Navratri Fasting Recipe: Heena's Sweet Potato Chaat

Navratri menus always need loads of planning. But with a little effort they can look as sumptuous as the fare in the pic above.

Upvaas chaats are great additions to the meals. Heena Chayakar's Sweet Potato Chaat is packed with nutrients, providing energy and sustenance during festive days.

The mild, natural sweetness of shakarkand or sweet potatoes, combined with tangy spices, peanuts, fruit and salad ingredients makes for a delicious Navratri-friendly chaat that's khatta-meetha-namkeen like all chaats are meant to be.

Easy to make, it adheres to fasting rules.

Heena, a business consultant, is originally from Mumbai but now resides in Pune. She is passionate about exploring and enjoying good food and loves making quick bites for her family.

Sweet Potato Chaat

Serves: 3 to 4

Ingredients

• 500 gm shakarkand or sweet potatoes
• 1 cucumber, peeled, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 6 tbsp anar or pomegranate arils or seedpods
• 1 apple, cored, diced
• 1 tbsp roasted and then crushed peanuts
• ½ tsp black pepper powder
• ½ tsp roasted jeera or cumin powder
• Kala namak or sendha namak or rock salt to taste, about 1 tsp
• 2 tsp oil
• ½ tsp lemon juice, optional
• 1 tbsp chopped green dhaniya or coriander or cilantro, optional

Method

• Boil the sweet potatoes over medium heat till soft, but firm, or pressure cook the sweet potatoes for 3 whistles over medium heat.
  Cool a little, peel and cut into bite-sized pieces.
• Heat 2 tsp oil in a frying pan or a kadhai and stir-fry the sweet potatoes till golden brown.
  Cool.
• In a bowl, mix the fried sweet potatoes with the diced cucumber, diced tomatoes, pomegranate seedpods, diced apple, crushed peanuts.
  Sprinkle in the rock salt, black pepper powder, cumin powder and toss gently.
  Sprinkle the lemon juice over the chaat and serve immediately (or the sweet potatoes will lose their crispness), garnished with green coriander.

Heena's Note: Add a dash of green mint chutney for extra spice.

Add chaat masala too, if preferred, and not fasting. Use of chaat masala is not permitted during Navratri fasting. 

You can drizzle the oil over the sweet potatoes too instead of frying them. 

Editor's Note: Make your own mint chutney. Use Lahu Kapduskar's recipe for Green Mint Chutney.

Sprinkle 2-3 tbsp sev over the chaat before serving, if preferred. Use of sev is not permitted during Navratri fasting.

For a Jain version of this chaat, substitute the sweet potatoes with green bananas.

You can also convert this chaat into a raita with the addition of 200 gm yoghurt, but serve immediately so the sweet potatoes don't lose their crispness.

• REDIFF FOOD