Chole Tikiya

A lip-smacking chaat is something which most of us love. The sheer thought of paani-poori, dahibada, papdi chaat and bhel makes one hungry even after having a full meal. One such thing is Chole tikiya. Though it is a common street food, for me, my mom makes the best of the lot. She always made sure that we had the best menu on our birthdays. Chole Tikiya made by her was a big hit in our family. The crispy tikkis with the spicy chole, tangi chatni's and a handful of zero sev is something is something which instantly melts in your mouth and is a pure bliss for chaat lovers. Take a look at the recipe:

Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Serves: 4-5

Ingredients- For Chole:
2 cups soaked and cooked kabuli chana
1/2 cup tomato puree
1 tspn Ginger-garlic paste
3 medium Onions, ground coarsely
1 tspn Turmeric powder
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tspn Coriander powder
Chole Masala
Salt to taste

Ingredients- For Tikiya:
8-9 medium potatoes, boiled,peeled and mashed
1/2 cup bread crumbs
salt to taste
oil for shallow fry

Other Ingredients for topping/garnishing
Green chutney
Sweet tamarind chutney
Zero sev/ Nylon Sev 
Finely chopped onion
Finely chopped fresh coriander
Chaat Masala(optional)
Whipped Curs(optional)

Method for Chole:

• Place a pan on medium heat. Heat oil  and add the coarse onion paste, tomato puree and ginger -garlic paste. Saute till the mixture leaves oil /the raw smell evaporates.
• Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, and coriander powder.
• Cook the masala on low heat for 3-4 min. 
• Mash 1/2 cup boiled kabuli chana and keep aside.
• Add approx. 2 cups of water to the masala, add salt and boil for 5 minutes. Now add the cooked and mashed kabuli chana and chole masala. 

P.S. Adding mashed kabuli chana makes sure that the gravy gets some consistency.

Method for Tikiya:

• Take the mashed potatoes in a mixing bowl and add salt and breadcrumbs to it.Mix well.
• Take medium sized portions from the potato mixture and flatten into round patties.
• Heat a griddle, place 4-5 patties at a time. Put one tspn oil and cook on medium heat till they become brown from both sides.

For Serving:

• Place 2-3 tikiya on a serving plate and spread 1 portion of the chole evenly over it.
• Top it up with green chatni, sweet chatni, chopped onions, coriander and sev.
• You can also add some whipped curds and sprinkle some chaat masala.

You can make extra plain patties which can be savoured later with tea or can be a stuffing for a sandwich. Chole Tikiya is not only a perfect blend of many flavours but is also quite filling. So if you are looking for a single-dish menu for a get-together or party, this is just the right choice. 

HAPPY COOKING !