Aloo Tikki-Chole Chaat Recipe | How to Make Aloo Tikki Chole Chaat

Learn how to make Aloo Tikki-Chole Chaat ~ A popular Indian street food of spiced potato patties served with spicy chickpeas curry and assorted sweet date-tamarind chutney and hot mint-coriander chutney and topped with finely chopped onions, tomatoes and sev

Inside a small restaurant with double glazed window you will find several posters of Bollywood stars smiling at you. There are small granite tables with pickle and chutney trays on top and matching red velvet cushioned chairs. Large framed photograph of Guru Nanak is hung just above the cashier’s desk and a small table fan is rotating gently. The aroma of food being cooked inside the kitchen is intoxicating and people are busy savouring plates of Naans, Curries, Chaats, Indian sweets and Kebabs.

Come out of the restaurant you will find women in colourful saris and salwar kameez, men wearing colourful turbans and kurtas, pavement food stalls selling Samosas, Chaats and Jalebi, small shops selling mobile phones and bright fabrics in rainbow colours hanging in shop fronts. Add to this the Bhangra music and sweet smell of incense and spices is in the air. Am I in India?!

Welcome to Mini India in London a.k.a Southall. For one moment, you will forget that you are in West London and feel you are walking on the streets of any Indian market. Chandini Chowk, Apna Baazar, Garam Chai, Pooja Ghar, Jalebi Junction etc are the few of hundreds of restaurants, spice shops, chat shops in Southall. It is a food Mecca for people like us staying away from home as the food smells and tastes very close to what we find back home. From the staple South Indian Idli and Dosa served on banana leaves to North Indian Chaats and Naans served on road side, you will find almost all the colour and flavours of India. So, if you are visiting London, don’t miss visiting this Mini India when the home sickness bug catches you.

Having eaten (read stuffed or hogged) varieties of Chaats till we could hardly move our sweet seats, surprisingly we were craving for more Chaat after we came back home. So, we set to create same magic in our kitchen with something we could make very quickly.

Thankfully the leftover Chole (spicy chickpeas curry) from yesterday’s dinner came to our rescue. Since we had enough quantity of 3 delicious chutneys (Spicy Red Chilli Chutney, Green Mint and Coriander Chutney and Sweet Date-Tamarind Chutney) stocked from our previous weeks Chaat party, all we had to make was Aloo Tikki or spiced potato patties and chop some onions, tomatoes and cilantros. So, we set to create Aloo Tikki-Chole Chaat by making fresh batch of Aloo Tikkis. I made Tikkis with just boiled potatoes and few spices and in no time, we were digging rather large bowl of hot, sweet and spicy Aloo Tikki-Chole Chaat.

If preparing everything from scratch (including assorted chutneys), it will take a little longer time and more effort. But trust me when I say it’s worth all the hard work. I am giving here detailed recipes for Aloo Tikki, Chole and all the chutneys used to make this delicious Chaat. Make it in leisure and enjoy. And don’t forget to make big batch of Aloo Tikki as you can easily freeze them and whenever heart desires.

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Aloo Tikki-Chole Chaat (Potato patties served with spiced chickpeas and delicious chutneys and topped with onion and crunchy Sev)
Prep Time: 15-20 mins
Cooking Time: 40-60 mins
Recipe Level: Intermediate
Spice Level: Medium to hot
Serves: 6-8 people
Shelf Life: Best served fresh. Curry and tikki can be refrigerated for 2-3 days or frozen for up to a month (read notes)
Serving Suggestion: As a meal or snack

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Ingredients:
Ingredients for Aloo Tikki:
3 large Potatoes
1 medium Onion, peeled and finely chopped
1½ tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
1 tbsp Corn Flour (Adjust acc to requirement)
1-2 tbsp Fresh Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Oil for pan frying the patties

Spices Used:
½ tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Chaat Masala

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
½ tbsp. Oil

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Ingredients for Chole:
1-1 ¼ cup White Chickpeas/Kabuli Chana, soaked overnight and cooked or 2 tinned Chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 large Onions, peeled and finely chopped
4 large Tomatoes or 1 tinned Plum Tomatoes, pureed
1 ½ tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
Salt to taste
½ tbsp. Oil

