Tikki Chole

Hello boys and girls,

Welcome to cooking with Varun! Some of you might know that my mum is from New Delhi (for those who didn’t, ‘Pssst! My mum is from New Delhi!’), so I’ve spent a fair amount of time there as a child. The best part about Delhi for me, not counting family (or my cute lady friend from ‘Crispy Garlicky Aloo’), is the food. From the chilled paani waale gol gappe to the sooty black chole with fluffy bhature to the massive stuffed paranthas, the food in Delhi has always been excellent.

I remember, when I was younger, we’d go to Karol Bagh where we’d navigate through the seemingly endless river of humanity to my favourite eating joints. We’d squeeze through countless street-side vendors to stuff our faces with the sausage pizza from Nirula’s, fight the throng of people outside (the once iconic) Roshan di kulfi for some of their creamy kulfi falooda and even stop for chaat along the way. Now, I have a love-hate relationship with chaat. There are days I could eat it by the kilo and then there are days I don’t even want to look at it, with the exception of the tangy aloo chaat (crispy potato cubes loaded with masalas and garnished with chillies, coriander leaves and a squeeze of lime) and tikki chole which are nearly always welcome. Not far from Nanima’s house was Shankar Road where we would go to snack on sumptuous tikki chole, aloo chaat as black as the heart of Sauron, and oddly enough, some brilliant chicken chowmein. Wash these down with a banta (with rock salt) or a Campa-Cola (Coca-Cola’s doppelganger in a time when Coke was banned in India) and we’d be as happy as clams.

Today’s recipe is my take on one of my favourite chaats, Tikki Chole. (Just the tikki actually; you can find the chole recipe here!)

For Tikki, you will need the following:

Potatoes                          500 gms
Onion                              1 medium
Green chillies                    2-3
Coriander leaves                handful
Bread                              3-4 slices
Red chilli powder                2-3 tsp
Coriander powder              3-4 tsp
Jeera powder                    1-2 tsp
Salt                                  to taste
Flour                                handful
Oil

Prep:

1. Grab a pressure cooker.
2. Toss in the potatoes.
3. Add in enough water to submerge the potatoes about 2 fingers deep.
4. Sprinkle in some salt.
5. Pop the lid on.
6. Bung it on the burner and give it 6 manly (i.e. proper long) whistles.
7. Turn the gas off.
8. Wait until the steam leaves the cooker.
9. Pop open the lid.
10. Add in some cold water to cool the potatoes down a smidge.
11. Chop the onion.
12. Chop the chillies.
13. Chop the coriander leaves.

Method:

1. Peel the skin off the potatoes and dump them a big bowl.
2. Grab a masher and mash the potatoes down until fine.
3. Dampen and break the bread into pieces and toss it in with the potatoes. (This helps bind the mixture so it doesn’t split when you fry the tikkis.)
4. Throw in the onion.
5. Roll in the chillies.
6. Toss on the coriander leaves.
7. Sprinkle in the red chilli powder, coriander powder, jeera powder, and salt.
8. Stick your fingers in the bowl and mix until the contents are evenly mixed.
9. Look around to check if anyone is watching.
10. Lick the yummy mixture off your fingers.
11. Roll the mixture into biggish balls and flatten them using your palms until they are tikki shaped.
12. Turn on the gas.
13. Bung a pan/skillet on (a non-stick would be ideal).
14. Splash in some oil.
15. Grab a tikki.
16. Dust the sides with flour.
17. Slide the tikki into the pan.
18. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the tikki goes a lovely brown.
19. Flip the tikki over and cook until the other side turns the same brown.
20. Fish the tikki out and put it on a tissue covered plate to absorb any excess oil.
21. Repeat until all the tikkis are cooked.
22. Serve topped with chole, sliced onions and some pudina and imli chutney.
23. Stuff face.
24. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: You can also make a wicked dahi chaat with your tikki. Scrunch up your tikki, ladle on some yoghurt mixed with salt and chilli powder, throw on some chopped onion, chillies and coriander, splash on some chutney and pinch on some chaat masala!

Also, pudina chutney: Pudina, coriander, green chilli, salt, splash of water, lemon juice, into a mixer. Blitz. Done

Imli chutney: Soak imli in water for 15 mins, squeeze the pulp out into the water, toss away the imli skin and seeds, stick the water on a gas, boil, toss in some sugar/jaggery, chilli powder, salt. Cook. Done.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!