Sweet Potato Bhajis
Crunchy, aromatic Sweet Potato Bhajis: sweet potato and onion folded into a lightly spiced chickpea-flour batter, fried until golden and served with a cooling mint-cucumber yogurt sauce.
Sweet potato bhajis are crispy Indian fritters made from thin sweet potato and onion held together in a spiced chickpea-flour batter and fried until deep golden. Because the batter is built on chickpea flour (besan) rather than wheat, they are naturally gluten-free, and they come together with pantry spices like cumin, a masala or curry mix, and a little heat. They land somewhere between a snack and a starter: sweet from the potato, savoury and warm from the spices, with that irresistible crunch you only get from a hot pan of oil.
A Taste of Indian Tradition
Today I want to share with you the origin and the fascinating tradition of the delicious Bhajis, an Indian culinary dish that has conquered the hearts of gourmands all over the world. Bhajis, also known as pakora or bhajiya, are aromatic and crispy fritters made from various vegetables wrapped in a spiced batter and fried until golden. Using sweet potato gives the classic version a gentle sweetness that balances the warm spices beautifully. If you enjoy this kind of cooking, you will find plenty more ideas in my collection of Indian recipes.
What You’ll Need
The ingredient list is short, and most of it is likely already in your kitchen. Here is what each part does:
- Sweet potatoes and onion are the stars: two large sweet potatoes, grated or cut into thin slices, plus one large onion cut into thin strips.
- Chickpea flour (200 g) is the base of the batter. It fries up crisp and keeps the recipe gluten-free.
- Greek yogurt (60 g in the batter) adds a little tang and helps the coating cling. For a vegan version, swap it for soy yogurt.
- Spices: hot pepper, a masala or curry spice mix, cumin powder, salt and pepper give the batter its warmth and colour.
- Water and olive oil bring the batter to a thick, paste-like consistency.
- Oil for frying to reach that golden, crunchy finish.
For the sauce you will also want grated cucumber, more Greek yogurt (or soy yogurt), dry mint and a little salt. It is a fresh, cooling raita-style dip that offsets the spice.
How to Get Them Perfectly Crispy
A few small details make the difference between soggy fritters and shatteringly crisp ones:
- Keep the vegetables dry. Another trick I recommend is that the vegetables used in bhajis should not be wet. Excess moisture cools the oil and makes the batter greasy, so pat the sweet potato and onion dry before mixing.
- Aim for a thick, paste-like batter. Mix all the batter ingredients until fully homogenised. It should coat the vegetables rather than run off them.
- Get the oil to temperature. Heat the oil to 160 C before you start. Too cool and the bhajis absorb oil; too hot and the outside browns before the inside cooks.
- Fry in small batches for about 6 minutes, turning so both sides brown evenly. Crowding the pan drops the temperature.
- Drain and hold warm. Rest the fried bhajis on paper towels, then keep them warm in a 100 C oven while you finish the rest.
The Cooling Mint and Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
The sauce is what turns these into a proper meal. Salt the grated cucumber and let it drain in a sieve for 15 minutes, then squeeze out the water so the dip stays thick. Stir the cucumber into the yogurt with dry mint, and chill it while you fry. The result is cool, herby and lightly tangy, the ideal counterpoint to the warm spices. For the brave who love hot sensations, I recommend a hot pepper sauce alongside it, which can be made at home with a few ingredients. You will find more ideas in my collection of vegan sauces if you want to build a little dipping spread.
What to Serve With Sweet Potato Bhajis
Bhajis are wonderful as an appetiser on their own, but they also round out a bigger Indian-inspired spread. Serve them alongside a creamy palak paneer or a rich chana masala with basmati rice, and add a fragrant biryani for a table that feels like a feast. If fritters are your kind of thing, you might also like these sweet zucchini fritters for another crispy bite.
Storing and Making Ahead
Bhajis are at their best fresh from the pan, while the crust is still crisp. If you have leftovers, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days and reheat in a hot oven or air fryer to bring the crunch back, rather than the microwave, which turns them soft. The yogurt sauce can be made a day ahead and kept chilled and covered; give it a quick stir before serving. You can also prep the vegetables in advance, but mix the batter and fold in the sweet potato and onion just before frying so nothing goes watery.
So, if you want to experience the flavors the Indian gastronomic tradition has to offer, I warmly recommend you to try my sweet potato Bhajis recipe. If you fry up a batch, please rate the recipe below and leave a comment telling me how spicy you made yours and which sauce you paired them with. I love hearing how you make it your own.
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Sweet Potato Bhajis
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes large
- 1 large onion
- oil for frying
For the batter:
- 100 ml plain water
- 200 g chickpea flour
- 60 g Greek yogurt use soy yogurt for vegan version
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper
- 1 teaspoon masala or curry spice mix
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
For the sauce:
- ½ large cucumber grated
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 300 g Greek yogurt use soy yogurt for vegan version
- 1 teaspoon dry mint
Instructions
- Prepare the sauce. In a sieve, put the grated cucumber and sprinkle with salt. Let it stay like that for 15 mins. Then squeeze out the water from the grated cucumber. Transfer the cucumbers to a bowl, add the yogurt, mint and mix. Put the bowl in the fridge until you prepare the Bhajis.
- In a bowl, add all the ingredients for the batter and mix well until completely homogenized. You have to get a paste-like texture for the batter.
- Now grate the sweet potato using a mandoline or your food processor or simply cut it into thin and narrow slices. Julienne the onion. Add the sweet potatoes and onion to the batter and mix.
- Heat the fryer with oil or fill a pan with oil and wait for it to heat up to 160 C.
- Form balls from the mixture and fry them for around 6 minutes each, on both sides, until they become crispy and brown.
- Place the bhajis on some paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Then transfer them to a tray. You leave the tray in the oven at 100C to keep the bhajis warm until they are all ready to be served.
- Serve the sweet potato bhajis balls with the yogurt sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bhajis, also called pakora or bhajiya, are Indian fritters made from vegetables coated in a spiced chickpea-flour batter and fried until crisp. This version uses sweet potato and onion, with a batter of chickpea flour, a little yogurt, water, cumin, a masala or curry mix, hot pepper, salt and pepper. Because the batter is chickpea-based, it is naturally gluten-free.
As written, this recipe is vegetarian: both the batter and the dipping sauce use Greek yogurt. To make it fully vegan, simply swap the Greek yogurt for soy yogurt in the batter and in the mint-cucumber sauce. Everything else in the recipe is already plant-based.
The two most common culprits are wet vegetables and oil that is not hot enough. Pat the grated sweet potato and onion dry before mixing, since excess moisture makes the batter greasy. Fry at around 160 C in small batches so the oil temperature stays steady and the crust can set quickly.
Heat the oil to about 160 C before adding the first batch. At that temperature the bhajis fry for roughly 6 minutes, turning once, until golden brown on both sides. If the oil is too cool the fritters soak up grease, and if it is too hot the outside browns before the inside cooks through.
This recipe is written for frying, which gives the crispiest, most even crust. You can bake or air-fry them for a lighter option, but expect a softer, less uniformly golden result. Keep the batter thick and the vegetables dry either way so the fritters hold together.
The classic partner is the cooling mint and cucumber yogurt sauce in this recipe, which balances the warm spices. For a fuller meal, serve them alongside dishes like palak paneer, chana masala with basmati rice or a fragrant biryani. A homemade hot pepper sauce is a great extra for anyone who loves more heat.
