Crispy & Crunchy, Aloo Tikki is a popular North Indian street food that is basically deep fried and spiced with an array of ingredients. It is one of the most popular chaat items and can be made easily at home too. Here is how to make it.
If you are a chaat lover, do not forget to check out my post about the best Indian Chaat Recipes.
Here are some more similar recipes, that you can make at home – Farali Pattice, Aloo Paneer Tikki, Veg Hara Bhara Kabab, and Chicken Cheese Balls.
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What is Aloo Tikki?
I have always enjoyed gorging on this crispy and spicy Aloo Tikki that are sold on the streets of Delhi. Perfectly crisp on the outside and soft and spicy from the inside, these are absolutely addictive.
Aloo in English translates to Potatoes and Tikki means Patties. So these are essentially Potatoes Patties.
These round and crisp Tikkis can be prepared with or without stuffing. Stuffed Aloo Ki Tikki is popular in North India while the ones without stuffing are popular in South India.
While some like to enjoy these round crisp Tikkis as it is, I prefer them with some chutneys on top. You can just level up the taste by adding some coriander mint chutney and sweet tamarind chutney. And if you are making these in Summers, add in some chilled curd too. Yummy!
You can top these Tikki with spicy Ragda as well. If you go to Mumbai, you will find many street carts selling these with hot ragda made with white peas. That tastes amazing too!
So, next time you need a tea time snack, or something that satisfies your cravings of Chaat, do give this Aloo Tikki recipe a try.
These tikkies are
- Crispy
- Spicy
- Addictive
- Easy to make at home
- Perfect for tea time snacks
Ingredients
For the Tikki – For the outer layer of the Tikki, we will need Potatoes, Poha (Flattened Rice), Fresh Coriander, Ginger, Green Chillies, Red Chilli Flakes, Dry Mango Powder, Anardana Powder (Pomegranate Seeds Powder), Salt, Black Salt, Rice Flour, and Oil.
You can always skip Poha and make these just with Aloo, but Poha adds a crisp texture to the Tikkis. Rice flour is used to bind the potatoes and the other ingredients, to add flavor.
You can even add soaked white part of the bread with Aloo, to get crispy Tikkis.
Adjust the amount of green chilies and red chili flakes, to suit your taste. If making for kids, you can avoid adding green chilies too.
Dry Mango Powder and Anardana Powder, further adds a tangy taste.
For the Filling – These Tikkis are filled with a spicy Masala, which is made with lentils. Here I have used Chana Dal and Green Peas. Many people even add dry fruits such as cashew, raisins, and almonds in their stuffing.
Other than these, for the stuffing, you will need oil, hing (Asafoetida), cumin seeds, garam masala powder, chaat masala powder, ginger, green chili, red chili powder, coriander seeds, salt, black salt, and coriander leaves.
The filling can also me made using Paneer or Chicken and Mutton Keema, but chana dal filling is most popular.
How to make Aloo Tikki
Soak the poha in 2 tbsp of water for 10-15 minutes. Be very careful about the amount of water otherwise your potato mixture will become soggy.
Add grated boiled potatoes, soaked poha, and all the other tikki ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Make a smooth mixture by mashing everything well with your hands.
For the filling, heat oil in a pan. You can avoid these steps if you are making the tikkies without the filling.
Once the oil is hot, add hing and cumin seeds and cook for a few seconds.
Add ginger and green chilli and fry for a minute.
Add cooked chana dal and peas and slightly mash them.
Now add red chili powder, coriander powder, dry mango powder, garam masala powder, black salt, and regular salt and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add fresh coriander and mix well. Remove the pan from heat and let the filling cool down.
Grease your hands with oil and divide the potato mixture into 6 equal parts. Make each part into a ball and then press gently to make a tikki.
If making the tikki with stuffing, press the ball with your fingers to make a 4 inch circle. Keep 1 tbsp filling in the centre and bring the ends together.
Roll into a round and then gently press to make a flat tikki.
Make all the tikki in the same manner.
Refrigerate the tikki for 30 minutes. Heat oil for frying in a pan.
When the oil is hot, add the tikki and fry on medium heat until tikki are browned and crisp from all the sides. Remove them for the pan and serve hot with coriander mint chutney.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are 3 ways to boil the potatoes to make aloo tikki.
1. Using a pot over the stovetop.
2. Using Indian Pressure Cooker.
3. In Instant Pot
To boil the potatoes in a pot, peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes. Bring water to a boil in a pan. Add the potatoes and cook until they are fork-tender. Drain the water and use the potatoes as required.
To cook them in an Indian Pressure Cooker, add the potatoes in the cooker. Add water until the potatoes are just covered. Now close the lid and pressure cook for 1 whistle on high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook for another 10 minutes. Release the pressure manually. Open the lid and drain the water. Peel the potatoes and use them as needed.
To cook the potatoes in an Instant pot, keep a trivet in the pot and keep the potatoes over it. Now add 1 cup of water in the pot. Close the lid and set the valve to sealing. Press PRESSURE COOk and set the timer to 12 minutes. Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Release the remaining pressure manually and open the lid. Peel the potatoes and use them as required.
