Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Shakarkandi Chaat
Shakarkandi Chaat (Sweet Potato Chaat with Tamarind Chutney, Pickled Onions & Sev)

Shakarkandi Chaat

Sweet Potato Chaat with Tamarind Chutney, Pickled Onions & Sev
Vegetarian

A warm sweet potato chaat with quick-pickled onion, tangy tamarind chutney, spicy green chilli chutney and crunchy sev. It tastes sweet, sour, hot and crisp.

Chaat masala for the sweet potato

3 gStirred into the roasted sweet potato with pickled onions (step 5)
01
3 g1 teaspoon
spice blend
Keep it dry; add it after roasting.

Everything else

01
Sweet potato · Shakarkandipeeled and cut into 2.5 cm (1 in) pieces
700 g
vegetable
02
27 g2 tablespoons
oil/fat
03
Red onion · Pyazfinely chopped
100 g
vegetable
04
Fresh ginger · Adrakfinely chopped
30 g7½ cm
aromatic
05
1.5 g1 chilli
vegetable
06
25 g½ lime
fruit
07
to taste
salt
10
Coriander leaf · Hara Dhaniafresh, finely chopped
to taste
herb

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 200°C fan (425°F/gas 7).
  2. In a bowl, mix 100 g red onion, 15 g ginger, 2 g green bird's-eye chilli, 25 g lime juice and salt to taste. Set aside as the pickled onions.
  3. Put 700 g sweet potato in a roasting tray, add 27 g vegetable oil and toss to coat.
  4. Roast for 35 minutes, turning once halfway, until the sweet potato is tender and charred at the edges.
  5. Transfer the sweet potato to a mixing bowl. Add the masala (3 g chaat masala) and 2 tbsp of the pickled onions, mix well and spread over a serving platter.
  6. Spoon over spicy green chilli chutney and tamarind chutney to taste. Scatter with more pickled onions, 30 g sev and coriander leaf to taste. Serve at once, with the remaining chutneys, sev and pickled onions alongside.

Don't have something?

Sweet potato
  • Potato

    Use the same weight, cut to the same size. It is less sweet and holds shape better; add a pinch of sugar if the recipe relies on sweetness.

  • Yam

    Use the same weight, peeled and cut to size; it is drier and starchier, so cook a little longer and add extra liquid if needed.

  • Pumpkin

    Use the same weight, cut into chunks; it is softer and sweeter, so add it later and cook briefly to avoid collapsing.

Vegetable oil
  • Peanut oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.

  • Ghee

    Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.

  • Mustard oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Chaat masala
  • Tandoori snack spice mix

    Use the same weight; taste first as it can be smokier and saltier. Add lime or amchoor if the dish needs more tang.

  • Dried mango powder

    Use about half the weight, mixed with black salt and a pinch of ground cumin. It gives tang and saltiness but lacks the minty, asafoetida notes.

  • Black salt

    Use about half the weight and add lime juice to taste. It gives the salty, sulphurous edge but not the full tangy blend.

Red onion
  • Onion

    Use the same weight; cook a little longer. Milder and less sweet when raw.

  • Shallot

    Use the same weight; sweeter and softer, so reduce cooking time slightly.

  • Spring onion

    Use only the white parts, weight for weight, for raw or quick-cooked dishes; green parts are too grassy for long cooking.

Fresh ginger
  • Ginger paste

    Use equal weight. Sauté in hot fat until the raw allium smell disappears; slightly wetter, but provides identical warmth and pungency.

  • Ground ginger

    Use 20% to 25% of the weight (1 g for every 4 to 5 g fresh). Stir into the gravy; adds peppery heat and warmth, though it misses the crisp, zesty kick of raw root.

Green bird's eye chilli
  • Bird's eye green chilli

    Use the same weight; heat and flavour are very close.

  • Green chilli

    Use 1.5 to 2 times the weight; deseed for less heat. Larger chillies are more watery.

  • Fresh green chilli

    Use 1.5 to 2 times the weight; chop finely and adjust heat by tasting.

Lime
  • Lemon

    Use the same weight; sharper and less floral, so reduce any extra souring slightly.

  • Lemon juice

    Use about 30 g juice per lime (2 tbsp), strain pips; add at the end for fresh sourness.

  • Dried mango powder

    Use 1 g amchoor for about 15 g lime juice; add early with spices; gives dry mango sourness, not citrus aroma.

Green chutney
Tamarind chutney
  • Tamarind paste

    Dilute with water to chutney consistency, then add jaggery or sugar and salt. Use the same weight of paste as chutney, then adjust.

  • Tamarind extract

    Use the same weight, sweeten with jaggery or sugar and add salt. Slightly more concentrated, so taste as you go.

  • Date and tamarind chutney

    Use the same weight; sweeter and thicker. Add lime juice or a little tamarind paste if too sweet.

Coriander leaf
  • Coriander

    Use equal weight finely chopped; this is the exact same fresh herb.

  • Mint

    Use half the weight finely chopped; provides vibrant green freshness, though the flavour profile becomes noticeably cooler and sharper.

Sev
  • Lentil crisp

    Crush or break into small crisp pieces and use the same weight as sev; add at the last moment so it stays crisp. It gives a salty crunch but not sev's fine noodle shape.

  • Fried split chickpeas

    Crush coarsely and use the same weight; it gives a nutty, crisp legume taste. Add just before serving, as it softens in hot gravy.

  • Breadcrumbs

    Toast in a little ghee until crisp and use the same weight; substitute only for texture as a garnish, not for sev eaten on its own.

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Shakkarkand Ki Tikki
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Shakkarkand Ki Tikki is crisp outside and soft and gently spicy inside, whereas this dish is sweet, sour, spicy and crunchy from the chutneys, lime and sev.
  • Same: Shakkarkand Ki Tikki and this dish both use sweet potato, ginger, green bird's-eye chilli, chaat masala and coriander.
  • Different: Shakkarkand Ki Tikki also contains potato, cumin seed, mild chilli powder, cornstarch and dried breadcrumbs, and it is shaped into cakes and shallow-fried in vegetable oil, while this dish roasts sweet potato and finishes it with tamarind chutney, spicy green chilli chutney, lime, pickled red onion and sev.
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Chakra Vazhikilangu Poriyal tastes earthy-sweet with mild heat and savoury spice, while this dish is more sour, tangy, spicy and crunchy.
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  • Different: Chakra Vazhikilangu Poriyal is a dry South Indian stir-fry with mustard seeds, cumin seed, urad dal, curry leaf, turmeric, dried red chilli and poriyal powder, while this dish is roasted sweet potato tossed with chaat masala, lime, tamarind chutney, green chilli chutney, pickled onion, sev and coriander.
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Bengali Pantua tastes sweet, sticky and fragrant from cardamom, clove and saffron syrup, with no sour, spicy or crunchy chaat elements.
  • Same: Bengali Pantua and this dish both use sweet potato as the main ingredient and vegetable oil.
  • Different: Bengali Pantua adds milk powder, plain flour, baking powder, ground cardamom, pistachio, sugar, clove and saffron, while it lacks this dish's chaat masala, lime, tamarind chutney, green chilli chutney, red onion, ginger, green chilli, sev and coriander; it is fried dumplings soaked in syrup, not roasted sweet potato tossed with chutneys.
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Murgh Malai Tikka is tender and rich with mild tang and gentle chilli warmth, while this dish is sweet, sour, spicy and crunchy.
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