Aloo Tikki Chaat Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy.
Aloo tikki chaat is a delicious Indian street food made with crispy potato patties, creamy yogurt, tangy chutneys, and a sprinkle of chaat masala. Every bite is a perfect mix of spicy, sweet, tangy, and crunchy flavors that’s hard to resist!
Here are some more chaat recipes you can make at home: Samosa chaat, sweet corn chaat, and papdi chaat.
Table of Contents
On the streets of Delhi, tikki chaat starts with a sound. Tikkis hiss on a wide iron tawa, and the vendor presses each one flat with a steel spatula before it goes on the plate.
That press is the whole idea behind this recipe. I fry the tikkis once until golden, flatten them to half their height, and fry them again. The edges crack and turn into the crunchiest bits on the plate. And the tikki stays crisp under a pool of cold dahi instead of going mushy.
Every Indian city has its chaat corner, and tikki chaat has always been one of my favorite plates there. Living in the US, I don’t have a stall down the road, so I make it in my kitchen. Two things matter more than any spice: patience at the pan, and yogurt straight from the fridge. Cold dahi on a hot, crunchy tikki is the whole point.
The tikki itself is simple. Grated potatoes, cornstarch, chili flakes, and roasted cumin. No breadcrumbs and no stuffing. The toppings do the rest.
What Is Aloo Tikki Chaat?
Aloo tikki chaat is a North Indian street snack. Hot, crispy potato patties (aloo tikki) are topped with cold yogurt, green chutney, sweet tamarind chutney, crunchy sev, and a sprinkle of tangy spices.
Most tikki chaat goes soggy the second the yogurt lands. This one doesn’t. All it takes is a hot pan, the flat base of a steel bowl, and a second trip into the oil.
Ingredients
You need two sets of ingredients: a short list for the tikki and a handful of chaat toppings. Exact quantities are in the recipe card.
For The Tikki
- Potatoes – Boiled, peeled, and fully cooled potatoes (aloo) are the base. Starchy russets grate the driest and fluffiest; Yukon Golds work but hold a little more moisture. Boil them a day ahead and refrigerate for the best texture.
- Cornstarch, called cornflour in India, binds the grated potato and forms a thin, crisp shell. Arrowroot powder (ararot) works the same way. Rice flour also binds, but the crust turns slightly gritty.
- Salt – Regular table salt (namak) seasons the potato from the inside. Use rock salt (sendha namak) if you’re making this for a fast.
- Red chili flakes add heat in little bursts rather than throughout. For color with milder heat, use Kashmiri red chili powder instead.
- Roasted cumin powder – It’s smokier than plain ground cumin and goes into the tikki and on top. To make it, toast cumin seeds in a dry pan for 1–2 minutes and grind. Check out my recipe to make roasted cumin powder here.
- Oil – Any neutral oil with a high smoke point, like peanut, canola, or sunflower. Ghee gives a richer, nuttier crust.
For the chaat toppings
- Yogurt – Plain whole-milk yogurt (dahi), chilled and whisked smooth with a little sugar. Thick Greek yogurt works if you thin it with a splash of milk.
- Green chutney – My coriander mint chutney keeps in the fridge for days, so make it ahead.
- Sweet tamarind chutney balances the heat. Use my sweet and sour tamarind chutney or a good store-bought jar.
- Red onion adds bite. Skip it for a no-onion plate.
- Pomegranate arils – Juicy pomegranate seeds (anar dana), add sweet pops and color. Leave them out if they’re not in season.
- Sev – Nylon sev is the finest kind. Aloo bhujia or crushed papdi work too. You can find them at any Indian grocery store.
- Chaat masala – for a tangy taste.
- Black salt (kala namak) is a pink-gray rock salt with a sulfur smell and a sharp, eggy tang. It’s the flavor that makes chaat taste like chaat. Regular salt works in a pinch.
- Kashmiri red chili powder is mostly for color. Sweet paprika is the closest swap.
- Coriander leaves to finish.
How To Make Aloo Tikki Chaat At Home
Make the tikkis first, then assemble each plate just before eating. Whisk the yogurt and chill it while you fry the tikkis.
Make The Crispy Tikkis
Step 1: Grate the potatoes. Grate the boiled, cooled potatoes on the fine side of a box grater into a bowl. Grating keeps the mix light and less gummy. Mashing works the starch hard, which is what turns potatoes gluey.
Step 2: Make the mix. Add the cornstarch, salt, red chili flakes, and roasted cumin powder. Mix gently with your fingers until it forms a soft dough that doesn’t stick to your hands. If it still feels wet, add a little more cornstarch, a teaspoon at a time. Too much makes the tikki taste chalky.
Step 3: Shape the tikkis. Grease your palms lightly with oil. Divide the mix into 8 portions and shape each into a slightly thick patty, about ¾ inch. They start thick on purpose, since you’ll press them to half their height later.
Step 4: Chill (optional). Refrigerate the patties for 15–20 minutes. Cold patties firm up, so they hold together better when you press them.
Step 5: First fry until golden. Heat the oil in a cast-iron or non-stick pan over medium heat. Slide in the tikkis and fry them undisturbed until golden brown on both sides, about 5-7 minutes per side. Leave them alone until the base is set. A tikki moved too early will tear and stick.
Step 6: Press flat. Use a flat spatula or the base of a steel bowl to press each tikki firmly to about half its thickness. The edges will crack a little. Don’t fix them; those cracks become the extra-crispy bits.
