Sweet Potato Patty/Cutlet, For Fasting Days/ Ratalyache Cutlet..Navaratri Special

Hi all!

It is just another week to go for the festive days of Navaratri to begin. Navaratri literally means ‘nine days’; it starts immediately after the full moon of Mahalaya i.e. the 17th October. The idea behind Navratri is the time for cleansing our own evil characteristics like hatred, jealousy, ignorance, anger, greed, violence, etc. inside and outside of us. In the West India, the divine feminine is referred to as Goddess, but in the East, she is referred to as Shakti, or Power and hence celebrated as Durga Puja. She is your own consciousness as well as the Supreme Consciousness.The Nine Nights/Moon Phases of the Goddess is an important time period wherein the energy of 3 primary Shaktis of the Divine Feminine, the Supreme Goddess, is invoked.

In North India, Maharashtra and Gujarat, people observe a seven day fast during Navratri and break their fast on Ashtami (the eighth day of the festival) by worshiping young girls. However, some people observe fast until the Ashtami and break their fast only on Navami (the ninth day).The devotees, who have observed fast, would get up early in the morning, take bath and offer prayers to the deity. People follow a specific diet for Navratri, if they haven't observed a nirahar (waterless) fast. Most people nowadays perform partial fasting. They would abstain from non-vegetarian food, alcohol and those dishes that are made of common salt or any kind of spice. Singhare ka atta (kuttu ka atta) is used to prepare rotis or puris, for the fast. (ref festivals.iloveindia.com)
One may drink beverages like tea, coffee and milk, on Navratri. Dishes made of sago and potato is generally consumed by the people, when they observe fast on Navratri. Sendha namak (rock salt) is used instead of common salt, for cooking on the festival. All fruits and foodstuff made of fruits are eaten during the seven days.

I have posted most of the recipes that are  commonly made during the fasting days like the Batatyache Kees, Sabudana Vada, earlier.To increase the variety of food that can be eaten during fasting, recently I posted a very new kind of thalipeeth/Indian Pancake using watermelon rind. Today I’m posting yet another different recipe for fasting using an ingredient which is normally used for making sweet dishes.

I was skeptical during the preparatory stage but once the mix was ready and tasted, all tensions were thrown outside the window. I knew instantly it is going to be a hit dish.. There was no sweetness from the sweet potatoes, the flavors were perfectly balanced!!

Preparation Time :30mins

Cooking Time: 3-4mins per batch

Makes:14-15

Serves:3-4

Ingredients

5medium sized sweet potatoes
2-3green chilies (check on the spice level, mine were spicy)
3tbsp chopped coriander
1/2cup soaked mini sago/mini sabudana
1tsp grated ginger
1tsp cumin seeds
sendha namak to taste(salt for fasting days)
1to1-1/2tsp lemon juice
3-4tbsp roasted and ground peanuts
sago flour/ sabudana peeth, for dusting
oil/ghee for pan roasting

Method

Boil the sweet potatoes in water. Once cooked peel off the skin and grate.

To the sweet potatoes add all the remaining ingredients and mix properly.

Make small balls and then pat them to make patty.

Coat the patty on all sides with sago flour.

Pan roast the patty on medium flame using a little ghee or vegetable oil on both the side till nicely golden in color. I used ghee for roasting.

Serve with green chutney.

This recipe is an entry to Kitchen Aid IndiaNavratri Challenge For The Hub @Archana's Kitchen