The perfect fall snack for your cup of chai. Sweet potato tikki wins at both flavor and texture. It’s crisp on the outside, creamy on the inside and it’s spicy and sweet!
This is the best way to eat sweet potato. A bold statement, I know, but it’s the truth. Sweet potato tikki is so flavorful – sweet, spicy, tangy. And it has a buttery crisp layer encasing a creamy center. It’s a dream snack.
I already have recipes for stuffed aloo tikki and crumb-coated Kerala meat cutlets on my website. This recipe for sweet potato tikki, also known as shakarkandi ki tikki, is perhaps a bit healthier? It’s certainly just as delicious as any other pan-fried patty out there.
So let’s get started!
The first step is to cook the sweet potatoes. You can either boil them on the stovetop or pressure cook them in an instant pot. I’m sharing both methods in the recipe card below.
Once cooked, peel the sweet potatoes and place them into a bowl along with a handful of spices. Then mash, mash, mash.
Form the spiced mashed sweet potato into round patties. I use a medium cookie scoop to measure out two scoops worth of the mixture, then I roll it into a ball and flatten it out into a patty. This amount makes 12 to 14 patties.
After that, shallow fry the patties in ghee or oil. I prefer to shallow fry sweet potato tikkis in ghee, it makes the tikki taste more decadent.
Do I Need to Add Flour to the Patties?
I don’t add any flour to these patties, but you can if you’d like. The patties hold up just fine, but if you have any trouble you can always mix in some rice flour or you can put them in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to set prior to pan-frying them.
Should I Use Orange Sweet Potatoes OR White Sweet Potatoes? Does Variety Matter?
Nope, it doesn’t matter. I’ve made this tikki using orange sweet potatoes and white sweet potatoes. It’s great either way.
What Should I Serve With The Tikki?
These are so flavorful that you can eat them on their own – the perfect snack to go with a cup of chai.
If you’re serving these for a party, make sweet potato tikki chaat! Serve the tikki with tamarind chutney or cilantro chutney. Top with chopped onion, cilantro, crispy sev (besan noodles), and pomegranate arils (if you want to be a bit fancy).
Want to make this tikki a meal? Turn it into a veggie burger! Place it in a bun and top it with whatever you’d like: ripe tomato, pickled onions, chutneys.
How do you plan to enjoy this tikki? I want to know 🙂
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes cooked and peeled (see directions for how to cook)
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro leaves
- 1 Serrano pepper minced
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger or ginger paste
- 2 teaspoons dried fenugreek leaves kasoori methi
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 teaspoon roasted ground cumin powder*
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper to taste
- Ghee or oil shallow fry
- Cilantro garnish, optional
Instructions
Sweet Potato Tikki:
- Place the cooked and peeled sweet potatoes and the remaining ingredients together in a bowl. Using a potato masher or spoon, mash until well combined.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, take two scoops of the mixture and form it into a ball, then flatten it into a patty. Repeat until all the mixture has been formed into patties.
- Add 4 tablespoons of ghee/oil to a frying pan over medium heat and shallow fry the patties in batches, adding more ghee/oil as needed. Fry the patties for 3 minutes per side, or until browned.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve with chutney or ketchup if desired.
To cook the sweet potatoes:
- To cook the sweet potatoes on the stovetop: add the sweet potatoes to a pot and cover with water. Bring the pot to a boil, then cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are soft and tender. Remove the sweet potatoes from the pot and place them onto a plate. Once cool enough to touch, remove the peel.
- To cook the sweet potatoes in an instant pot: pour 2 cups of water into the instant pot, put a trivet inside the pot, and then place the sweet potatoes on top of the trivet. Cook for 15 minutes at high pressure (for medium sweet potatoes, 9 to 12 ounces), then naturally release pressure. Remove the sweet potatoes from the pot and place them onto a plate. Once cool enough to touch, remove the peel.
Notes
Beth says
I haven’t tried these yet but they sound great! I have a question about the Instant Pot directions: by “natural release”, do you mean releasing the pressure immediately after the cook time is up or to allow the pressure to release on it’s own? I’ve found that different recipe authors have different definitions of “natural release.” Thanks for your help and I’m enjoying your blog very much!
Nick says
Lovely! Best cooked after patties have been in fridge to harden a bit and then make sure the oil is very hot when cooking, so they keep their shape.
