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Delhi-Style Chole Aloo Tikki Chaat

Tanvi Srivastava
Chole Aloo Tikki chaat is a popular street food from north india of crispy potatoes patties served with spicy chickpeas curry and chutneys. Lip smackinly delicious!
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

For Boiling Chickpeas

  • 1 cup (~200g) raw chickpeas
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 large bay leaf
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick
  • 1 black cardamom
  • 5-6 black peppercorns
  • 2-3 cloves
  • 2 pinch baking soda

To Make Chole Curry

  • 2 tablespoon oil
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon ginger & green chilli mince together ½ inch piece of fresh ginger with 2-3 sharp indian green chilies (adjust the quantity of chilies to our taste)
  • 2-3 pinch hing
  • ½ teaspoon red chili powder (medium hot), I use degi mirch
  • 1 tablespoon chana masala powder I use MDH or Everest brand (chana masala could be spicy, so add chilies & chana masala powder as per your taste)
  • ¼ teaspoon amchur powder (dry mango powder), substitute with lemon juice to taste
  • ½ teaspoon kala namak indian black/rock salt, skip if not available, adjust quantity to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder
  • ½ teaspoon kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves), crushed between palms

For Making Aloo tikki

  • 4 large(~650g) potatoes I use russet potatoes
  • ¾ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
  • 3 to 4 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 to 1.5 cup Oil for shallow frying

Chaat Toppings (Add the below toppings as per your taste)

Instructions
 

BOIL THE CHICKPEAS (skip this step if using canned chickpeas)

  • Soak raw chickpeas overnight or for 8-12 hours in excess water to soften them. After soaking, if you press the chickpeas, their skins will peel off easily. That means that they are perfectly soaked.
  • Drain and the water and add the soaked chickpeas to a pressure cooker. Add all the whole spices, salt, baking soda and pour water. For 1 cup (200g) chickpeas, we need 2 cup (400ml) water to pressure cook.
  • Pressure cook on a stovetop on low medium heat for 5 to 6 whistles. Alternatively, use an instant pot set to high pressure for 15 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally.
  • Open the lid of the pressure cooker. The chickpeas would be soft but holding shape (not mushy) and you will have chickpea stock that we will use while cooking.

MAKE THE POTATO TIKKI MIXTURE

  • While the chickpeas are boiling, grate the cooled boiled potatoes using fine side of the box grater. Add to a bowl and then sprinkle salt and cornstarch. Gently mix using your hands. Taste the mixture and adjust the salt if needed after mixing.
  • Form the potato mixture into a soft dough without pressing too hard. There's no need to knead; just bring it together gently. If the potatoes stick to your hands, use a little oil to prevent that.
    Tip: Before shaping the aloo tikkis, first check the potato mixture binding. Heat up 2 inches of oil for frying and drop a small ball of the potato mixture into it. If it holds shape without spreading in oil, the potato mixture is ready. If the potato spreads in oil, add a little more (1-2 teaspoon) cornstarch to the tikki mixture. Be careful while adding cornstarch since too much can make the aloo tikki taste chalky.
  • Divide the potato mixture into equal portions depending on the size of the tikkis you want. I make 6-8 tikkis.
  • Spread some oil in your palms and take each portion and roll it between your palms to form a smooth ball. 
  • Press the ball lightly between your palms to flatten it into a patty. The thickness of tikki can vary, but typically we make the tikkis ½ to ¾ inch thick. Make sure that the edges are crack free.
  • Once shaped, place the tikkis on a plate. Cover and proceed to make the chole masala.

PREPARE THE SPICY CHOLE

  • In a cooking pan or skillet (I use 10 inch),heat up oil on low medium heat.
  • Temper the hot oil with cumin seeds. (If you are using canned chickpeas, add whole spices to hot oil at this stage). Add the minced ginger and green chilies. Fry for 5-8 seconds.
  • Sprinkle the red chili powder and fry for 3-5 seconds taking care not to burn it.
  • Next, add the boiled chickpeas along with all the chickpea stock. If using canned chickpeas, add ¾ cup water.
  • Sprinkle the chana masala powder and ½ teaspoon salt. Mix with the chickpeas and taste. Adjust the salt at this stage.
  • Now, for the next 10-12 minutes, let the chole simmer on low medium heat. Mash a few chickpeas using back of spoon as they cook. The starches from the mashed chickpeas help thicken and achieve a saucy consistency.
  • As the chickpeas cook, if they begin to dry out, you can add a little water to keep them moist. The aim is to have a saucy chana, but not overly soupy or too dry. We should be able to ladle them. Remember, the chana will thicken as it cools, so make sure it's not too thick while it's still simmering.
  • Finish the chole with amchur powder, kala namak, garam masala and crushed kasuri methi. Do a final taste test and adjust seasonings if needed. Switch off the stove.

FRY THE ALOO TIKKI

  • Heat up 2 inches oil in a heavy-bottomed tawa or pan (I use 8 inch cast iron skillet). Let oil heat up over medium heat. The oil shouldn’t get too hot, as the tikkis will burn, nor it should be cold, as the potatoes will absorb oil. 
  • Add 2-4 tikkis at a time and shallow-fry on low to medium heat until they turn golden brown on both sides. Use a flat spatula to gently flip the tikkis—avoid pressing them or flipping too often while shallow frying. Ideally, flip just once or twice. It usually takes 6-8 minutes to fry each batch of 4 tikkis. 
  • Once they are golden brown and crisp on both sides, remove from oil using a slotted spoon and drain the on a paper towel to soak up any excess oil. For extra crispiness, place them briefly on a wire rack.

PLATE TIKKI CHOLE CHAAT

  • Place two warm aloo tikkis on a plate. If you'd like to follow the street vendor style, you can gently press down the crispy tikkis to smush them before adding the toppings.
  • Ladle warm chole that we made. You can add as much as you desire.
  • Drizzle sweet tamarind chutney and green chutney to taste.
  • Add the grated mooli and onion slices. Sprinkle chaat masala powder and two pinches of roasted cumin powder. Serve! You can add chopped coriander leaves or green chilies on top too.

Notes

  1. You can pan fry the aloo tikkis if you wish. Use a heavy pan or griddle for crisp tikkis.
  2. If you want to add yogurt, whisk yogurt with salt, kala namak and little sugar and then add along with chutneys.
  3. To make this recipe glutenfree, just make sure that the hing that you are using is gluten free.

MAKE AHEAD TIPS

This chole aloo tikki is perfect to serve at parties and you can make all the components ahead. Here are some of my tips.
  • Chole - Make the chole curry 1-2 days in advance. They only get better as they rest in the refrigerator since all the spice flavors get a chance to meld together. They will thicken quite a bit in the refrigerator. When serving, warm the chole up. Simply add water to adjust the consistency. You can also add some chopped ginger or green chilies to enhance them.
  • Aloo Tikki - You can easily prepare the aloo tikki ahead of time. Shape the tikkis and refrigerate them for a few hours or even overnight. If you want to prepare them days in advance, you can freeze the uncooked tikkis by layering them between parchment paper in an airtight container. When you're ready to serve, just thaw them slightly and fry as usual.
  • Chutneys - Prepare the tamarind chutney a week in advance. Green chutney can be made 1-2 days in advance.
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