Feel Good: Warm Aloo Aur Hare Mattar Ki Tikki - Potato & Pea Patties

Always in search of new ways to enjoy good and healthy meals in a fun and innovative way, I decided to cook up the very popular North Indian snack in my kitchen - Aloo Aur Hare Mattar Ki Tikki. This is a very famous dish found in North India and is eaten quite often as a snack or a side to a hearty thali or whole meal. Both Reju and I love potato and peas and it was this love that drove me to make these yummy patties.

Flavour combinations mean a lot and I often enjoy putting together ingredients that might seem unusual at first, but often these ingredient combinations complement each other so well, bringing out a new harmony of aromas and flavours. I was glad that I gave this tasty dish a go in my kitchen.

The dish has a lovely fusion of flavours going on which gives it an unforgettable blend of spicy and herby aromas. Cumin and coriander really puckers up the entire dish, while the green chillies, fried onions and fresh coriander leaves adds a robust kick.

Giving the whole dish a lovely shade of colour are the addition of lovely green peas, which provides a good source of protein, fibre and vitamins, not to mention texture. So like I said before, all these tasty flavours and aromas rounds up the potato and pea tikkis for a delicious bite.

These patties are quite simple, versatile and can be made in a multitude of ways. The recipe I have for you today is from Aditya Bal, chef and cookery show host on NDTV Good Times, but with a few changes of my own. I encourage everyone trying out this recipe to use their imagination and be a little creative. You really can't do anything wrong here. I assure you this recipe is so easy to prepare you might think I am pulling your leg. But I am not!

We enjoyed this with hot rotis and chole masala. (it goes with any veggie curry or sabzi) Do try it and then you'll see what I am talking about. Have fun cooking.

Ingredients

Potato (boiled & mashed) - 3 (big)

Green Peas (boiled & mashed) - 1/4 cup

Big Onion (finely sliced or chopped) - 1 (big)

Green chilli (finely chopped) - 1 or 2 (adjust as per spice tolerance)

Coriander leaves (finely chopped) - a generous amount

Salt – to taste

Refined Oil

To Dry Roast & Grind

Coriander seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1/2 tsp

Pepper corns - 1/2 tsp

Method

Take a pan and dry roast the ingredients listed under "To Dry Roast & Grind" till the spices begin to splutter and pop. Grind to a fine powder. Heat oil in the same pan and saut'e finely sliced onion with salt till light golden brown.

Take a bowl and add the mashed potatoes and peas into it. Add finely chopped green chillies, coriander leaves, sautéed  onions, ground spice mix, salt and a little oil into it. Combine well. Check for salt and adjust according to taste. Form small balls of equal size, press between your palms to form a nice round shape or tikki. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour or till potato and pea dough turns firm.

Heat oil in a pan (preferably non-stick to avoid excessive oil usage) and shallow fry on a medium heat, flipping sides till both sides turn golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper and serve hot.

Notes:

1. In case you want your patties more crisp, you can coat the patties very lightly with all purpose flour and shallow fry them on the griddle until they just start to colour. Take out and pat dry. Place the veggie patties on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 15 minutes approximately.

2. If you find that the dough is too soft and won’t form a proper shape, you can add coarse bread crumbs into it.  Here is how you can do it:

Dip pieces of bread in water, squeeze out water with palm and give it a blitz in the food processor. Add these crumbs to the dough and mix well. Form desired shape and refrigerate for an hour.

Serving tips:

1. If you are eating these tikkis as a snack, it goes really well with a spicy and tangy mint chutney or tomato ketchup.

2. You can enjoy these as a side to go with your regular thali meal.

3. They also work really well as veggie patties to go into your sandwiches or burgers with some crunchy onion rings, fresh juicy tomato slices, tomato ketchup and fresh coriander leaves.

Have I got your mouth watering?! :)