sweet potato – Chef at Large

No-Ghee Sweet Potato & Carrot Halwa

I’ve been trying to use sweet potatoes in ways other than my usual and this dish came together quite well. Not only was it quite nice as a regular halwa, but it also worked wonderfully as a stuffing for gujiyas and kachoris. We tried a few at home and they turned out quite well. In fact, we even did one in a mooncake mould and that turned out nice too.

This recipe was created for The Right Side of Life, a Safal community on Facebook. If you’re interested in eating healthier and involving food in different aspects of wellness, this is a group for you. We’re planning lots of activities and content for this group that I’m sure you’ll love!

This halwa works great as a stuffing too, if deep fried carbs are your thing.

Ingredients:

Sweet potatoes, 2 medium, sliced in half length-ways, steamed
Carrots, 3 medium, peeled and grated
Sugar per your preferences
Cinnamon powder, 1/2 tsp
Elaichi / Cardamom, 2 whole, peeled and powdered

Method:

Mash the sweet potatoes. Incorporate the shredded carrots and the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
Using a non-stick pan pour the mixture, including any shed water, cook the mixture on low heat, until the carrots lose their raw taste – about 15 minutes. Add more water if you think it’s needed, but make sure the mixture is quite dry by the time you’re done.
Adjust sweetness with powdered sugar or honey, as granulated sugar will not blend in easily at this stage.

The halwa is done at this point and can be served. If you find it a little dreary, a little ghee will go a long way in making it more appetising for some of us.

If you want to put it into kachoris or gujiyas, the dough we used was all purpose flour, 25% ghee (25gm in 100gm of flour), a large pinch of powdered sugar and just enough water to make it into a tight dough that was rested in the fridge for about 20 minutes prior to use.

Notes:

Some sweet potatoes turn out quite fibrous. If so, blend the steamed sweet potato before mixing with the carrots.
We steam the sweet potatoes so it takes less time to dry out later. If you want you can boil them instead.
The halwa can be easily used to stuff parathas that’ll hold quite well.
When in the pan, you’ll find a silicone spatula quite useful instead of a wooden implement.

Sweet Potato, Spring Onions and Garlic

I discovered sweet potatoes very late in life, and began cooking with it even later. This is one of my favourite dishes, and it’s a lovely blend of textures and flavours. There’s crisp and crunch and smooth and soft, plus sweet and savoury and garlic all at once in every bite.

The delightful blend of flavours and textures in this dish makes it quite an addictive snack.

Ingredients:

Sweet potatoes, washed boiled and thickly sliced
Spring onion greens (the green portion), sliced
Garlic, sliced or chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon wedges or juice
Ghee or butter for frying

Method:

Heat ghee, butter or oil in a pan, enough for shallow frying
Fry the sliced sweet potato until golden brown and crisp on each side. Take off the flame and keep warm.
Add more ghee, butter or oil in a pan, enough to saute the amount of spring onions you have in mind.
Fry some garlic in there until it begins to turn brown. Add the spring onions and a few seconds later, a sprinkle of salt. Cook until it’s as tender as you like.
Serve as a snack, appetiser or side dish with a few wedges of lemon.

Notes:

Sweet potato slices can be as thick or thin as you like
Don’t fry the sweet potatoes for too long or they’ll go dry
When boiling the sweet potato, you know it’s cooked when a knife or fork poked in, goes in easily and comes out just as easily.
You can use any type of oil/fat you prefer
The spring onions will reduce in quantity after cooking. Use a little extra.
You can use the whites of the spring onions too if you want.
Experiment with orange juice instead of lemon for a twist.

A video of how I made it.