The baked sweet potatoes work wonderfully as a base to make these healthier chaat bites. This could be a fun make-your-own appetizers/snack for any party. Serve with variations of toppings, the possibilities are endless.
Growing up we didn’t have any special celebrations for new years. We didn’t have a party or blew firecrackers. The only thing I remember is being allowed to remain awake until midnight and watch the special new year’s program on doordarshan (local TV network). In those days, that already felt like a treat as otherwise there was a strict deadline of 10:00 pm by which everybody had to be in bed.
Me and my three siblings would go in the kitchen to hunt for some celebratory snacks and would often end up making a snack that we called ‘cracker chaat’. We would open a pack of salted crackers and top it with whatever we could find in the fridge or the pantry that would excite us. That is one of my best childhood memories.
I wanted to find a healthier alternative to the cracker chaat. I got inspired by a recipe I saw on internet, to make loaded sweet potatoes. I thought why not replace the salted crackers with sweet potatoes, and load them in Indian street food style to make chaat bites. I tried and the recipe worked like a magic. I could see the same excitement in my kids’ eyes that me and my siblings used to have as kids. They loved making their own variations of chaat bites and devoured them in minutes. Mission successful!!
Chaat Bites
Ingredients
For the base:
- 2 long sweet potatoes (similar sized)
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp red chili powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
For toppings:
- 1/2 red onion (finely diced)
- 1/2 tomato (finely diced)
- 2 tsp coriander chutney
- 3 tsp mixed namkeen (optional)
- a few pomegranate seeds
- 2 tsp greek yogurt
- 2 tsp sriracha or hot sauce (optional)
- Chaat masala
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash the sweet potato and pat dry.
- Cut about 1 cm thick slices.
- Preheat the oven at 200°C.
- Add the olive oil, garlic powder, red chili powder and salt and coat well.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper and spread the sweet potato slices a few centimeters apart from each other. You might have to bake in batches.
- Bake for 10 minutes on one side, then flip and bake for another 10 minutes on the other side.
- Take out from oven and arrange on a serving dish. Wait for a few minutes to cool down before putting with your favorite toppings.
Notes
- To avoid your sweet potatoes being soggy, thoroughly dry them after washing.
- You can prepare the sweet potato bites a few hours in advance before serving.
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