Chana Dal Tikki (Spiced Lentil Patties)
Delicious pan fried tikkis (patties) made with sweet potatoes and chana dal(bengal gram lentils). Vegan and gluten free.
Ingredients
For Boiling the Lentils
- 1 +⅓ cup chana dal (bengal gram lentils)
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cloves
- 1 small whole black cardamom (skip if not available)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup water
For the Tikki Mix
- 200 g sweet potato (boiled, peeled and cut into small chunks)
- 1.5 tablespoon ginger garlic paste (or simply add 5 garlic cloves and 1 inch piece of ginger to a mortar & pestle and pound to a paste)
- ½ cup onions finely chopped
- 2 indian green chillies or 1 serrano (adjust to taste), finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder or cayenne, adjust to taste
- ¼ cup cilantro finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon golden raisins soaked, (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- Oil or ghee for pan frying
Instructions
Prepare/Boil The Lentils
- Wash the lentils 2-3 times under a running stream of water and soak for 2-3 hours.
- Drain and discard the water in which you soaked the lentils.Add the soaked lentils to a pressure cooker, add cumin, bay leaf, cloves and black cardamom along with salt and ½ cup water.
- Close the lid of the pressure cooker and place it on stove. Let the stove be on high till the first whistle. After that, reduce the stove to low-medium and cook for additional 2-4 whistles. After total 3-4 whistles, switch off the stove and let the pressure release naturally.
- Open the lid, do not mix at once while the lentils are hot, they will turn into a mush. Take 1-2 lentil grains and press between your thumb and finger, if the grain is easily pressed and dosen't feel hard, the lentils are cooked. If not, add 2-3 tablespoon water and cook for one more whistle.
- The lentils should not disintegrate, they shoud be cooked through but retain their shape after boiling. Pick out and discard the bay leaf, clove and cardamom. Cover the cooker and let the lentils cool down for a bit, dont let them become cold. We want to make the patty mixwhile the lentils are still warm.
Make the Lentil Patty Mix
- In a large, add the cooked warm lentils and boiled sweet potato. Using a hand masher or your hands, gently mash the lentils and poatoes for about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the ginger and garlic paste, onions, green chilies, cilantro raisins, ginger and garam masala.
- Gently using your hands start squishing to combine everything together. Gently mix for about 3-4 minutes, if some lentils remain whole, that's okay.
- Cover and let the tikki mix rest for 20 minutes.
Shape & skillet fry tikkis
- Oil your hands and divide the patty mix into 10 or 12 equal portions.
- Roll the portions into a balls, flatten the balls slightly and shape them using your palm and fingers into well rounded patties.
- Make all the tikkis this way and place on a plate. At this point you can refrigerate them for up to 3 days. Or place them on a single layer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and freeze them for 6 hours. After they are frozen, place in a zip lock and store frozen for one month.
- Warm up a 12 inch heavy cast iron wide skillet or frying pan on medium.
- When nicely hot (not too hot) add 1-2 tablespoon oil or ghee and place 3-4 tikkis at a time, don't overcrowd. Let tikkis crisp up for 5-6 minutes on one side. Don't add a lot of oil in the begnning,they will break.
- Once they are crisped on one side, drizzle 1-2 teaspoon of oil or ghee on each tikki and and flip to crisp on second side.
- Pan fry the tikkis with patience. Its takes 7-8 minutes to fry a batch on both sides. Serve warm.
Notes
- Adjust seasonings in the patty mixture as you desire. You could add green onions or chopped leafy greens like spinach or methi.
- When making patties with lentils, the most important thing to keep in mind is the water quantity when you boil the lentils. More water will turn them mushy while less water with leave the lentils dry and chewy. Please refer to the water quantity in the recipe.
- Use a hand held masher or hands to mix.Leave out the blender or processor.
- Since onions and chopped cilantro etc go in the recipe, keep in mind that after sitting for a half and hour or so, the mixture will loosen a bit since the raw vegetables will release their moisture due to salt. So if the mix feels a bit dry in the beginning, don't worry.
- If you feel, that the lentil dough needs some binding, add some roasted chickpea flour or besan (gram flour) or oats flour.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!