Delhi Street-Style Sweet Potato Chaat, or Shakarkandi Chaat, is an easy fan-favorite Indian snack that's ready in less than an hour. It's light and fresh while being nutritious and heart-healthy without sacrificing any flavor.
This post is sponsored by our friends at Bako Sweet®, who provided us with the incredible California sweet potatoes. All opinions are our own. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that make Masala and Chai possible.
There's nothing more I love while visiting India than indulging in all of the street food while I shop with my cousins, aunt, and mom in Delhi. One of my favorite, quick bites is Sweet Potato Chaat! I'm recreating those memories of standing around the vendor waiting for a little leaf bowl full of the chatpata potatoes using Bako Sweet® sweet potatoes.
Bako Sweet® grows truly the sweetest and highest quality organic sweet potatoes in nutrient-dense soil out of Bakersfield, California using sustainable methods. The care for their land and their product before it hits our home is evident in the way their experienced team hand-selects only the best sweet potatoes before they're triple-washed and sold in convenient bags.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Sweet potatoes are a superfood that give you an energy boost from healthy carbohydrates, not to mention a good source of fiber. They're certified heart-healthy, have a low glycemic value, and are rich in Vitamin A.
- You couldn't ask for a healthier, simple yet flavorful snack for family and friends. It's also balanced in texture and flavor with minimal ingredients.
- Sweet Potato Chaat is easy to make ahead! You can oven-roast or flame-roast the sweet potatoes up to two days ahead of time and assemble when ready.
- It's vegan and gluten-free.
What is Sweet Potato Chaat?
A popular street food in South Asia, chaat translates to the verb "to lick" and also happens to describe an entire category of finger-lickin' good Indian snacks. It hits every flavor profile and texture that makes it craveable - sweet, spicy, tangy, salty, crunchy. You can learn more about it in my Ultimate Guide to Indian Chaat.
In India, Sweet Potato Chaat is kept very simple. The whole sweet potato, or shakarkandi, is roasted over coals that make a smokey fire. The vendor cuts the sweet potato in half, peels the skin, cuts it into cubes, and tosses it with chaat spices and lemon or lime juice. It's served in disposable and sustainable palm leaf bowls. The whole process is extremely fast and cheap.
It's one of the healthier chaats, along with Fruit Chaat, and a welcome break from the typical fried Indian snacks.
Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions
Since we're making Sweet Potato Chaat at home, we can take a few liberties to add a extra fresh ingredients for more flavor and texture while keeping it simple like the Delhi street-style version.
- Bako Sweet® Organic Orange Sweet Potato Tray - Each sweet potato is consistently sized at about ~250 grams, which is perfect for an even roast in the oven and a 2 servings of chaat per potato yield. They're also available year round so you can enjoy this chaat whenever a craving hits.
- Spices - We're using classic spices in chaat - kala namak (black salt), roasted ground cumin, and chaat masala. You can also add chili powder for a bit of heat.
- The chaat masala you use matters! I love the MDH Chunky Chaat Masala and my mom uses her favorite blend she gets in India.
- Chutney - A few tablespoons of sweet and tangy tamarind-date chutney is a great addition to this chaat. For something citrusy and herby, use cilantro-mint chutney instead.
- Toppings - Pomegranate arils add a pop of color and crunch, and cilantro adds freshness. Feel free to add any of your other favorite chaat toppings like sev, green chilis, dahi, red onions, peanuts, and chickpeas.
- Ghee (optional) - Use ghee, which is a type of clarified butter with the milk solids removed, if roasting the sweet potatoes in a tawa.
How to Make Sweet Potato Chaat
Step 1 (Option 1) - After washing and scrubbing your sweet potatoes, poke holes into them with a fork. Wrap them in foil, and place in the oven at 400℉ for 40 minutes, or until fork tender and the skin is loose.
Step 1 (Option 2) - Brush ghee on a tawa or cast iron pan and place the sweet potatoes on it. Roast the sweet potatoes on a low flame and cover them with a lid, turning every 5 minutes until fork tender.
