Sweet Potato and Green Gram Stir-Fry Recipe
Shwetha Bhat is passionate about food and cooking. She loves to experiment in the kitchen and share her recipes.
Sweet potato and green gram stir-fry is one of the most famous breakfast and snack recipes from Udupi and Mangalore, in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is a very simple and healthy dish that is sweet, spicy, and aromatic. It can be served as a snack, breakfast, or side dish for a rice-sambar combo.
Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Including this vegetable in our diet is very important, especially for growing children. The fact that this recipe is kid-friendly and tasty makes it a great choice for them.
Cook Time
Prep time | Cook time | Ready in | Yields |
---|---|---|---|
10 min | 15 min | 25 min | Serves 3 people |
Ingredients
- 1/2 kilogram sweet potatoes, washed and cubed
- 1 cup green gram, soaked overnight, or green gram sprout
- 1 inch ginger, chopped
- 1 to 2 teaspoons oil or ghee
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 to 2 dry red chilies, broken
- 5 to 10 curry leaves
- 1 to 2 green chilies, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/4 cup jaggery, grated
- 3/4 cup water, or as required
- salt, to taste
- 1/2 cup fresh coconut, grated
Instructions
- Wash and soak green gram for 7 to 8 hours or overnight. (Or you can use sprouted green gram.)
- Cut the ends off the sweet potatoes. There's no need to peel the skin. Cut into equal-sized cubes.
- Place potatoes in a bowl of water to prevent them from turning brown. Set aside.
- Chop ginger and set aside.
- Grate (or powder) about 1/4 cup of lemon-sized jaggery and set aside.
- In a pan, heat oil. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Let them splutter.
- Add red chilies and curry leaves. Fry for a few seconds.
- Add slit green chili and chopped ginger. Fry until the ginger smells good.
- Drain cubed sweet potatoes and add them to the pan. Saute for 1 minute.
- Drain water from green gram and add the gram to the pan.
- Add turmeric powder, salt, and jaggery. Saute and mix everything properly.
- Add 3/4 cup of water. Cook over medium to low flame. Keep stirring to avoid burning.
- When cooked completely (sweet potato should be a little mushy), add grated coconut. Mix everything and switch off the flame.
- The sweet potato-green gram fry is ready to eat.
Photo Tutorial

Soak green gram overnight or for 7 to 8 hours in enough water. Alternately, you can use green gram sprouts. (Soak in a generous quantity of water as green gram will double in volume after soaking.)
Read More From Delishably

Add mustard and cumin seeds; let them splutter. Add broken red chilies and curry leaves. Fry for a few seconds.

Mix everything properly. Add about 1 cup of water or just enough to immerse the sweet potato and green gram. Cover and cook. Stir occasionally for even cooking.

Once everything is cooked and tender and the water dries up completely, lower the flame and add fresh grated coconut.
Tips and Variations
- Rinse the sweet potatoes properly under running water in order to remove any dirt or mud.
- You can omit the green gram and only use sweet potatoes.
- You can omit the coconut, but adding it will enhance the taste.