Whenever you boil the potatoes for these Tikkis, make sure that they are cooked but not very soft. It should be fork-tender, and not mushy. If they are very soft, you won’t be able to grate them for these Tikkis.
Also once you boil the potatoes, refrigerate them for 4 to 5 hours and then grate them.
If making it for fasting days, then skip adding poha and rice flour. Add arrowroot flour, buckwheat flour, water chestnut flour, or tapioca flour instead.
Instead of regular salt, you can use rock salt.
To make equal size tikki, take a round cookie cutter or a measuring cup of ⅓rd cup measure.
Grease it with oil and transfer the potato mixture ball in the cup or the cookie cutter. Press so that the mixture takes the shape of the cup or the cutter. Remove the tikki from the cup or the cutter.
Make all of them in the same manner.
Once you prepare the Aloo Tikki, apply or spray some oil on top and then place them on a baking tray lined with parchment sheet.
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Place the baking tray in the oven and bake them for 10-20 minutes or until they turn crispy and golden brown in color.
Serving Suggestions
This classic recipe is best enjoyed topped with dollops of Yogurt, Coriander Mint Chutney, and Sweet Tamarind Chutney.
You can also serve these with Chole or with Ragda.
Use this tikki to make Aloo Tikki Burger or use while making Ragda Pattice or Aloo Tikki Chaat.
Serve them as a tea time snack along with a hot cup of Masala Chai or Filter Coffee.
You can use these to make Wrap/Roll.
Storage Suggestions
You can prepare these tikkis and freeze them for an hour on a tray. After an hour, you can store them in the zip lock freezer bags and freeze them. Deep fry them when you want to serve it again. Make sure you thaw them before frying in hot oil.
To bake the tikki, thaw them completely and then place them on a baking sheet and bake them for about 10 to 15 minutes. Keep watching until they turn brown and crispy.
Pro Tips By Neha
Make sure that the oil is hot enough before you add the Tikkis. If the oil is not hot, the Aloo Tikki will soak oil and will not turn out crisp. Adding Tikkis in cold oil might also break them and make them oily and soggy.
Adding a binding agent like rice flour or cornflour makes sure the Tikkis doesn’t beak while frying and they also make them crispy.
if you want a healthy version, you can even bake or air fry Aloo Tikki.
When you add the Tikki in hot oil, do not disturb them until they become slightly golden in color as there are chances to break if you turn them soon.
You can also add some bread crumbs in the potato mixture to bind them perfectly and make them crisp.
Fry the tikki on a nonstick pan so that they don’t stick to it. Also, the oil in the pan should cover at least half of the tikki (in thickness) while frying.
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Recipe Card
Aloo Tikki Recipe
Ingredients
For the Tikki
- 2 cups Boiled Potato (Refrigerated with 4-5 hours)
- ¼ cup Poha
- 1 tbsp Fresh Coriander (Chopped)
- 1 tsp Ginger (Grated)
- 2 tsp Green Chilli (Chopped)
- 1 tsp Red Chilli Flakes
- 1 tsp Black Salt
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp Dry Mango Powder
- 1 tsp Anardana Powder
- 3 tbsp Rice Flour
- Oil for frying
For the filling
- 1 tbsp Oil
- ¼ tsp Hing
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 tsp Ginger
- 2 tsp Green Chilli (Chopped)
- ½ cup Chana Dal (Cooked)
- ¼ cup Peas (Boiled)
- ½ tsp Red Chilli Powder
- 1 tbsp Coriander Seeds (Coarsely Crushed)
- 1 tsp Dry Mango Powder
- ½ tsp Garam Masala Powder
- ½ tsp Black Salt
- Salt to taste
- 2 tbsp Fresh Coriander (Chopped)
Instructions
For the tikki
- Grate the potatoes in a bowl.
- Soak the poha in 2 tbsp water for 10-15 minutes.
- Add grated potatoes, soaked poha and all the other tikki ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
For the filling
- Heat oil in a pan.
- Once the oil is hot, add hing and cumin seeds and cook for a few seconds.
- Add ginger and green chilli and fry for a minute.
- Add cooked chana dal and peas and slightly mash them.
- Now add red chilli powder, coriander powder, mango powder, garam masala powder, black salt and regular salt and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add coriander and mix well.
- Remove the pan from heat and let the filling cool down.
Assembly
- Grease your hands with oil and divide the potato mixture into 6 equal parts.
- Make each part into a ball and then press gently to make a tikki.
- If making the tikki with stuffing, press the ball with your fingers to make a 4 inch circle.
- Keep 1 tbsp filling in the centre and bring the ends together.
- Roll into a round and then gently press to make a flat tikki.
- Make all the tikki in the same manner.
- Refrigerate the tikki for 30 minutes.
- Heat oil for frying the tikki in a pan.
- When the oil is hot, add the tikki and fry on medium heat until tikki are browned and crisp from all the sides.
- Remove the tikki for the pan and serve hot with coriander mint chutney.
