I am ashamed it has taken me over two years to bring this aloo tikki chaat recipe to you considering it was such an integral part of all major festivals especially Holi and Diwali while growing up.
My mother made this delicious chaat when I was a kid. From the sidelines, I eagerly watched the different textures and colours come together to create this fantastic taste bomb. Eventually, she sensed my excitement and let me have a go. I still remember the Diwali when for the first time I was tasked with assembling chaat. Suddenly I felt so important and grown-up. In my tween head, it was no mean feat to bring together almost ten ingredients, eyeballing their amounts and presenting them enticingly on a platter for my parents’ friends. It was not a task I took lightly. In fact, I took immense joy and pride. Over time I would also ask the guests for their preference. “Zyaada ya Kum Teekha?” (would you like it hot or mild). Something my neighbourhood Chaatwala always asked.
The Three Parts To Your Aloo Tikki Chaat
If there is one dish that I can make in my sleep, I think it is this Aloo Tikki Chaat. With time as I have had my own family and started making my own family rituals and traditions, tikki chaat has become an integral part of my celebrations too. I continue to take pride in the way I make it. Speak of blowing your own trumpet š
Broadly speaking, this recipe has three major components to it:
- The aloo (potato) tikki – This is the bland and (preferably) deep-fried component. A common mistake made while making chaat at home is loading the tikki with too many spices. Remember that chaat is a dish widely (and wildly) popular because of the many unique textures and flavours coming together to offer a surprise in every bite. This my friend is no hyperbole. The anticipation when you spoon out a helping of chaat and the surprise that follows, not knowing which of those many flavours would land in your mouth tingling what part of your tongue is what makes chaat such a popular and special Indian Street Food. Hence it is extremely important that each component has its uniqueness so it complements the rest in the best possible manner! And the tikki’s job is to to offer blandness (so it absorbs the remaining flavours well) and oily crispiness. Did that make you drool a wee bit already?
- The matar (peas) sabzi – While the tikki is bland, the matar sabzi is mildly spiced and textured forming the next layer. Check my white matar sabzi recipe which you can make for this dish as well. Some people also like to use the green matar instead of white. The recipe for both would remain the same.
- The Stars – Well! At least that is what I like to call them. Once the base has been created by the tikki, the flavours come from these stars. Namely onions, fresh coriander, chaat masala, rock salt, roasted cumin, yogurt, red chili powder, imli (tamarind) chutney, mint-coriander chutney,Ā sev, and green chilies. Add them as per your taste.
Together aloo tikki chaat is an orchestra of strikingly different components with polar opposite tastes which come when come together create the most delightful symphony of flavours leaving you wanting for more!
Ingredients
- Boiled and finely grated potatoes - 3 cups
- Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
- Freshly roasted and finely pounded coriander seeds to make coriander powder-2 tsp
- Finley chopped coriander- 1.5 tbsp
- Freshly grated ginger- 1tsp
- Corn flour- 2 tsp or a little more to make sure the tikki binds well
- Salt- 1 tsp or as per taste
- Oil for deep frying or shallow frying as desired
- See here
- Coriander leaves- 2 cups
- Mint leaves- 3/4 cup
- Garlic- 6 cloves
- Ginger- 4 inch
- Green chili- 3 or as per taste
- Lemon juice- 2 tbsp
- Cumin powder- 3/4 tsp
- Hing (asafoetida)- 2 small pinch
- Sugar- 3/4 tsp
- Salt-1 tsp or as per taste
- Water- 1/2 cup and a little extra to make the right consistency of chutney
- Yogurt (or curd)- Beaten and thinned out to a pouring consistency- As desired
- Sweet Tamarind Chutney (store bought or see here for recipe- As desired
- Green Chutney- As desired
- Hot and Sweet Tomato Ketchup- As desired
- Roasted Red chilli powder- As desired
- Freshly chopped coriander- As desired
- Finely chopped onion- As desired
- Finely chopped green chilli- As desired
- Sev- As desired
- Chaat Masala- As desired
- Kala Namak (Rock Salt)- As desired
Instructions
- In a deep wide bowl mix all the ingredients for the tikki, taste for salt and form into medium sized discs and shallow or deep fry
- Set aside on a paper towel to drain excess oil; the tikkis should be fried right before serving
- Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender, add water if chutney is too thick, taste for salt and set aside; this can be made ahead and even frozen. It keeps fresh in the refrigerator for a week
- See here
- Warm the sabzi right before serving
- In a medium sized bowl, place one (or two tikkis), followed by the matar sabzi and then the remaining ingredients- yogurt, green chutney, sweet imli chutney, tomato ketchup, roasted red chilli powder, chaat masala, onion, green chillies, coriander, black salt and sev; the quantities for each would be as per taste desired
- Serve right away
The recipe and tips I have shared here are all thanks to my mother who I have to say makes the best dahi vadas ever. And no, this isn’t a biased opinion! Everyone who has ever eaten them agrees. I still remember her frying them on a low flame. I waited patiently to grab the fluffy vadas before they got dunked into yogurt. How divine they would taste. Once they had rested in their yogurt pool for a few hours, she would add the roasted red chili and cumin powder, sweet tamarind chutney, a dash of spicy ketchup, and finely chopped coriander. Uff! The flavours were exquisite and you have to try it to believe it.
