Cumin and Cinnamon Sweet Potato Fries

Currently in Nairobi the price of potatoes is unbelievably high making it extra hard for potato lovers to enjoy their guilty pleasure, fries. That said, let me introduce you to sweet potatoes which in my opinion are better than potato fries, well on most days. Sweet potatoes are super nutritious and can easily substitute actual potatoes in most recipes.

Peeling them is a bit harder however nothing a good peeler won’t fix also you can opt to scrub them clean and fry with the peels on which will also help with the next issue.

When peeled sweet potatoes tend to discolour and I’ve discovered that a bowl with some lemon juice helps to keep them looking white.

I also rubbed my chopping board and knife with some lemon to ensure they sweet potatoes don’t discolour when slicing them.

Just like ordinary fries the secret to crunchy sweet potato fries is frying them twice. The first fry is at a slightly lower temperature to get them cooked then the second fry it to crisp them up.

In a frying pan, add the vegetable oil and let it heat up.

Pat dry the sweet potatoes in readiness for the hot oil.

Once the oil is hot enough, add the sweet potatoes in batches, remember not to crowd the pan lest the temperature lowers.

Fry for 5-7 minutes.

Remove and drain on a plate covered with paper towels or grease proof paper.

Repeat the procedure until all the sweet potatoes are fried.

Now crank up the heat, then add the sweet potatoes for the second fry.

This time let them fry for at most 2 minutes.

They will crisp up and lightly brown.

Now for the coating, the sweet potatoes will be tossed in a mixture of cumin, cinnamon, salt and black pepper.

Once done with the second fry, put the fries in a bowl, sprinkle a little bit of the seasoning and toss to coat.

Repeat the tossing with the addition of more fries.

There you have it, sweet and savoury cumin and cinnamon sweet potato fries.