On my second batch, I added a mashed ripe banana which added to the sweetness.
(From Nick in Essex, England)
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Nick, I’m so glad to hear that – thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂 Also, great to know about adding a banana!
Trista says
These didn’t work out on the frying pan for me. Not sure why. Any suggestions welcome
My Heart Beets says
Hi Trista, I’m sorry to hear that! What happened when you put them in the pan? In my notes, I mention a couple of troubleshooting tips, did you try those?
Maya says
I tried these in the air fryer at 390 and then at 395 for 12 and 15 minutes – no dice. They’re falling apart really easily in the pan, too 🙁 I’ll try cooling the mix and maybe adding a binding agent next time. But they taste delish!
Maya says
No luck with cooling and frying, or trying on my stovetop grill. Finally baked them and they were great.
Rosemary Perrett says
May be a silly question, but do I measure out the kasoori methi in leaf form or crush it finer & then measure?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Rosemary – not silly at all, in fact, I think I’ll start specifying this in my recipes so thank you for asking. I’d crush it and then measure. While it won’t make a difference in terms of the outcome of the pattie, the flavor will be better with more of the spice 🙂
Sugandha says
Hi love the recipe … can I make patties and refrigerate one day before and fry them on the day of get together?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Sugandha, yes definitely! Let me know what you think of them!
Jess says
These were delicious! They tasted like I had bought them from an Indian restaurant 🙂
Now that I purchased the kasoori methi, I’m going to search your website for other recipes that includes that. Thank you!
My Heart Beets says
Jess, I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how they turned out for you 🙂 Kasoori methi is a game-changer!
Julie says
I can’t wait to try this! I only have white potatoes on hand at the moment – do you think the same spicing would work for those?
Falguni says
Yes. They are known as Aloo (potato) tikkis. Great to have with drizzled with yoghurt, chopped tomatoes, onions, pomegranate, coriander (cilantro) – chilli chutney and a date-tamarind sauce. Yummy!
Emily says
I am trying to cook your vegetable biryani in my instant pot, but it keeps burning. I tried looking at the comments on that recipe, but for some reason I’m unable to see them, so I’m commenting here instead, as your contact me page says this is the fastest way to reach you.
I used to make it in my fagor pressure cooker, and had no problems with burning, but now I can’t seem to get it to not burn. I’m super disappointed, as this was one of my favorite dishes!!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Emily, sorry about that! I was having some trouble with comments but have fixed the issue – sorry again for the inconvenience! I hope you were able to salvage the biryani. Are you using a 6 quart to make it?
Maneesha says
WOW my husband and I loved these! I air fried them at 370F for 10 mins, then flipped them, and air fried again for 10 mins at 380F. Paired with brown chutney and cilantro, this was just TOO GOOD! Thanks Ashley! I’m definitely going to be making these again! I feel like they would be great appetizers at a party or for a BBQ!
My Heart Beets says
Maneesha, that’s so great to hear! I’m so glad you and your hubby loved these! Also, thank you for sharing how you air-fried them – I’m sure that’ll help other readers 🙂
Jenny says
Hi there! Is it possible to bake these instead of pan fry them? If so, how long and at what temp? I know they won’t be as crisp but probably still pretty tasty. Thanks!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Jenny, I haven’t tried baking these but I’m sure they’d still taste great. I’d try baking at 350F for 15 minutes or until browned – I’d also suggest spraying the tops with a bit of oil. Let me know what you think!
Judy says
That’s coconut flour not flower 🙂
Judy says
I don’t have the fresh methi in the house, but I have the dry kasoori methi. Could that be used ? Also do you think coconut flower could work instead of rice flour. Thanks for your wonderful recipes.
My Heart Beets says
Hi Judy, yes the dried leaves are what you want to use! I’ll make sure to clarify that in the post, sorry for the confusion and thank you for asking! I really don’t think you will need any flour, but if you find the mashed sweet potatoes to be watery then I’d think a bit of coconut flour would be fine.
Nabila Kane says
I am going to try these and air fry them. Hopefully they will come out ok.
Also making your onion masala for first time today. Love the easiness of it!!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Nabila, that’s great – please let me know how they turn out in the air fryer! Hope you love the onion masala and all the recipes that call for it!
Maneesha says
wowza! I can’t wait to try these!
My Heart Beets says
Can’t wait to hear what you think, Maneesha! 🙂