Curried Sweet Potato Pancakes
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These sweet potato pancakes — deliciously spiced with a blend of curry, cumin, ginger and cayenne pepper — are worth every bite.
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ve probably noticed that I tend to stay away from fried and carb-laden foods. With the exception of desserts, I take more of a South Beach approach to cooking. But for Hanukkah, I cave in to tradition. Eating fried food is the whole point and these sweet potato pancakes — deliciously spiced with an aromatic blend of curry, cumin, ginger, and cayenne pepper — are worth every bite. Obviously, they’re perfect for Hanukkah but don’t think of them just for that; they make a fabulous all-around fall or winter side dish.
If you’re worried about the curry being too strong, I can tell you that the flavor is obvious without being overwhelming (and I say that as a person who likes her curry in small doses.) However, they’re a bit spicy and exotic-tasting so, unless you have adventurous eaters, I’d serve them to adults rather than children.
How to make curried sweet potato pancakes
Making them is simple: You start by grating a large sweet potato in your food processor (you can also use a hand grater). One potato might not seem like enough but it goes a long way.
Next, make the batter by combining your spices with flour, baking powder, salt, eggs and milk; then stir in your grated sweet potatoes and sliced scallions.
Drop heaping spoonfuls in hot oil and pan fry until crisp and golden, then drain on papertowels and serve immediately.
You can also make them smaller and serve as hors d’oeuvres.
Couldn’t be easier and so delicious…Enjoy!
This recipe is adapted from Jewish Cooking in America by Joan Nathan.
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Curried Sweet Potato Pancakes
These sweet potato pancakes — deliciously spiced with a blend of curry, cumin, ginger and cayenne pepper — are worth every bite.
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Scant ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (use less if you don't like heat)
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 scallions
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- Approximately 4 tablespoons milk
- Peanut oil, for frying
- Applesauce, optional for serving
Instructions
- Coarsely grate sweet potatoes in a food processor (you can also use a hand grater). Set aside.
- Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cayenne, curry powder, cumin, ginger, and salt in medium bowl and mix well. Add scallions, eggs, 4 tablespoons milk and sweet potatoes and stir to combine. Batter should be moist but not runny; if too stiff, add a tablespoon more milk at a time until consistency is right.
- Line a baking sheet with several paper towels and set next to stove. Heat ¼-inch of oil in large nonstick skillet until barely smoking. Drop heaping tablespoons (about ⅛ cup) in oil and flatten with back of spoon. Fry over medium-high heat several minutes on each side until golden. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately. Serve with applesauce if desired.
- *Ideally, these should sweet potato pancakes should be served right away. To reheat leftovers, place sweet potato pancakes on rack over baking sheet in 350 degree oven until hot and crisp.
- Note: Nutritional information was calculated assuming that approximately 2 tablespoons of the oil are absorbed into the pancakes when frying.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Serving size: 2 pancakes
- Calories: 139
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Sugar: 4 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Sodium: 219 mg
- Cholesterol: 47 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Can these be “fried” the same way as the oven fried potato latkes? I’m loving the ease of sheet pan cooking! Thank you
Yep!
Hello,
Can you freeze these curried sweet potato pancakes
Yes, Elaine, I think that would work. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn, I love this recipe! But I’m trying to eat a little healthier now, so I want to cut out the frying and flour. Do you think it would work well to roast sweet potatoes tossed in these spices with some olive oil? Would you include the scallions? Thanks!
So just to clarify, Tamara, you just want to make diced roasted potatoes, not potato pancakes, right? If so, yes, I think it would work! (I’d suggest adding the scallions after taking the potatoes out of the oven. I’d love to hear how they turn out!
Outstanding! I made 1/2 roasted in a 400 degree convection oven and 1/2 fried. The taste on both was fabulous…fried is way better. A hit.
Excellent! Delicious. I used with Land-O-Lakes gf flour and they were just fine.
Would it be a problem to make this batter a day in advance?
Hi Judy, Glad you enjoyed! You can make the batter a day in advance; just leave out the baking powder and stir it in right before cooking. Also, be sure to cover well by placing a piece of plastic wrap directly over the batter so the potatoes don’t discolor.
Hi! I’m making this tomorrow and prepping today. Did you bake the sweet potato before grating it or blending it? Thanks!
Hi Chloe, No it is grated raw. Hope you enjoy!
I made the Curried Sweet Potatoe latkas last night and my husband and I both loved them. My kids though, were not fans of the curry flavor. They like the taste of the basic fried latka better. How would you adjust this recipe to make regular sweet potatoe latkas without curry?
Hi Cassie, I would just omit the spices.
OMG, these are delcious.
Could these be oven fried like your 2011 potato latke recipe?
Absolutely!
these are great comfort food. i love the flavor combination of the curry with the sweet potatoes.
Curry and sweet potatoes. Not flavors I would picture together, but it sounds so good I can’t wait to try it!