Whole Spices Used:
1 inch Cinnamon/Cassia Stick
4-5 Cloves
2-3 Green Cardamoms
1 Black Cardamoms
1 Bay Leaf
½ tsp Shah Jeera/Cumin Seeds (Optional)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 tbsp Dhania/Coriander Seeds
3 Dried Kashmiri Chillies (Adjust as per taste)
½-1 tsp Black Peppercorns
1 tbsp Kasuri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Optional but recommended)

Ground Spices Used:
½ tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Haldi/Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder or 1-2 tbsp Fresh Lime Juice (Adjust as per taste)

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida (Optional)
1 tbsp Oil

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Ingredients for garnishing:
Assorted Chutneys (ingredient list and recipe below)
1 medium Red Onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 medium Tomatoes, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
½-1 cup Sev

Method:
Preparation:
For Aloo Tikki and Chole:

1. Cook whole potatoes in a pressure cooker or in a sauce pan with enough water. Once cooked, peel and mash them.
2. If using dried garbanzo beans or chickpeas, soak the beans in enough water for 7-8 hours or overnight. Pressure cook or cook the beans in sauce pan with a pinch of cooking soda or sodium bi carbonate for 2 whistles or until the chickpeas are cooked through. Drain the chickpeas and reserve the water for the gravy.
3. Peel and finely chop the onions for tikki and chickpeas curry.
4. Puree the fresh or tinned tomatoes to smooth paste.
5. Finely chop the fresh coriander leaves and keep it aside until needed.
6. Dry roast the whole spices (cinnamon/cassia stick, cloves, black cardamom, green cardamoms, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, shah jeera, dried Kashmiri chillies, black peppercorns and bay leaf) on medium flame for a minute or until the spices change colour to golden brown and aromatic. Transfer the roasted spices to a blender or spice grinder and blend it to powder.
7. In a same pan, heat ½ tbsp. oil and add half of chopped onions for the chickpeas curry. Sauté them on medium flame till they turn golden brown on the edges. Add ginger and garlic paste and fry until their raw smell disappears, about 2 minute. Transfer it to the blender along with powdered spices and grind them to smooth puree by adding ¼ cup of water. 

For garnish:

1. Refer the ingredient list and recipe for chutneys below.
2. Finely chop the onions and tomatoes for garnishing. 

Proceed to make chickpeas curry:

1. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a pan and when hot, add remaining half of finely chopped onions. Add a generous pinch of salt and a tsp of sugar and sauté the onions until they turn golden brown. The salt will speed up the cooking of onions and sugar helps in caramelising them quickly.
2. Next add the ground spice-onion paste and fry them on medium flame for 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously until the paste becomes little dry and the oil separates in the edges.
3. Add the pureed tomatoes and mix them well. Take care as the puree will splutter when cooking. Stir the mixture for 3-4 minutes.
4. Mix in turmeric powder and salt to taste and add about 3 cups of water. Cover the pan with lid and let the gravy come to gentle boil, about 5-6 minutes.
5. Add cooked chickpeas, amchur/dry mango powder, half of finely chopped coriander leaves. Add little more water if you find the gravy too thick or mash the chickpeas with a ladle if the gravy is too thin for your liking.
6. Let the gravy simmer for 8-10 minutes on low flame for all the flavours to blend harmoniously.
7. Crush the kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and mix in garam masala. Add the remaining finely chopped coriander leaves and mix them well. Adjust the seasonings and turn off the flame. Let the curry rest covered for 10-15 minutes.

