First, a word on this dish
Picture the tikki on a hot griddle: the underside takes on colour, the edges turn lacy and uneven, and the inside stays tender and almost creamy. That contrast is the whole point of this dish, and the patty tastes good enough to eat alone, because the spices are already in it. Delhi vendors cook them in plenty of oil on a broad flat tava, press them down, and flip them until both sides are dark gold. Then they either hand the tikki over with a spoon of chutney or build a full chaat with curd, a ladle of thin chickpea gravy, both chutneys and sev. If you are cooking for guests, this is a kind one to pick. You can shape the patties a day ahead, even freeze them, and the last cooking and topping takes only a few minutes.
The story behind the dish
Delhi and the wider Uttar Pradesh region are where aloo tikki is most at home. Spiced potato patties browned on a griddle have long been standard street food there, whether eaten bare, slipped inside a bun or roll, or used as the foundation of a laden chaat plate. Potatoes were not grown in India before the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when Portuguese traders brought them, so a potato snack is a newcomer beside the old street foods made from grains and lentils, even though it feels timeless now. The vegetable was welcomed quickly, partly because it grew well and slotted into frying and griddle techniques cooks already used. Aloo tikki shows that process more clearly than almost any other dish in North Indian chaat. Outside Delhi the recipe shifts. Some kitchens add chana dal or peas to the patty, and others serve it with curd and chutney only, without the chickpea gravy. No version has a better claim to be the first.
The method, in order
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Prep
Mash the potatoes and add the spices
Start with potatoes that have cooled all the way through, and mash them until no big lumps remain. Warm potato gives off steam and moisture, and that is why patties made from it slump and break. Stir in the cornflour, chilli, ginger, spices, fresh coriander and salt until nothing streaky is left. Press a little between your fingers. If it holds together firmly, you are ready, and if it feels loose, work in another spoonful of cornflour.
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Prep
Form the patties and chill them
Divide the potato into 8 equal portions and pat each one into a neat, smooth disc about 2.5cm thick. Run a finger around the rim of each, since a crack at the edge is where a tikki gives way in the pan. Lay them on a tray and chill for 15 to 20 minutes. They hold together far better when cold and make flipping easy.
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Cook
Pan-fry to a deep gold
Warm the oil in a wide pan or on a flat griddle over medium heat, then set the patties down with space between them. Leave them completely alone for 3 to 4 minutes, until the underside has built a dark golden crust. If you nudge them earlier, they tear, and this is the mistake most people make. Turn them over gently and give the second side the same time, pressing lightly once with the spatula halfway through so the crust sets evenly. Count on 7 to 9 minutes in total for each batch.
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Cook
Warm the chickpeas in a light gravy
While the patties cook, heat a little oil in a small pot and let the cumin seeds sizzle until you smell them. Tip in the chickpeas with the turmeric, chilli powder, salt and water, and let everything bubble for 5 minutes. You want the liquid to thicken into a loose sauce that coats the chickpeas, not a thin soup that runs across the plate.
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Serve
Build each plate
Set two hot tikkis on each plate, then press the top of each lightly with the back of a spoon so it has a rough surface for the toppings to catch on. Add a few spoonfuls of the chickpeas, the yogurt, and finally both chutneys.
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Serve
Add the final touches and eat at once
Sprinkle the sev, chaat masala and onion on top and carry the plates to the table straight away, while the base underneath is still crisp. A fully dressed plate that waits will go soft within minutes, so assemble only when people are sitting down.
Ingredient stand-ins
Cornflour and roasted rice flour both bind the patties well. Many cooks prefer a spoonful of besan (chickpea flour) that has been toasted briefly, because it adds a slightly deeper flavour. If making the chickpea gravy feels like too much work, serve the tikkis with only yogurt and the two chutneys, which is a perfectly proper way to eat them and close to how many stalls sell them. You can swap some of the potato for sweet potato, but expect a softer patty that may want a little more binder. A plant-based yogurt will do as a topping for anyone avoiding dairy.
Making it milder or fiercer
The heat in the patties comes from the green chilli, garam masala and amchur, and it is there before any topping goes on. Because of that, fry one small test patty and taste it before shaping the whole batch, which is safer than tasting the mixture when it is raw. For a gentler plate, leave the chilli out of the patty and the chilli powder out of the chickpeas, then lean on the sweet tamarind-date chutney more than the green one. To turn the heat up, add a second chilli to the mixture and use more green chutney, or put garlic chutney on the table so each person can add as much as they like without changing the whole batch.
The slip most cooks make
If your patties fall apart in the pan, the usual cause is potato that was warm or still wet. Boil the potatoes early, let them cool completely, and shake off any water clinging to them before mashing. Skipping the chill is a close second, since a freshly formed patty is delicate and cracks the moment it touches hot oil. Do not rush the frying either. Oil that is too hot browns the outside before the centre has warmed and set, while steady medium heat builds a crust slowly and evenly. Last, resist loading the toppings early, because they soften the crust. Dress the plate only when you are ready to serve.
Storing what is left
Fridge or counter: Uncooked tikkis last two days in the fridge when stacked between sheets of parchment, or a month in the freezer. Fry frozen ones directly, giving each side a couple of extra minutes. Cooked tikkis, kept plain, last two days in the fridge and warm up well. The chickpea topping holds for three days chilled. Tamarind-date chutney keeps about two weeks and the green one 2 to 3 days. A plate that has been fully topped should never be stored, so dress each serving just before it is eaten.
Bringing it back to life: To crisp up cooked tikkis that have no toppings, press them into a dry pan on medium heat, 2 to 3 minutes per side, or bake at 190°C (375°F) for about 8 minutes. In a microwave they heat through but the crust turns soft. Warm the chickpeas on the stove with a splash of water to loosen them. Heat the patties and the chickpeas separately and only afterwards add the cold items, namely yogurt, chutneys and sev.
Handle with care
Put boiled potatoes in the fridge soon after they have cooled, and do not let them linger on the counter. Use them within two days. The same goes for tikki mixture and for any extra boiled potato. Serve the yogurt cold and keep it out for no more than about two hours, a shorter time in a hot kitchen. Each batch of patties goes into a small amount of oil that heats and cools repeatedly, so check it. Oil that smokes, darkens or smells harsh should be thrown away, not saved for next time. If the cooked chickpeas are not eaten at once, cool and chill them quickly, and bring them to a full boil before you serve them again.
Sources worth opening
- Lizzie Collingham, "Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors" (Oxford University Press) — on the introduction of the potato to India by Portuguese traders and its rapid absorption into regional cooking.
- K.T. Achaya, "Indian Food: A Historical Companion" (Oxford University Press) — on the development of North Indian potato-based street snacks.