Aloo Tikki Chole Chaat

I love aloo tikki chole and samosa chaat so much that whenever I cook chole masala at home, I purposely cook extra to enjoy these chaats later. I eat them to my heart's content without any guilt and so when I saw aloo tikki chole in the combo dishes' list during BM #36 announcement, I couldn't give it a miss. :) Even though I prepare them quite often at home, I didn't get a chance to post them so far since I mostly prepare them for our dinners and blogging / photography takes a backseat during dinner preparations. However for BM, here it is.
When preparing tikkis at home, one naturally has control over what goes into it and can add ingredients according to their preference. You can just add chili powder / minced green chillies if you don't like any other spices or go with extra addition of coriander powder, garam masala and chaat masala to the below mentioned ingredients. I personally prefer corn starch over bread crumbs for binding and have used it. Feel free to use bread crumbs if you prefer it. The following recipe gives my preferred version - spicy and slightly tangy tikkis.

Ingredients for tikkis: (Yield about 10 tikkis)
4 medium sized potato (I had more than 2 cups of mashed potatoes)
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp amchur powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder (optional)
Salt to taste
2 tbsp. corn starch
1 - 2 tbsp. minced cilantro
3 - 4 tbsp. oil to shallow fry

Method:
1. Peel and cut the potatoes into big chunks. Cook in a pressure cooker for 2 whistles or on stove top until they are done. If using a microwave, cube the potatoes to quicken the cooking process. Drain the cooked potatoes and let them cool. Mash the drained potatoes well.
2. Combine the mashed potatoes, spice powders, salt, corn starch and cilantro in a bowl. Mix well and divide the mixture into 10 portions. Roll each one into a ball and flatten it a bit to form a patty.
3. Heat 1 - 2 tbsp. oil on preferably a non stick pan on medium flame. When the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium and place the tikki in the hot oil. Place as many tikkis as the pan can hold without overcrowding.
4. Cook until the bottom side of the cutlet turns golden brown. Flip the cutlets using a spatula and drizzle some more oil around the edges of them. Cook until the other side turns golden brown too. Transfer them onto absorbent towels.
5. Repeat the steps with the remaining mixture.

Aloo tikki chole chaat:

 (This picture is kind of cheater's version since the chaat contains veggie patties.)

Here is aloo tikki chole chaat for you in a nut shell. Spicy potato patties are cooked until golden brown and are topped with spicy chickpea curry, tongue tickling green and sweet chutneys, sharp minced onion, crisp sev and finally yogurt to balance off the flavors. And if one doesn't prefer to stress too much and not prepare everything from scratch, store bought chutneys and sev can be great lifesavers.
Now coming to aloo tikki chole, we need the following -
Aloo tikkis (recipe above)
Chole masala (recipe here)
Dates - Tamarind chutney (recipe here)
Cilantro - Mint chutney
Sev - I have used thin and thick sev. (recipe here)
Minced red onion
Minced cilantro
Yogurt

* Arrange a couple of tikkis on a plate and pour about 2 ladles of chole masala over them. Spoon chutneys over and sprinkle some sev. Garnish with onion and cilantro and round off with a ladle of yogurt.

This is my "Aloo Tikki - Chole Chaat" post under "Combo Dishes" theme for BM#36. Check here to know what other marathoners are cooking. 

Comments