sweet potatoes and water chestnut salad

Here is a salad recipe with two oft neglected seasonal vegetables . Sweet potatoes and singhara , while sweet potatoes will be available for some more time this season , singhara is going to vanish very soon.

Water Chestnut or Water Caltrop in english , paniphal in bengali , singhara in hindi , also called as Bull Nut or Singhara Nut , it is a common fasting food in the North of India . Sweet potato is another fasting food and this salad can be a great option for the navratri fasting for Hindus . Sweet potato or shakarkand , as it called in hindi , is considered very healthy and nutritious food worldwide but remains neglected by most of us . This salad is so yummy that it makes you forget that you are eating a fat free and yet very filling , nutrition packed meal .


Sweet potatoes are boiled with skin and sliced to make this yummy sweet and sour salad , Singhara is used uncooked as it was very tender . It is important to note that Singhara nut should not be boiled if it is tender .The use of Singhara nut is optional here and can be replaced with boiled baby potatoes with excellent results . Baby potatoes and sweet potatoes will absorb the flavors more readily and will be transformed with the dressing , while Singhara pieces are not as absorbent if used uncooked . If the Singharas are mature it is best to boil them and that will be another story for this kind of salad , so if you are lucky to get mature Singharas for this salad , boil them under pressure for a couple of minutes , peel the outer skin and use for best results.

For my salad i microwaved the sweet potatoes and kept the Singharas uncooked .


the dressing ...
 (For two servings using 2 cups each of singhara and sweet potatoes )

lemon juice 1 tbsp
freshly crushed black pepper corns 1 tsp
rock salt to taste
finely chopped green chillies to taste
sugar 1/2 tsp
chopped coriander leaves 1-2 tbsp

Mix the dressing ingredients together and toss the sliced sweet potatoes and singhara pieces and serve immediately . Coriander leaves can be replaced with dill leaves or both the herbs can be used if you like .


This is a really yummy salad and you will see it vanishing in no time.... crushed roasted peanuts or almonds are a great addition if you are having this salad as a standalone meal....


Here is the version of the same salad with boiled new baby potatoes , boiled singhara nuts and a few crushed peanuts . I like the sweet potato version more and will have it any day for a healthy lunch .

Children would love it i know , it's so much like a chaat for them ..... i have seen the street vendors in Delhi selling a shakarkand chaat but i have never gathered the courage to have that , have heard many people liking it .... i would like that too if that is better than this one ..anybody here who has tasted that dilli wali shakarkandi chaat ???

Comments

  1. yummmmm, singhara nahin milta yahan par..... :-( courier kar dijiye ;-)

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  2. Dilli aa jao khilati hoo singhare ...;-)

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  3. very chat pata salad it is tasty and healthy also

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  4. i love water chestnut. this salad sounds delicious.

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  5. Love the water chestnuts...they are so crunchy, juicy and delicious.

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  6. Yummy and unique salad
    http://shanthisthaligai.blogspot.com/

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  7. Great information. I really enjoyed reading this blog post and the salad looks delicious. Such a healthy salad!

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  8. What a delicious looking salad! The crunchy water chestnuts will contrast nicely with the boiled sweet potatoes.

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  9. we used to boil sweet potatoes and eat it with coconut and sugar. Good dish.. I havent heard about chestnut

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  10. I love singhara....luckily this time on my India trip I was able to get my hands on them....love the crunch & fresh taste of it....salad looks delicious...

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