Aalu Tikki Chaat

Aalu Tikki Chaat is one of the most popular street foods from North India. Aalu tikki chaat, along with Samosa, Papdi Chaat, Pani Puri, stays at the heart of the street food menu in India. Every evening, the Chaat Waalas (vendors who sell these fast foods) set up their shops to serve their many customers, who regularly come over to satisfy their taste buds and soothe their senses.

Most of these foods are characterised by sweet, savoury and tangy tastes, which come from chutneys, flavoured yoghurt and spices.

I have already shared quite a few street food recipes, such as Dahi Puri, Samosa, Ragda Patties, Ragda Puri, Pav Bhaji, etc. Do check them out.

You can find many more evening snack recipes here.

Aalu Tikki is basically a potato cutlet. Usually, the potato mixture, which forms the outer part of the tikki, has no spice. The delicious filling that is stuffed in the tikkis, made with chana dal and paneer, brings most of the flavour to the tikki. These cutlets are deep-fried and served with spiced yoghurt, mint chutney and tamarind chutney. A final garnish with fresh coriander leaves and raddish or sliced onions completes the dish.

On a cold winter day, when you stand and eat Aalu Tikki Chaat, fried in front of your eyes and prepared fresh by the street food vendor, the experience is beyond words.

Please note that I have used Mint and Coriander Chutney and Tamarind Chutney in this recipe. Click on the links to check out their recipes.

Also, I have mentioned ‘Flavoured Yoghurt’ in my recipe. It is a mixture of 500 gm Yoghurt with 2 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp table salt, 1/2 tsp Black Salt, 1/2 tsp Kashmiri Red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp Roasted Cumin Powder and 1/2 cup water.

Now, let’s start with the recipe:

Equipment Needed to make Aalu Tikki Chaat:

• Pressure Cooker
• Pan
• Air Fryer or Pan for deep frying
• Knives and Cutting Board
• Grater
• Mixing Bowl

Ingredients Needed to make Aalu Tikki Chaat:

Ingredients for the outer part (potato mixture):

• 15 Medium-Sized Potatoes
• 6 tbsp Cornflour
• 6 tbsp Rice Flour
• 1 tsp Salt

Ingredients for the stuffing

• ¾ Cup Chana Dal; washed and soaked for 4 hours
• ½ Cup Grated Paneer
• 1 tbsp Oil
• 1 tsp Fennel Seeds
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1 tbsp Finely Chopped Green Chillies
• 1 tbsp Coriander Powder
• ¾ tbsp Dry Mango Powder ( Aamchur Powder)
• 1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 8-10 Cashews; chopped
• 8-10 Raisins

Additionally

• Oil for frying the Tikkis
• Flavoured Yoghurt
• Mint Chutney
• Tamarind Chutney
• Thinly Sliced Onions/ Julienned Raddish
• Finely Chopped Fresh Coriander Leaves
• Roasted Cumin Powder and Red chilli Powder for sprinkling

Method to make Aalu Tikki Chaat:

• Boil the potatoes with their skin. Once boiled, keep them in the fridge for about 4-5 hours.
  
  
  
• Remove from the fridge. Peel them.
  
  
  
• Grate them and combine them with corn flour, rice flour and salt.
  
  
  
• Mix everything together. Cover and keep it aside.
  
  
  
• Wash the soaked chana dal. Add fresh water and cook it in a pressure cooker till the lentils are soft but still retain their shape. Once cooked, drain out the extra water (you can use this water in other recipes) and leave the lentils in a sieve for 5 minutes.
  
• Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped green chillies, fennel seeds and cumin seeds. Fry them for 10 seconds on medium heat.
  
  
  
• Add the cooked chana dal.
  
  
  
• Add salt, coriander powder, red chilli powder and dry mango powder. Mix well.
  
  
  
• Turn off the heat and let this mixture cool.
  
  
  
• Once cooled, add crumbled paneer, cashews and raisins.
  
  
  
• Mix everything well.
  
  
  
• Now, take a portion of the potato mixture. Brush oil on the chopping board and spread the potato mixture on the oiled surface.
  
  
  
• Put a portion of the chana dal stuffing at the centre.
  
  
  
• Now, gently cover it with the potato mixture.
  
  
  
• Wet your hands to cover any gaps or cracks in the outer covering and shape them like cutlets. This way, make all the tikkis. Keep them in the fridge (without covering) for about an hour.
  
  
  
• Now, deep fry/air fry them. For air frying, brush oil on the tikkis. Fry at 200 deg C for 20 minutes (After the first 10 minutes, invert them, then fry for another 10 minutes).
  
  
  
• For plating, place a fried tikki on the plate. Press it with a spatula.
  
  
  
• Pour the desired amount of flavoured yoghurt, tamarind chutney and mint chutney on the tikki. Sprinkle some Roasted Cumin Powder and Red chilli Powder. Garnish with sliced onion/julienned radish and fresh coriander leaves.
  
  

Information about Ingredient Sourcing in Germany:

• Potatoes: Available in supermarkets. Use Festkochende Kartoffeln. Read more about potatoes in supermarkets in Germany.
• Cornstarch: Available in supermarkets. Called Speisestärke in German.
• Rice Flour: Available in some supermarkets. Called Reismehl in German. Easily available in Indian shops.
• Salt: Called Salz in German. Read more about Salt in supermarkets in Germany.
• Oil: Use Frittieröl. Read more about oil in supermarkets in Germany.
• Cup Chana Dal: Available in Indian shops
• Paneer: Available in some supermarkets. Easily available in Indian shops. Can be quite easily made at home.
• Fennel Seeds: Available in Indian shops.
• Cumin Seeds: Available in Indian shops. Also available in many supermarkets. Called Kreuzkümmel in German.
• Green Chillies: Available in Indian and Turkish shops.
• Coriander Powder: Available in Indian shops.
• Dry Mango Powder ( Aamchur Powder): Available in Indian shops.
• Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder: Available in Indian shops.
• Cashews: Available in supermarkets. Called Cashewkerne.
• Raisins: Available in supermarkets. Called Rosenen.
• Yoghurt: Use Joghurt 3,5% Fett. Read more about yoghurt in supermarkets in Germany.

You can buy the Indian ingredients from an Indian shop near you OR the online store of Spicelands. They are a big store in Frankfurt, delivering all across Germany.

Here is the recipe in printable format:

Check out other recipes from my kitchen here.

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