The gato patate remains a traditional delicacy from the island of Mauritius. At many corner streets or the various markets of the island you will come across this half-moon shaped cake. You might take it for a salty cake but in the end all that you will discover is a sweet indulgence, as a small sweet potato shoe, stuffed with coconut and fragranced with cardamom.
This traditional cake is also one cake that is very popular among the Hindu population, since it remains one of the main sweet cakes that is shared for the Divali festival – where all houses are illuminated and sweet cakes are shared.
Well, if you’ve tasted the Gato Patate and want to try doing it at home, here is the recipe for you!
The Recipe
For about 24 cakes (circles paste 8 cm diameter):
Ingredients
500g sweet potatoes
180 g flour
80g grated coconut (fresh if you can)
100 g of white sugar
5 tablespoons cold water
3 tablespoons cardamom powder (2 if you grind the seeds yourself)
Good quality frying oil
The Preparation
-Peel the sweet potatoes and cook them in pieces in boiling water for at least 20 minutes (until they are very tender).
-Drain the pieces and mash them with a fork or crushed puree. Let cool.
-In a bowl, make the stuffing by mixing grated coconut, sugar, water and crushed cardamom (or powdered). Reserve aside.
-Make the dough by adding the flour little by little to the sweet potato crushed by kneading with hands until mixture forms a smooth and soft dough. Knead for at least 5 minutes and form a ball. Divide into twenty small loaves.
-On a floured surface, flatten the dough, using a roller, to about 2 millimeters thick. Make some circles using a round piece or bowl (8 cm in diameter).
-Fill the center of each dough circle with a teaspoon of stuffing. Moisten the periphery of the dough with your finger dipped in cold water. Fold each circle of dough into a half circle, pinch the edges to make them adhere to each other. Reinforce the “welding” by pressing the teeth of a fork on both sides of the liner.
-In a deep skillet or wok, cook the potato cakes in hot oil until they take a beautiful amber color. Remove the potato cakes and allow to drain on paper towels. You can enjoy them warm or cold (room temperature).
P.S. Regarding cardamom, we advise that you grind yourself seeds contained in the capsules. The perfume will be much more intense in contrast to the already ground preparations which generally disappoint the taste buds!
If you have the option, replace the ready grated coconut by freshly grated coconut!
Bon Appetit biensure!
So, what are you waiting for? Hurry up before divali comes and book your hotel in Mauritius!
1 Comment
Thanks for the recipe, very helpful.