Curried Sweet Potato Latkes - Recipe - December 7, 2010

I tweeted about Curried Sweet Potato Latkes yesterday. After a bit of eyelash batting (not mine) I agreed to post the recipe.  The recipe is from Joan Nathan's Jewish Cooking in America.

 

Curried Sweet Potato Latkes

The New Prospect Café, a health-oriented restaurant and catering company in Park Slope, Brooklyn, includes these curried sweet potato fritters on their Hanukkah menu. Add some fresh grated ginger to the pancakes for an Asian touch. Sweet potatoes need the flour to give the pancakes body.

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk (approximately)

Peanut oil for frying

1. Grate the sweet potatoes coarsely. In a separate bowl mix the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cayenne pepper, curry powder, cumin, and salt and pepper.

2. Add the eggs and just enough milk to the dry ingredients to make a stiff batter. Add the potatoes and mix. The batter should be moist but not runny; if too stiff, add more milk.

3. Heat 1/4 inch of peanut oil in a frying pan until it is barely smoking. Drop in the batter by tablespoons and flatten. Fry over medium-high heat several minutes on each side until golden. Drain on paper towels and serve.

Yield: 16 3-inch pancakes.

My notes: I usually double the recipe because I like these a lot. I do not double the cayenne. You can adjust the cayenne to suit your taste of course. I use a food processor to grate the sweet potatoes. I have never made these in peanut oil. I use canola oil.

Here are some photos of the latkes I made last night.

I serve them with sour cream and applesauce.  Bon appétit!