I press and fry twice because a tikki fried once has a thin crisp shell over a thick, soft middle. Flattening it halfway spreads that crust wider and thinner, so there’s still crunch left after the yogurt and chutneys go on.
Step 7: Fry again until crisp. If the pan looks dry, drizzle a little more oil around the edges. Fry the pressed tikkis until deep golden and crisp, 2-5 minutes per side. Drain them on a wire rack. For a quick snack, you can stop here and serve them hot with green chutney or ketchup.
Assemble The Aloo Tikki Chaat
Step 8: Whisk the yogurt. Whisk the chilled yogurt with the sugar and a pinch of salt until smooth and pourable. Cold yogurt on a hot tikki is the contrast you want, so keep it in the fridge until the last minute.
Step 9: Layer the chaat. Place 2 hot tikkis on each plate. Leave them whole for crunch, or crack them open with a spoon, street style, so the dahi seeps in. Spoon the yogurt over, then drizzle green chutney and tamarind chutney on top.
Step 10: Finish and serve. Sprinkle chaat masala, roasted cumin powder, black salt, and Kashmiri red chili powder over the top. Add the onion, pomegranate, and coriander, and finish with a handful of sev. Serve right away. Sev goes soft within a few minutes, so it always goes on last.
Pro Tips By Neha
- Boil the potatoes a day early. A night in the fridge dries them out, so they grate cleanly and need less cornstarch.
- Stop boiling a little early. A knife should slide in with slight resistance. Waterlogged potatoes make a sticky mix no binder can fully fix.
- Test one small tikki first. If it spreads in the oil, knead in another teaspoon of cornstarch before shaping the rest.
- Wait for the oil to shimmer. Lukewarm oil soaks into the potato and gives you a greasy, pale tikki.
- Hold finished tikkis in a 200°F oven on the wire rack while you fry the next batch. They stay hot and crisp.
- Top one plate at a time. Ten minutes under yogurt and chutney softens even a double-fried tikki.
Variations
- Ragda pattice: Spoon hot white pea ragda under the yogurt for the Mumbai-style plate.
- Aloo tikki chole chaat: Add a ladle of hot chole over the tikkis before the dahi.
- Stuffed tikki chaat: Use my classic aloo tikki with its spiced chana dal and pea filling as the base.
- No onion, no garlic: The tikkis have neither; just skip the chopped onion on top.
- Fasting (vrat) version: Swap cornstarch for arrowroot and salt for sendha namak, and top only with yogurt and pomegranate.
Storage Suggestions
Aloo tikki chaat is best eaten as soon as it’s assembled, while the tikki is hot and the sev still crunches. Once the toppings go on, it doesn’t keep, so store the parts separately.
Leftover fried tikkis (with no toppings) keep in an airtight box in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Reheat them on a hot tawa with a few drops of oil for 2–3 minutes per side until the crust crisps up again. Skip the microwave; it steams the crust soft.
The green chutney keeps for a few days and the tamarind chutney for weeks, both refrigerated.
Make-ahead tip: shape the tikkis, freeze them on a tray for an hour, then pack them into freezer bags. Thaw on the counter for 2–3 hours before frying.
Aloo Tikki Chaat FAQs
Not quite. Ragda pattice is the Mumbai version, with a white pea curry (ragda) poured over the patties. Delhi-style tikki chaat leans on yogurt and chutneys instead.
Yes. This recipe uses only cornstarch to bind the potatoes. It gives a thinner, crisper shell than breadcrumbs.
The potatoes were still warm or took on water while boiling. Add cornstarch a teaspoon at a time and chill the mix for 15 minutes.
The oil wasn’t hot enough, or you flipped too soon. Chill the patties (step 4) and don’t touch them until the base is golden.
Craving more? Subscribe to Whisk Affair to get new recipes and a newsletter delivered straight to your inbox! And stay in touch on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Google for all of the latest updates.
Aloo Tikki Chaat Recipe
Ingredients
For The Aloo Tikki
- 500 grams potatoes (boiled, peeled and fully cooled (about 4 medium))
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
- 4 tablespoons oil (for shallow frying)
For The Chaat
- 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (chilled)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- ¼ cup green chutney
- ¼ cup sweet tamarind chutney
- ½ cup finely chopped red onion
- ⅓ cup pomegranate arils
- ½ cup nylon sev
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala
- ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon black salt
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
Instructions
- Grate the potatoes on the fine side of a box grater into a bowl.
- Add cornstarch, salt, chili flakes, and roasted cumin powder. Mix gently until it forms a soft, non-sticky dough. Add a little more cornstarch if it feels wet.
- Grease your palms lightly with oil. Divide the mix into 8 portions and shape into slightly thick patties, about ¾ inch thick.
- Refrigerate the patties for 15–20 minutes to firm up. This helps them hold together when pressed. This step is optional.
- Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a cast-iron or non-stick pan over medium heat. Fry the tikkis undisturbed until golden brown on both sides, about 3-7 minutes per side.
- Using a flat spatula or the base of a steel bowl, press each tikki firmly to flatten it to about half its thickness.
- Drizzle a little more oil around the edges if the pan looks dry. Fry the pressed tikkis until deep golden and crisp, 2-5 minutes per side. Drain on a wire rack.
- Whisk the chilled yogurt with sugar and salt until smooth. Keep it in the fridge until serving.
- Place 2 hot tikkis on each plate. Spoon yogurt over them, then drizzle green chutney and tamarind chutney.
- Sprinkle chaat masala, roasted cumin powder, black salt and Kashmiri red chili powder. Top with onion, pomegranate, coriander and sev. Serve immediately.
Mouth watering!
Thanks