SWEET POTATO RICE DONUTS
( KOREAN DISH) / ‘Goguma Chapssai’ Donuts
The Thanksgiving break is slowly coming to an end,wanting to try a new dish before the week’s routine started,I was looking around for some ideas for Sunday breakfast in my pantry. The sweet potatoes, I had bought last week stared back at me…..memories of eating boiled sweet potatoes on a rainy day flooded my mind, that’s when I remembered having tasted these Sweet potato donuts which a Korean Mom had brought for all of us in my kid’s Taekwondo class.While I sat on the sidelines and watched my kid train with his Taekwondo Master, in his 5 year old frame, I learnt a few moves myself from the Korean moms who brought their children for the training too, one of them was a peek into their kind of cooking.At the end of every month the kids had to compete with other groups of Taekwondo trainers across town, and the winners would be awarded “the belt” from the Grand Master.Just like my kid, I looked forward for these events, when they broke bricks & tiles & contested against the masters, as a kid I used to be a big Bruce Lee fan, so this was another kind of martial art that captivated my kid & me alike.On those days of the big events there would be breakfast & coffee for all present,the parents could contribute their share of the potluck, it’s in one of those events, I had tasted this donut called ‘Goguma Chapssai’ in Korean.They were yummy, vegan and filling with the right amount of sweet & fiber and what’s more had all the health benefits of the sweet potato , so this morning I set about preparing these donuts for breakfast, now that holiday season is here, a little indulgence with food is a given 🙂
The preparation itself takes about 20 minutes from start to finish, baking was an option, though I was told the taste differs a lot when compared to deep frying,since it was sweater season already, I decided a little indulgence can do no harm, did I not get that extra large sweaters which was on sale ?? 😉 🙂 …all for good measure !!
Sweet Potatoes Rice Donut
Ingredients
3 3 -4 Sweet potatoes ( medium size- boiled, peeled and mashed )
2 cups 2 Rice flour ( rice flour absorbs less oil compared to wheat !)
1/3 cup 1/3 All purpose flour/Maida- (optional)
1/2 cup 1/2 Brown Sugar
1 tsp 1 Salt – to taste ( )
1/2 tsp 1/2 Baking powder
5-6 tbsp 5-6 Hot Milk ( the original recipe calls for a cup of milk, but since the sweet potato is already moist, adding so much milk will turn the recipe soupy, which is not what we want, to form them into soft round balls! )
Oil- for frying
- For the glaze:
2 tbsp 2 Granulated sugar/Brown sugar – (Can substitute with maple syrup too!)
1/2 tsp 1/2 Powdered Cinnamon
2 tbsp 2 Milk or Warm Water
Directions
- Wash & boil the sweet potatoes & mash them well.Set aside.
- Now in a mixing bowl add the rice flour, all purpose flour, salt & baking powder, mix well before adding the mashed sweet potatoes in.
- Knead well, the mix with your hands, adding hot milk as required to get the right consistency.Initially it will appear as crumbs, slowly it will form a nice soft dough consistency .
- Roll them into even sized balls (1′ or so) after greasing your hands with some ghee or oil and keep covered, while you warm the oil and get the glaze ready.
- Heat the oil to medium heat, when warm & ready drop the balls gently one by one into hot oil, depending on the wok/ tawa or thick bottomed vessel you are using to fry the donuts, you can add 4-5 balls at a time.
- Gently turn them around when they are browned on one side, so they are evenly fried.Take them out & place them on paper towels for the extra oil to be absorbed (rice balls consume less oil compared to wheat !).You can either make round balls or try some with a donut shape by sticking your pinky finger in the center of the balls to create a donut shape.Make sure they are evenly fried before you remove them from the oil.
- Once they have cooled a little, roll them in the glaze you have prepared & serve hot with coffee or milk.
Enjoy your weekend breakfast or an evening snack with a Korean twist to your regular donuts 🙂
Spread the holiday cheer one donut at a time 😉