Potato And Carrot Patties Made With Grated Vegetables
Aloo-Gajar Lachcha Tikki
Mamta Gupta
Generally, Alu Tikkies or Potato Cutlets/Chops are made with boiled and then mashed potatoes. One day, I decided to make them with grated potatoes. As I had a few carrots around, I added them too, to add to the flavour. I steamed them in a microwave oven first, to make the vegetables bind better. The result was great, a tasty, nicely textured, crisp, tasty potato chops, tastier than when made in the traditional way.
All potato varieties do not have enough of binding property, so if you have difficulty in shaping them, feel free to add a little arrowroot flour/besan (Bengal gram/chickpea flour)/ an egg.
Makes 12 medium sized tikkies.
Edited July 2024
See several other Potato cutlet recipes on this site.
Ingredients
3-4 medium sized potatoes
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
A couple of carrots (in pictures, I have shown 5 mini carrots
1 green chillies, stalk removed, chopped finely
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped finely or grated
A small bunch of green coriander leaves finely chopped (I often omit this, because my husband does not like it. But if you like it, it does enhance the flavour of the tikkies
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp. Garam Masala
1 tsp. roast cumin powder
1/2 cup of oil for shallow frying
Sometimes needed; one lightly beaten egg/a tablespoon of a Besan-Bengal gram flour)/Maida-Plain flour
Imli (Tamarind) Chutney and Green Coriander and Mint Chutney to serve.
Instructions
Wash, peel and grate potatoes and carrots. I do this in my food processor.
Steam in a microwave steamer, on full power, for 4-6 minutes, until soft to touch. Allow to cool.
Meanwhile, chop onion, ginger, green chilli and coriander leaves finely.
Place steamed vegetables, and rest of the ingredients in a bowl and mix gently, without mashing the potatoes. Otherwise, you will loose the texture.
Taste and adjust seasoning.
Try to make one test tikki/cutlet first. If it does not bind easily, add a tablespoon of the flours mentioned above or one beaten egg.
Make small balls of about 1 tablespoon of the mix and then flattening it to a burger shape (pictures 8 and 9).
Heat oil in a pan. I use a heavy bottomed pan, you can use a cast iron Tava /griddle instead.
Gently place the tikkies in the pan and cook on low-medium heat, turning over a few times, until golden brown and crisp on both sides. Use a thin spatula to turn them over carefully and gently.
Serve hot with the chutneys of choice. You can serve a small bowl of lightly beaten and seasoned yoghurt on the side, for people to add some of that too, if they like. Tikkies are often served with a dollop of spiced yoghurt* in India.
*Yoghurt: add a little salt, chilli powder and ground roast cumin to a cup of yoghurt. Stir in gently.
