Sweet Potato CutletsWishing you all a very Happy and Shubh NavratriIt is that time of the year again when Ma Durga blesses us with her presence on earth, eradicating our sorrows, troubles, obstacles and granting us a chance to start afresh.In most of the places in India, people observe fast on all the nine days of the festival. They do not eat foods with onions or garlic. During these nine days devotees abstain themselves from eating the usual food of grains and pulses or non veg.Some people fast for all nine days.Apart from that they cannot use normal salt in the food or use normal wheat flour to prepare the fasting recipes. But the best part is there is an alternative for all of these banned items. You can use rock salt in place of normal salt, buckwheat flour to make chapatis and even a special kind of rice known as the Samak chawal can also be eaten while you are fasting.During these fasts generally special meals are prepared with sabudana, samak or swang,potatoes etc.The most popular recipes to be consumed during these days are sabudana khichdi, sabudana vada, sabudana kheer,samak rice pulao to name few.Coming up with a dish that is savoury, yet observes the rules of Navratri, can be quite a task.The idea of using sweet potatoes popped into my mind as an alternative to using normal potatoes.Sweet potatoes have a creamy texture and a sweet-spicy flavour that makes them ideal for savoury dishes. They are also a good alternative to the monotonous normal potatoes.They are also rich in fibre, vitamins A, C and B6, and an excellent source of carbohydrates.Generally sweet potatoes are boiled or pressure cooked and then either baked or barbecued to give them a smoky flavor.But sometimes it's not possible at home. So in the following recipe you will find an easy way to barbecue the sweet potatoes at home without any mess and hustle bustle. And no need to say that the aroma of sweet potatoes being barbecued is the heavenly one.
Let's start making these scrumptious cutlets by having a look at the ingredients.INGREDIENTS:Sweet potatoes- 4 medium sizeCottage cheese/ paneer- 1 cup (mashed)Sabudana/ Sago- 1 cup (soaked and slightly crushed)+ 1/2 cup (soaked and drained)Garam masala powder- 2 teaspoonCoriander powder- 2 teaspoonRed chilli powder- 2 teaspoonLemon juice- 4 teaspoonSalt to tasteI've used Rock salt/ sendha namak as I was making them to be eaten during fast.You can use normal salt as well.DIRECTIONS:For making these cutlets we will start by boiling/pressure cooking sweet potatoes.Don't overcook them otherwise sweet potatoes will be mushy and gooey.As I have mentioned up that I wanted a smoky flavor in my cutlets so after boiling them I barbecued them without a barbecue ;)HOWTake a big piece of Aluminium Foil say 40*20 inches.Fold it in half.
Now place sweet potato pieces and fold the sides to make a packet.You can keep 3-4 pieces in one packet.Make more packets according to the need.
Put this packet directly on the flame.
Keep turning it at intervals with the help of a pair of tongs.
It should take around 10-12 minutes for them to be done.Once done open the packet carefully.Be careful as the foil will be very hot.
Let the sweet potatoes cool down completely.Once they are at room temperature peel them to remove the skin.
Mash them.
Add rest of the ingredients as well except 1/2 cup of soaked and drained Sabudana.Mix well. There should no lumps.
Lastly add remaining 1/2 cup of Sabudana.Mix it gently so as not to break the pearls.
Shape them the way you like.
Keep them in the fridge for about an hour if you are not in a hurry, otherwise skip this part.
By keeping it in the fridge all the ingredient's flavors will incorporate very well and the cutlets will have a crunchy crispy exterior.You can either deep fry the cutlets or shallow fry them.
Either way they will be a hit.The smoky flavored cutlets are ready to serve.Serve them hot with the choice of your chutney or ketchup.
Recipe Card
Sweet Potato Cutlets
Easy to make scrumptious cutlets made by sweet potato and sabudana. An ideal wholesome dish if you are fasting and otherwise too it makes a great teatime snack.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
(Includes boiling and barbecuing the sweet potatoes)
Cooking time:10 minutesYields: 14-15INGREDIENTS:
Sweet potatoes- 4 medium sizeCottage cheese/ paneer- 1 cup (mashed)Sabudana/ Sago- 1 cup (soaked and slightly crushed)+ 1/2 cup (soaked and drained)Garam masala powder- 2 teaspoonCoriander powder- 2 teaspoonRed chilli powder- 2 teaspoonLemon juice- 4 teaspoonSalt to tasteI've used Rock salt/ sendha namak as I was making them to be eaten during fast.You can use normal salt as well.DIRECTIONS:For making these cutlets we will start by boiling/pressure cooking sweet potatoes.Don't overcook them otherwise sweet potatoes will be mushy and gooey.As I have mentioned up that I wanted a smoky flavor in my cutlets so after boiling them I barbecued them without a barbecue ;)HOWTake a big piece of Aluminium Foil say 40*20 inches.Fold it in half.Now place sweet potato pieces and fold the sides to make a packet.You can keep 3-4 pieces in one packet.Make more packets according to the need.Put this packet directly on the flame.Keep turning it at intervals with the help of a pair of tongs.It should take around 10-12 minutes for them to be done.Once done open the packet carefully.Be careful as the foil will be very hot.Let the sweet potatoes cool down completely.Once they are at room temperature peel them to remove the skin.Mash them.Add rest of the ingredients as well except 1/2 cup of soaked and drained Sabudana.Mix well. There should no lumps.Lastly add remaining 1/2 cup of Sabudana.Mix it gently so as not to break the pearls.Shape them the way you like.Keep them in the fridge for about an hour if you are not in a hurry, otherwise skip this part.By keeping it in the fridge all the ingredient's flavors will incorporate very well and the cutlets will have a crunchy crispy exterior.You can either deep fry the cutlets or shallow fry them.Either way they will be a hit.The smoky flavored cutlets are ready to serve.Serve them hot with the choice of your chutney or ketchup.