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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Making as an appetizer for Passover at a vegetarian Seder – suggestions for a dipping sauce? Please advise. Thanks, and yes i’ll sub flour with potato starch.
Hi Lauren, this would pair nicely with raita. I don’t have a raita recipe, but this one looks good (please keep in mind that I haven’t tried it myself). Hope you enjoy if you make it!
I am not a fan of sweet potato. Can I use yams instead???
Sure!
These were absolutely delicious as part of our Hanukkah celebration! In fact, they were so good, we made them again after the holiday as a side dish at dinner. They taste a bit like an appetizer you might order at an excellent Indian restaurant. Highly recommended!
They take awhile to make, but they are so worth it. They are even good cold the next day, or so our toddler says.
I absolutely love this recipe, Jen! I make it 4x a a time, cook up 2T portions–on a nonstick surface with just a light spray of oil, then freeze them in bags. I pull them out whenever I feel they’d augment a salad, a fish stirfry, or anything else, and they’re just as delicious as they were when new! Thank you so much for sharing!
YUM! A new take on a childhood classic potato latke (my Nan was of Polish descent and a “firm believer” in deep frying). The curry favor was a perfect addition to sweet potatoes and not over powering. I am always looking for a new recipe for sweet potatoes, this will definitely be put in my archives.
These were fantastic!!! Served with cucumber/yogurt sauce. Really great mix of spices that would actually go well with several different foods. I did use Bob’s 5 in 1 flour (for gluten free) and almond milk – I only used 3 T. As usual, another great recipe by you – I haven’t found one yet that wasn’t a hit with my family – thank you!
Jenn – This looks great. Do you think I can substitute something for the milk – oat, cashew or almond milk perhaps? I have a vegan to accommodate (I will use an egg substitute as well). Thanks.
Sure, Kathy, I think a non-dairy milk will work here. Hope you enjoy!
Delicious! I was hesitant about the flavor combination but this was delicious, it was perfect, fried in canola oil. Thank you.
Yum. I love potato pancakes and Indian food. This is the perfect combo of flavours. I didn’t have a scallion so I substituted a finely chopped small yellow onion, and I grilled them on a griddle with cooking spray. Topped with a dollop of sour cream. Heavenly. Thanks for the recipe! I’m afraid there were no leftovers to serve tomorrow.