Shakarkandi Chaat is our favourite Indian street food snack recipe prepared with chunks of crispy roasted sweet potato.

The popular Indian street food is traditionally served as a grab and go snack. Our vegan and vegetarian friendly chaat tastes simultaneously sweet, tangy and spicy in each bite. It’s packed full of flavour!

We suggesting serving Sweet Potato Chaat as an appetizer at an Indian-themed dinner party or late night snack paired with ice cold beers.

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How to make vegan Shakarkandi. Our Sweet Potato Chaat recipe is an Indian snack topped with spicy peanuts, puffed rice, cilantro, & chutneys. — Save our Shakarkandi Sweet Potato Chaat recipe to Pinterest!

What Is Shakarkandi Chaat?

I’ve traveled all over India in search of the most delicious regional dishes, eating my way through award-winning restaurants and street food stalls in Delhi, Agra, Mumbai, and Kerala.

Mumbai is perhaps India’s most famous city to take a street food tour. The city’s bustling alleys are scented with the enticing aromas of vendors whipping together cutlery-free delicacies like panipuri, pav bhaji, dosas and Sweet Potato Chaat.

Chaat is a broad culinary term in Indian cuisine representing a wide range of street food snacks.

Chaat recipes usually feature some kind of crunchy deep fried dough with various ingredients that typically create a harmony of spicy, tangy, and salty flavours.

Chaat’s are beloved for their ability to perfectly contrast several complex layers of flavours and textures. They often feature ingredients that are crunchy, tender and soft. Scoop a spoonful of chaat into your mouth and you’ll likely enjoy an explosion of flavours that are simultaneously spicy, tangy, salty and sweet.

Most traditional chaat are savoury and served at roadside stands as a quick meal or grab and go snack like our popular Samosa Chaat. You can also make a sweeter offering like Fruit Chaat.

Shakarkandi translates into English as “sweet potato” so the dish can be referenced as Shakarkandi Chaat or Sweet Potato Chaat.

Crispy roasted sweet potato chunks are served with crunchy fried peanuts and puffed rice, sprinkled with finely chopped red onion and cilantro and drizzled with tangy tamarind and coriander chutney.

Ingredients

Most of the ingredients in this recipe are common staples you’ll likely have in your pantry and fridge. It’s an affordable and comforting snack to serve alongside curries or kebabs.

Large Sweet Potatoes
Canola Oil
Chaat Masala
Red Chili Powder
Kosher Salt
Lime Juice
Cilantro
Red Onion
Spiced Peanuts
Puffed Rice
Cilantro Chutney
Tamarind Chutney

Garnish roasted sweet potato chunks with onion, cilantro, puffed rice and spicy chili powder.

Instructions

Follow the recipe cards step-by-step instructions below to master the art of chaat making:

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Toss sweet potato chunks with oil in a mixing bowl. Scatter sweet potato pieces on a baking sheet then slide into the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. Be sure to slip half way through roasting.
Place roasted sweet potato chunks in a mixing bowl and sprinkle with chaat masala, red chili powder, salt, and squeeze of lemon or lime juice.
Divide sweet potatoes into 4 bowls. Garnish with cilantro, red onion, spiced fried peanuts, puffed rice and drizzle with chutneys.

Sweet Potato Chaat is our favourite vegan Indian snack to make at home.

Shakarkandi Recipe Tips

This Sweet Potato Chaat recipe is quick and easy to make at home. Here are some tips and tricks to help you out in the kitchen:

We’ve used an oven to roast chunks of sweet potato but you can use an air fryer instead. Simply reduce the cooking time in half to avoid overcooking or burning the sweet potatoes.
We’ve used canola oil in this recipe but you can use alternative vegetable oils like peanut oil or avocado oil.
Chaat masala is a unique spice blend from India traditionally used when making chaat. It typically consists of amchoor, cumin, coriander, dried ginger, salt, black pepper, asafoetida, and chili powder. If you can’t find chaat masala at your grocery store feel free to substitute with garam masala or your favourite curry spice blend.
We’ve used red chili powder to give the dish a spicy kick. If you can’t handle the heat simply add a pinch of the powder instead of 1/4 tsp.
We recommend using lime juice as it’s more traditional but you can substitute with lemon if you prefer.
Cilantro is traditionally chopped at street stalls in India and sprinkled over chaat as a garnish. If you don’t like cilantro or can’t find it at your grocery store fresh mint is a great substitute.
We like to use finely chopped red onions in this recipe for their colour but you can use white onion instead.
You can purchase deep fried spiced peanuts at South Indian supermarkets, they’re a deliciously spicy snack all on their own. If you can’t find them at your grocery store feel free to substitute with roasted peanuts.
We like to serve a duo of Indian chutneys so guests can drizzle them on their Sweet Potato Chaat. We like the zesty Cilantro Chutney variety alongside tangy Tamarind Chutney.
You can also add a few dollops of raita or Greek-style yogurt before serving.

Serve Sweet Potato Chaat with coriander mint and tangy tamarind chutney.

What To Serve With Sweet Potato Chaat

Shakarkandi Chaat is typically served as a snack all on it’s own. It’s a mouthwatering grab-and-go meal often served in a bowl with a small spoon or fork.

If you’re hosting an Indian dinner party we suggest serving this recipe on one large plate or in a shallow bowl as an appetizer that guests can enjoy alongside salads like Indian Onion Salad, Paneer Tikka Salad, or Sprouted Mung Bean Salad.

Serve the crowd-pleasing chaat and selection of salads with some of our favourite Indian curries:

Shakarkandi is a healthy Indian snack that is both spicy, sour and sweet.

Storage

If you’ve prepared this chaat for guests and have leftovers store them in the fridge in an airtight container for 24 hours.

The texture of Sweet Potato Chaat is what makes it unique and it’s hard to replicate and reheat leftovers back to their desired state if the toppings have already been added to the sweet potato. We suggest tossing leftovers into a bowl of beaten eggs and frying them in a little ghee as a delicious breakfast or brunch dish.

If you are keen to prepare this recipe and enjoy leftovers over several days we recommend storing the ingredients in separate containers so they don’t get soggy. You can easily reheat and crisp up the sweet potato chunks in the oven or air fryer then simply add fresh toppings and chutneys before serving.

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Shakarkandi Sweet Potato Chaat Photo Image.

Health Benefits

Our Sweet Potato Chaat recipe is packed full of wholesome ingredients!

Sweet Potatoes are rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Studies have linked potatoes to a variety of impressive health benefits, including improved blood sugar control, reduced heart disease risk and higher immunity.

Onions are a humble vegetable packed with vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Regular consumption of onions can help boost digestive health and reduce the risk of developing heart disease.

Chili has been proven to help reduce the duration of sickness, prevent heart disease, and promote weight loss.

A good source of bone-strengthening vitamin K, cilantro is also rich in antioxidants that help protect the eyes from damage by free radicals.

A rich source of phytochemicals and vitamin C, lemons help boost your immune system and neutralize free radicals that cause disease and skin aging. Lemons also protect against heart disease and help improve blood flow to the brain.

Peanuts are rich in protein, fat, and fibre. While peanuts may have a large amount of fat, most of the fats they contain are known as “good fats.”

Tamarind is a rich source of magnesium and contains more calcium than many plant-based foods.

How To Make Homemade Shakarkandi Sweet Potato Chaat

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