Curried Sweet Potato Pancakes
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A flavorful twist on potato pancakes that works for Hanukah and everyday dinners alike.
If you’ve been cooking along with me for a while, you know I don’t shy away from comfort food when it’s worth it. And for Hanukkah, it definitely is. Fried food is the tradition, after all—and while I’ll always love a classic latke, these sweet potato pancakes deserve a place on the table too. They’re spiced with curry, cumin, ginger, and cayenne, crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, and full of flavor. Perfect for Hanukkah, but just as good as a fall or winter side dish any time of year.
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 paper towels 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
Ingredients
- 1 lb 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 a medium bowl and mix well. Add scallions, eggs, 4 tablespoons (60 ml) 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-in (6-mm) of oil in a 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.
Notes
- Nutritional information was calculated assuming that approximately 2 tablespoons of the oil are absorbed into the pancakes when frying.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: Ideally, these sweet potato pancakes should be served right away, but if you have leftovers, place them on a rack over a baking sheet and reheat in 350°F/175°C oven until hot and crisp.
Nutrition Information
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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Can these be “fried” the same way as the oven fried potato latkes? I’m loving the ease of sheet pan cooking! Thank you
Yep!
Hello,
Can you freeze these curried sweet potato pancakes
Yes, Elaine, I think that would work. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn, I love this recipe! But I’m trying to eat a little healthier now, so I want to cut out the frying and flour. Do you think it would work well to roast sweet potatoes tossed in these spices with some olive oil? Would you include the scallions? Thanks!
So just to clarify, Tamara, you just want to make diced roasted potatoes, not potato pancakes, right? If so, yes, I think it would work! (I’d suggest adding the scallions after taking the potatoes out of the oven. I’d love to hear how they turn out!
Outstanding! I made 1/2 roasted in a 400 degree convection oven and 1/2 fried. The taste on both was fabulous…fried is way better. A hit.
Excellent! Delicious. I used with Land-O-Lakes gf flour and they were just fine.
Would it be a problem to make this batter a day in advance?
Hi Judy, Glad you enjoyed! You can make the batter a day in advance; just leave out the baking powder and stir it in right before cooking. Also, be sure to cover well by placing a piece of plastic wrap directly over the batter so the potatoes don’t discolor.
Hi! I’m making this tomorrow and prepping today. Did you bake the sweet potato before grating it or blending it? Thanks!
Hi Chloe, No it is grated raw. Hope you enjoy!
I made the Curried Sweet Potatoe latkas last night and my husband and I both loved them. My kids though, were not fans of the curry flavor. They like the taste of the basic fried latka better. How would you adjust this recipe to make regular sweet potatoe latkas without curry?
Hi Cassie, I would just omit the spices.
OMG, these are delcious.
Could these be oven fried like your 2011 potato latke recipe?
Absolutely!
these are great comfort food. i love the flavor combination of the curry with the sweet potatoes.
Curry and sweet potatoes. Not flavors I would picture together, but it sounds so good I can’t wait to try it!