Raw Chilli & Cumin Kumara Chips
Posted on December 16, 2012 by Alison Murray
Looking for crispy, crunchy and crave-alicious raw kumara (sweet potato) chips? I’ve made 4 batches of this tasty snack in the past 2 weeks – sweet potato chips are the bomb. I can give you reasons to make it like “It’s so simple!” or “Sweet potatoes are healthy!”, but really, when you see food that bright orange how can you not want to dive in and gobble it all up?
I really love that you don’t need to do much in the way of seasoning when dehydrating sweet potato, it’s natural sweetness seems to be even more concentrated. A little sprinkle of good quality salt is all it takes then to transform a sliced sweet potato into crave-worthy chips, but cumin really has a taste unlike any spice. It’s very piquant and earthy which pairs wonderfully with chilli and sweet potato to create an almost nutty, lemony, spicy taste sensation.
Besides a dehydrator (or an oven on the lowest temperature) you definately need a mandoline for this recipe. Thin, knife cut slices aren’t going to, ahem, cut it. You need super, super thin slices for a crispy chip – too thick and they will have a softer and more fibrous mouthfeel. Also, don’t be too tempted to add more oil if there doesn’t seem to be enough – I did in the first batch and this will make the dehydrated chips too oily and they will be soggy even when dried. We want crunch!
- 1 large sweet potato (at least 500g) with the largest circumference you can find – they shrink enormously!
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp cumin
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp salt
- Wash, pat dry and then slice sweet potato with mandoline slicer on thinnest setting. Use the hand guide to keep those fingers safe! Place in a large bowl and put aside.
- Combine olive oil, cumin, chilli powder and salt in a small bowl. Pour mixture over chips and massage in with hands to make sure each chip is well coated.
- Place in single layers on dehydrator mesh screens and dehydrate on 125F/52C for 10-12hours or until they are dried and crispy. For oven users place in single layer on lined baking trays and cook on lowest oven temperature for 10-12 hours, checking regularly for browning or burning.
- After drying time remove from dehydrator (or oven) and dive in, or allow to cool completely and store in a airtight container for up to 3 days.
Linked to Raw Food Thursdays.
I was just looking for dried sweet potatoes yesterday. I want to stock up before my CSA closes for the year. These sound great! I don’t have a dehydrator but I bet I could do it in the oven.
It’s just as easy in the oven, I promise! I’ve often done it in the oven before I got my dehydrator and they come out just as good
Make sure you do check the chips periodically as near the end of the drying time – they can go from yummy to over-browned quickly.
This looks interesting. How does it taste?
http://therealfoodrunner.blogspot.com/
It’s almost a Mexicana taste. Cumin is used a lot in chilli powders for Tex-Mex dishes and it’s quite nutty and a little bit peppery. With the chilli, there’s a bit of heat and it balances well with the sweetness of the chips. The amount of the spices used in the recipe sounds like a lot, but this also does a *lot* of chips (5 trays) to snack on for a few days.
If you’re a sweet potato lover but don’t want all the fanciness, they are also fantastic just with a good sprinkle of sea salt after they’re dried
Healthy and delicious!
Thankyou Greg
They are quite yummy!
is 125 a safe temperature to preserve rawness?
Generally it’s recommended to keep the temperature at under 120F for truly raw food, but even this temperature is sometimes stated as being an arbitrary estimates on when the ‘life’ of raw foods is endangered. For truly raw chips you would be wanting to heat them at 105F maximum, but I have found this takes forever and makes a very fibrous and ‘woody’ tasting chip that never truly dries out. I am more interested in healthy snack creation and overall I use my dehydrator for food preservation, I’m happier drying them at a slightly higher temperature.
I follow the recommendations of my Excalibur unit for dehydrating – in this case for vegetables it is suggested at 125F. There is some info available here, but the charts and book that come with the unit are much more in-depth.
These look incredible!!! Love making sweet potato chips and next time I’ll be using your seasoning! Thanks for sharing at Raw Foods Thursdays! Pinning this on our RFT board!
Thanks for having me over at Raw Food Thursdays Heather! I hope you like the chip seasoning when you make some sweet potato chips next time!
I will definitely use your seasoning! And I’ll be highlighting your recipe at Raw Foods Thursdays this week. Thanks so much for sharing with us!
And thank you for having me! Very excited about the feature and you will definitely see me around more
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