Sweet Potato Patties: Vegan, Egg Free & Mildly Spicy
Sweet Potato Patties: Vegan, Egg Free, And Mildly Spicy.
Super Easy Sweet Potato Fritters Made With Chickpea Flour And Flaxseed.
Eat Them With Your Hands, Or Serve Them With A Meal.
Introduction to my sweet potato patties
These sweet potato patties are grated sweet potato mixed with shallot, garlic, ginger, gentle spices, chickpea flour and flaxseed meal, then shallow fried in olive oil. There’s no egg. The flaxseed and chickpea flour hold them together. One medium sweet potato makes a plateful, and they take about 30 minutes from start to finish.
They’re a bit like a pakora, or a sweet potato fritter. Crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, and mildly spicy. You can make them hotter with a spicier curry powder.
If you have any comments or questions, please contact us. Or chat with me at a Flametree yoga or meditation class via these timetables.
Sweet potato patties, fresh from the pan
Golden and crispy. Serve them warm.
Ingredients for sweet potato patties
Here are the ingredients for this Flametree Yoga Studio dish.
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 1 shallot
- 1 clove of garlic
- A small piece of fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon of ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon of ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon of curry powder (choose one you like; a hotter one makes them spicier)
- 1 dessert spoon of flaxseed meal
- 1 dessert spoon of chickpea flour
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil for shallow frying
Sweet potato is a great vegetable for us in Darwin. According to the Northern Territory Government, sweet potato grows well all year in the NT, so look out for Top End grown ones at the markets.
Grated sweet potato
One medium sweet potato, grated. That’s the hardest part done!
How to make sweet potato patties
Use these steps to make these sweet potato patties.
- Grate the sweet potato into a mixing bowl.
- Dice the shallot, and chop the garlic and ginger finely. Add them to the bowl.
- Add the cumin, coriander, curry powder, flaxseed meal, chickpea flour, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Press the mixture into small balls, then flatten them a little. Make sure the mixture isn’t too moist, or they won’t hold together.
- Heat some olive oil in a large pan. Don’t use too much. These are shallow fried, not deep fried.
- Fry the patties, watching them closely. Turn them when the underside is golden.
- Turn them gently, so they don’t break. Remember, there’s no egg holding them together!
- Serve warm.
Flaxseed meal, the egg substitute
Flaxseed meal goes a little sticky when it’s mixed with the damp sweet potato. That’s what holds the patties together.
The spices
Cumin, coriander and a mild Malay curry powder, plus salt and pepper.
How do you make sweet potato patties without egg?
Use flaxseed meal and chickpea flour. Flaxseed meal turns a little gluey when it meets moisture, and chickpea flour soaks up the extra wetness from the sweet potato. Together, they bind the patties just like an egg would.
The trick is to keep the mixture fairly dry, and to turn the patties gently in the pan.
Are sweet potato patties the same as sweet potato fritters?
Pretty much. Some people call them patties, some call them fritters, and in Indian cooking a spiced, fried vegetable snack is a pakora. These ones are shallow fried in a little olive oil, rather than deep fried, and they’re made without egg, so they’re also vegan fritters.
Why use chickpea flour?
Chickpea flour (also called besan) adds protein, and it’s naturally gluten free. It’s one of my favourite ways to make vegetable dishes more filling. If you like chickpea flour recipes, see the gluten free flat bread in my roasted vegetable spicy soup.
Sweet potato patties: quick questions answered
How long do they take to make?
About 30 minutes. That’s around 15 minutes to grate and mix, and 15 minutes to fry.
How many does one sweet potato make?
One medium sweet potato makes a plateful of small patties, enough for 2 to 3 people as a side.
Can I make them spicier?
Yes. Use a hotter curry powder, or add a little chilli.
Are they gluten free?
Yes. Sweet potato, spices, flaxseed meal and chickpea flour are all naturally gluten free. Check your curry powder label to be sure.
What do you serve them with?
You can eat them with your hands as a snack. Or serve them with a meal, such as a salad or a dahl.
Does sweet potato grow in Darwin?
Yes. The Northern Territory Government says sweet potato grows well all year in the NT, so look out for Top End grown ones at the markets.
More Flametree sweet potato and chickpea recipes
Try my sweet potato chickpea bake, my roasted sweet potato, quinoa and black bean salad, or my pumpkin chickpea dahl, which I learnt at the Flametree Bali retreat.
Do you have a vegan recipe or dish you’d like to share?
Please contact me with any dishes you’d like to share with me.
Obviously, I’m especially interested in any dish that is already a great Darwin vegan option.
Alternatively, it may be a potential vegan Darwin recipe that I could adapt, or be inspired by, as I did here.
Experience eating alternatives at a Flametree Yoga Retreat
By the way, there are several upcoming Flametree yoga retreats in Bali in 2027.
Contact us for details of our Darwin yoga retreat packages, or our yoga class packages in the orange lines below.
Top yoga & meditation retreats, classes, & videos
Meanwhile, start or re-start yoga or meditation with one of the HALF price deals below, or check out the retreat deals.
Learning to eat mindfully, as a result of yoga and pranayama meditation, is a great way to start more of a vegetarian or vegan journey, or simply mindfully eat whatever you choose.
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Recipe by Chris Lalor, Flametree Yoga Studio, Darwin NT. General information only.
