredients separately. The The chutneys will make the sweet potatoes soggy and they might not taste as good the next day.
Freeze the roasted sweet potatoes, and toss them in the air fryer or oven at 400F for 5-7 minutes or until crispy.
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Purple Sweet Potato Chaat | Shakarkandi Chaat
These nutrional values are automatically generated. Use them for estimation only.
Equipment
- Air Fryer
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 Large Purple Sweet Potatoes Yields roughly about 3 cups of Diced Sweet Potatoes
- 1 Tbsp Ghee
- ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Roasted Cumin Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Dry Mango Powder/ Anardana Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Sendha Namak You can use regular salt if you are not fasting
Toppings
- 2 Tablespoons Cilantro Chutney
- 2 Tablespoons Imli Chutney
- ¼ Cup Roasted Peanuts
- 2 Tablespoons Roasted Sesame Seeds
- 1 Tablespoon Chaat Masala
- 2 Tablespoons Pomegranate Arils
- 1 Tablespoon Cilantro Finely Chopped
Instructions
Prep The Ingredients
- First, prep the make ahead ingredients, that is the chutneys, roasted peanuts, and roasted sesame seeds.
- To Make Cilantro Chutney - In a high-powered blender, add cilantro, mint, green chilies, ginger, lime juice, sugar, cumin seeds, salt, peanuts, and water. Blitz until it has a smooth chutney consistency.
- To Make Imli Chutney - Soak the seedless tamarind in hot water for 30 minutes. Now blitz until pureed. Strain the tamarind puree.Once the cumin seeds splutter, add the tamarind pulp. To this add spices, like Kashmiri Red Chili Powder, Garam Masala, Cumin Powder, Ginger Powder, Dry Mango Powder, Black Salt, and Salt. Add jaggery sugar, and water.Mix it well. Simmer the chutney on a low flame until thickens to the desired consistency.In a heavy bottom pot, add oil, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and asafetida.
- Roast and Crush the Peanuts - In a small frying pan, add ¼ cup of raw peanuts. Roast them until they brown from all the sides. Let it cool down, and crush it coarsely. Store them in air tight container.
- Roast The Sesame Seeds - In a small frying pan, add ¼ cup of sesame seeds. Lightly roast them until aromatic. Once cool, store them in an airtight container.
Make The Purple Sweet Potato Chaat
- Preheat the airfryer at 375F for 2 minutes
- Peel and wash the purple sweet potato. Cut it into ½ inch cubes.
- Add the cut sweet potatoes in a mixing bowl and add ghee. Mix well.
- Once the airfryer is preheated, add the sweet potatoes in the airfryer basket.
- Cook the sweet potatoes, until cooked and crispy for 10-12 minutes
- Give the sweet potatoes a shake at 6 minute mark to make sure they cook evenly
- Meanwhile, prepare the spice mix. In a small bowl, mix together ½ teaspoon each, black pepper powder, salt, roasted cumin powder, dry mango powder or anardana powder. Keep it aside.
- Once the potatoes are crispy and ready, transfer them to a mixing bowl.
- Add the prepared mix of spices and give it a toss. The potatoes should me covered in the spice mix.
- Add a generous drizzle of cilantro chutney, imli chutney, mix well. add more if needed.
Serving Suggestion
- For serving add the prepared sweet potatoes in appetizer bowls. Add crushed peanuts, roasted sesame seeds, pomegranate arils, finely chopped cilantro and and chaat masala on top.
- Add extra drzzle of the cilantro chutney, and serve!
Notes
- Make chutneys ahead of time, and this recipe is a breeze to prep!
- If you are not fasting, add sev for toppings too! It tastes delicious.
- You can use tater tots to make this recipe.
- If you are making a big batch of this chaat, use oven instead.
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