Proceed to make Aloo Tikki:

1. Peel and mash the boiled potatoes once it is cool enough to handle in a mixing bowl.
2. Heat ½ tbsp. of oil and once hot add cumin seeds and hing. Let the cumin seeds sizzle and change colour to deep brown.
3. Mix in finely chopped onions and ginger garlic paste. Fry them until the onions turn golden and the raw smell of ginger-garlic paste disappears, about 2 minutes.
4. Mix in cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala and turn off the flame. Transfer the mixture to mixing bowl.
5. If using bread slices, dip the slices in cold water and squeeze to remove the water. Crumble them with hands and add to the mashed potatoes. If using bread crumbs, directly mix with mashed potatoes.
6. Add finely chopped coriander powder, chaat masala, corn flour and salt to taste and combine well. Adjust the corn flour as per requirement as it helps in holding the shape of tikkies while frying.
7. Make a lemon sized balls and press them down. Shape them into round or oval shape (about 1 cm thick).
8. Heat tawa/griddle and arrange the tikkies in a single layer. Add about ½ tsp of oil for each tikkies and fry them on medium to low heat till they turn golden brown. Gently flip them and pan fry by drizzling little oil until they turn golden brown and crisp on the outside. Alternately, you can deep fry the aloo tikkies or bake them in a preheated oven at 180 deg C with a fan on (brush the tikkies with little oil on both sides) for about 10-15 minutes, flipping them in between to cook on both sides.
9. Repeat till you have cooked all the tikkies and place them in a paper napkin to remove excess oil.

How to Assemble and Serve:

1. Place 2-3 Aloo Tikkies on serving plate. Pour 1-2 ladles full of Chole or chickpeas curry on top.
2. Next drizzle a spoon full of spicy red chilli-garlic chutney, sweet date-tamarind chutney, and green mint-coriander chutney (find the recipes below).
3. Next add spoonful of chopped red onion, sev and chopped coriander leaves and serve immediately. Enjoy this lip smacking, delicious bowl of Aloo Tikki Chole Chaat.

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Sia’s Notes:

• The slow cooked chole or chickpeas curry or the leftover chickpeas curries are more flavourful as the flavour of freshly roasted and ground spices deepens and blends harmoniously. I prefer to slow cook for an hour at least to get more flavourful curry or make it a day before if cooking in a large batch for the dinner parties.
• Store leftover Aloo Tikkies in zip lock bag and freeze it upto a month. When needed place them on hot griddle or oven and cook till it is heated through on both the sides.

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Assorted Chutneys for Chaat
Prep Time: 15-20 mins
Cooking Time: N/A
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Makes: About 1 cup each
Shelf Life: About 1-2 weeks in refrigerator or upto a month in a freezer
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian chaat, as a sandwich spread, etc

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Ingredients:
For Sweet Tamarind-Date Chutney:
1 lemon sized Tamarind Pulp, soaked in hot water
8-10 Dates, pitted and soaked in hot water
½ tsp Red Chilli Powder
2-4 tbsp Jaggary (adjust as per taste)
¼ tsp Kaala Namak/Black Salt (Optional but recommended)
Salt to taste

For Green Coriander-Mint Chutney:
½ packed cup Mint Leaves
¾-1 packed cup Coriander Leaves
4-6 Green Chillies (adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp roasted Jeera/Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Tamarind Paste
Salt to taste

For Spicy Red Chutney: (Optional)
10-12 Dry Red Chillies, soaked in hot water
3-4 Garlic flakes
1 small Tomato (Optional, it helps in grinding the chillies to smooth paste)
½ tsp Tamarind Paste
1 tsp roasted Jeera/Cumin Seeds
Salt to taste

Method:
For Sweet Tamarind-Date Chutney:

1. Soak the tamarind pulp and pitted dates in 1 cup of hot water for about 10-15 minutes.
2. Grind all ingredients listed to very smooth paste along with the water in which its soaked. Adjust the quantity of water to get desired consistency. This paste should be little thick not runny.
3. Store it in a sterilised glass jar and store it in refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.

For Green Mint Chutney:

1. Grind all the ingredients listed to smooth paste adding very little water at time.
2. Adjust the number of green chillies according to taste. I personally like little hot. Make sure that the chutney is not very watery.
3. Store it in a sterilised glass jar and store it in refrigerator for a week.

For Spicy Red Chutney:

1. Grind all the ingredients to very smooth paste adding very little water at time. If you find it difficult to grind, add small tomato (tip learnt from my favourite Chaatwalah).
2. Store it in a sterilised glass jar and store it in refrigerator for upto a week.