Crispy Aloo Tikki (Spiced Potato Patties)

Aloo tikki is every chaat lover's delight and the perfect evening snack. Learn how to make these golden and crispy tikkis and serve them with a sweet and spicy tamarind chutney for an extra burst of flavor!

Aloo tikki, as every North Indian who loves chaat knows, is that totally addictive potato snack loaded with taste and flavor. I don't know anybody who is not head-over-heels in love with these shallow-fried potato patties. I mean, hello! This is Indian street food at its best, and if you are a stranger to it, you absolutely have to have it!

And if you've only ever had it in a restaurant or street-corner in India, you must give it a shot in your kitchen. I'm going to share with you a basic recipe today that's not very involved. Of course, there are so many extra things you can add to the potatoes - paneer or cottage cheese, sweet peas, nuts, herbs (cilantro and mint), even lentils and bread!

However, I didn't really want to make things too complicated here. This is a simple aloo tikki recipe with the taste of mashed and spiced potatoes in every bite.

Try not to skip the chutney though. Aloo tikki tastes wonderful with a homemade chutney like tamarind chutney. A close second is this green coriander chutney, and if you're feeling adventurous, you can try both at the same time!

Ingredients

Note: exact quantities are mentioned in the recipe card further down in the post.

• Boiled and mashed potatoes
• Ground spices - red chilli, coriander, cumin, turmeric, ginger, chaat masala, anardana (pomegranate) and garam masala (affiliate links)
• Rice flour
• Cornflour
• Canola or corn oil for frying and salt

Some useful tips and prep steps

• Use freshly toasted and ground coriander seeds for maximum flavor, not the readymade coriander powder from a packet. Take a few tablespoons of coriander seeds and toast them on medium heat in a small frypan. Remove from the hob when the seeds turn dark and fragrant. Let them cool down a bit, then grind coarsely in a spice grinder and store in a small glass bottle. Don't make a fine powder, just whiz for a couple of seconds to get coarsely ground coriander. Adds a ton of flavor.
• Ground cumin can also be made at home in a similar fashion. Toast and grind the seeds, and store the extra in a sealed glass bottle. I deliberately make a lot extra because ground cumin is used in so many recipes including raita.
• Rice powder is also made by whizzing dry white rice in a spice grinder. There's no need to toast it. A fine-medium powder is what you want. Adding rice to the potatoes makes the patties crispy.
• Cornflour is used for binding the patties so they don't break while frying. Also makes the patties crispy.
• Anardana or pomegranate powder can be found in Indian grocery stores or online on Amazon. You can substitute it with amchoor or mango powder too.
• Chaat masala is also available in Indian groceries or online. You can add it to the potatoes or sprinkle a little on the fried tikkis.

How to make aloo tikki

Step 1 - Boil, peel and mash the potatoes

Cook the potatoes in an instant pot or stovetop until soft. Personally, I have stopped doing potatoes in a saucepan ever since I got my instant pot. It is a lot more convenient and faster than the saucepan. However, I'm sharing the method and timings for both in case you want them.

Stovetop - Put the potatoes in a saucepan with enough water to cover them and put the saucepan on high heat on the hob. Reduce the heat when the water starts boiling and cover with a lid. Let the potatoes cook for 12-15 minutes. Poke a fork in one potato and if it goes all the way to the centre without resistance, they're done. You will also see the skins splitting when the potatoes become really soft as anyone who's ever boiled potatoes knows.

Instant Pot - Fill the inner steel liner with enough water to cover the potatoes. Secure the lid, press the pressure cooking button (high) and set the timer to 5 minutes. Make sure the steam release valve is sealed. When the timer beeps wait for 5 minutes more and release the pressure by turning the steam release valve to venting. Or wait for the pressure to release naturally. Even if the potatoes are a little overdone, it does not matter in this recipe because you are going to mash them.

If you want to save time, you can dunk the potatoes in a colander and run them under cold tap water to cool them before peeling. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and mash with a fork or potato masher. You really don't need to mash them very fine, a few small lumps won't make a difference.

Step 2 - Add the rice flour, cornflour, salt and powdered spices to the potato mixture.

Mix in all the ingredients really well, using your hands if necessary.

Step 3 - Shape the mashed potatoes into discs

Take a tennis sized portion of the potato mixture and shape into a round ball. Then using firm strokes, flatten it into a flat but thick disc. Repeat until you have used up all of the mixture. Oil your palms while making the discs if the mixture sticks too much.

Step 4 - Shallow fry the potato discs

Heat a couple of tablespoons cooking oil in a frypan to medium-hot and slide in the potato patties or discs. Leave them to fry for 3-4 minutes or until they are a nice, golden-brown on the edges. Resist the urge to flip them too soon. Once the underside is done, flip them and again let them fry for a couple of minutes more. Take them out on a platter, sprinkle some chaat masala on top of them and serve with the chutney of your choice.

How to make aloo tikki chaat

Want to have fun with the aloo tikkis? Pour some yogurt sweetened with sugar on the tikkis, sprinkle chaat masala on top of the yogurt, and top with the tamarind and green coriander chutneys. You have a street-style aloo tikki chaat ready in a jiffy!

More Indian street food you might like

Dahi Bhalla - Fried lentil balls in sweetened yogurt. Topped with a variety of chutneys and spices, these yogurt drenched balls will melt in your mouth.

Pav Bhaji - Spiced vegetables served with oodles of butter and fresh dinner rolls.

Vegetable Lo Mein - Chinese noodles are brought together with stir-fried, crunchy veggies in sauce for the most perfect and colourful lo mein ever!

Gobi Manchurian - Cauliflower florets steamed, battered and fried until perfectly crisp, and finally coated in a sweet and sour sauce. Tastes heavenly over a bed of noodles or rice.

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