Sweet Potato Kheer

Delectable and healthy Indian dessert made with #Trader Joe's sweet potatoes, coconut milk and jaggery

Healthy, nutritious, rich and silky Indian dessert without the heavy caloric count!

Delectable and healthy Indian dessert made with #Trader Joe's sweet potatoes, coconut milk and jaggery
Sweet Potato Kheer

The Hindu festival of Mahashivaratri typically falls in February each year. It is a festival of great spiritual significance and is celebrated by Hindus in India and all around the world. ‘Maha’ is great, ‘Shiva’ is Lord Shiva and ’ratri’ means night. This festival is celebrated all night long . On this night, the northern hemisphere of our planet is positioned in such a way that it is said that there is a natural upsurge of energy in a human being. This is a day when nature is pushing one towards one’s spiritual peak.People visit temples and observe it as a day  of fasting, meditating and self-reflection.One of my childhood memories is that of visiting the Shiva temple with my mother on Mahashivaratri. I did not observe the fast but enjoyed the special foods made for the fast 🙂

The type of foods allowed during fasting vary from region to region. In Maharashtra, foods made from sago/ tapioca pearls, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peanuts, coconut, sugar and jaggery are eaten.

I have always enjoyed sweet potatoes made in a savory dish. I am hooked on the medium sized yummy sweet potatoes at Trader Joes and wanted to try a sweet kheer with it.

This experiment was an absolute success first and foremost for its delectable taste! I am crazy about the coconut milk + jaggery+ cashew nut flavor combination and it just melded with the flavor of the sweet potato. I also like the fact that the nutrition packed creamy sweet potato needs just a tablespoon each of the jaggery and coconut milk powder to get a silky, rich kheer. I celebrate foods like this Sweet Potato Kheer that are healthy and taste like it has a zillion calories….but you know it does not and can enjoy it guilt free! That is my kind of food 🙂

Sweet Potato Kheer

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon ghee
  • 6~8 cashew nuts
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes,washed, cut in half, boiled, peeled and mashed
  • 1 tablespoon coconut milk powder blended in ¾ cup water (or ½ cup coconut milk +1/4 cup water)
  • A small pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon jaggery
  • 1 teaspoon golden raisins
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon green cardamom seed powder

To Make the Sweet Potato Kheer-

  1. In a sauce pan over medium heat, add the ghee and roast the cashew nuts in it until lightly golden.
  2. Add the mashed sweet potato, stir for a few seconds and add the coconut milk mixture, salt and the jaggery. Stir well. Add the raisins and let the mixture come up to a simmer.
  3. Lower the heat to low, add the nutmeg and cardamom powders and let it simmer on low for a minute or so to assimilate the flavors.
  4. Remove from heat and serve.

Note-

  • This Sweet Potato Kheer can be made ahead of time and tastes good cold or warm.
  • To make this Kheer vegan, you may avoid the ghee all together and just add roasted cashew nuts in the kheer.

I did not know that today is National sweet potato day. What a sweet coincidence that my Sweet Potato Kheer also celebrates national sweet potato day!

Enjoy,

Love ,

Sandhya

44 thoughts on “Sweet Potato Kheer”

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    1. Thanks so much Ronit. I love reading about customs and traditions from various cultures so I thought I will include a little bit about this holiday. glad you liked it. The Kheer surpassed my expectations, so I have got sweet potatoes again 🙂

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    1. Thanks Myra! We liked it a lot so I got sweet potatoes again 🙂
      I was thinking of you yesterday when I made the red lentil Sedanini! We loved it. what a fun way to enjoy pasta without the extra carbs.

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      Reply

  11. Thanks for that bit of history Sandhya, always interesting to learn customs and religious holidays via blogging. Thanks for enlightening me on the “National Sweet Potato Day” too 🙂 I’d never have known. 🙂 Well you certainly came up with a doozy in this lovely pudding. Coconut milk, sweet potato and jaggery? Yes please 🙂 I just bought a triangular shaped piece of jaggery at the Indian store yesterday. I had never bought jaggery before….however the one I grew up with was dark brown. Just wondered what the difference is, probably like light brown and dark brown sugar?

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    Reply

    1. Loretta, I love learning about customs and traditions from different cultures too.
      I was ‘enlightened’about National sweet Potato day on WP Reader!
      We always got jaggery from the Kolhapur region where I had seen the fresh jaggery being made on farms and it was golden brown. So I always got the lighter colored one thinking it was fresher.Now you have got me thinking….:)

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