Mama Garg's Expert Tip #1
Why Oven-Roast or Flame Roast?
Roasting the sweet potatoes in the oven or slow roasting them on the stovetop increases the Maillard reaction, which caramelizes the natural sugars so that the sweet potatoes are richer and sweeter compared to boiling, steaming, or microwaving. Since the chaat is simple, having a concentrated and complex sweet potato flavor is important.
Step 2 - Once the sweet potatoes have cooled to the touch, cut the sweet potatoes in half.
Step 3 - Peel each sweet potato and discard the skin. One serving size is half a sweet potato.
Mama Garg's Expert Tip #2
In India, the vendor cuts the skin off of half a sweet potato with a dull knife and slices the sweet potato into chunks directly into the leaf bowl. They add the spices and lemon juice into the bowl and toss it in the air to mix everything together. It's a fun party trick, too!
Step 4 - Cut the sweet potato into 1-inch cubes. Add the spices, tamarind-date chutney, and squeeze one lime.
Step 5 - Toss everything together. Taste and adjust for spices. Serve!
Serving Suggestions
To serve, I like to add pomegranate arils for a pop of color and crunch as well as chopped cilantro for freshness. Other popular toppings are sev, cilantro-mint chutney, red onions, and dahi. For a sweeter flavor, drizzle 1 teaspoon of honey.
Serve it with a spread of other chaats for a Chaat Night at home! You'll love Chole Samosa Chaat, Peanut Chaat, Fruit Chaat, Cheesy Nachos Chaat, and Dahi Bhalla Chaat.
Expert Tips and Tricks
- Don't roast more than 40 minutes. You want the sweet potatoes to be tender, but not mushy. If your potatoes are larger, you may need to roast up to 1 hour.
- Peel and cut into 1-inch cubes before roasting. This cuts down on roasting time to 25 minutes. However, the Maillard reaction isn't as strong.
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
Storage - Store the assembled Sweet Potato Chaat in an airtight container for up to 1 day. Past a day, the sweet potato gets soggy and mushy. Let it come to room temperature before consuming.
Make Ahead - Roast the sweet potatoes up to 2 days ahead and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you're ready to assemble the chaat. Reheat the potatoes or let them come to room temperature before assembling.
FAQ
For Sweet Potato Chaat, you can use any variety of sweet potatoes. They all have a bit of a different flavor, but the outcome is mostly the same.
You can use regular potatoes for chaat. I'd suggest pan-frying 1-inch cubes until they're golden brown and crispy.
More Indian Snacks to try
Recipe
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Street-Style Sweet Potato Chaat
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 sweet potatoes, ~250 grams each (I used Bako Sweet)
- 1 tablespoon chaat masala
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin, roasted
- ¼ teaspoon kala namak
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 tablespoons tamarind date chutney
- pomegranates, cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Wash and scrub the sweet potatoes.
- (Option 1) Preheat the oven to 400℉. Poke holes in the sweet potato all over with a fork. Wrap each sweet potato in aluminum foil and place them on a baking tray. Place the tray in the oven and roast the potatoes for 40 minutes, or until they're fork tender and the skin is plump and loose. Remove and discard the foil.(Option 2) Brush ghee on a tawa or cast iron pan and place the sweet potatoes on it. Roast the sweet potatoes on a low flame and cover them with a lid, turning every 5 minutes until fork tender.
- Let the sweet potatoes cool to the touch. Once cool enough to handle, cut each sweet potato in half.
- Peel the skin off of each potato. Cut the halves into small 1-inch cubes and place them in a mixing bowl.
- Add the chaat masala, ground cumin, kala namak, the juice of one lime, and tamarind-date chutney into the mixing bowl with the sweet potatoes. Toss everything together. Taste and adjust for spices.
- Serve the Sweet Potato Chaat warm or at room temperature in little bowls. Garnish with pomegranates and chopped cilantro.
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