Aloo Tikki

Here we are already at the third month of the Crazy Cooking Challenge hosted by Tina of Moms Crazy Cooking.  Each month she challenges participating bloggers to search non-celebrity blogs looking for the ultimate recipe of the month and then to make and feature that recipe and the blog.  The first month we were challenged to find the ultimate mac & cheese recipe and I made a delicious Velvety Mac & Cheese.  Last month the challenge was chocolate chip cookies and for me, my ultimate was Chocolate Chip Gingersnaps, truly delicious. 

This month we were challenged to find the ultimate mashed potato recipe.  Sounded simple enough as everyone seems to have what they consider a wonderful mashed potato recipe but as I was reading through all the various recipes, nothing struck me.  Don’t get me wrong, they all sounded delicious, some with simple additions some with a myriad of ingredients, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, bacon, garlic, herbs and spices but just nothing called to me.  So I looked in a different direction and there were cakes and brownies which had mashed potatoes as one of the ingredients but still, I was uninspired.   Then it happened, I was having lunch with a friend and was happily enjoying some Aloo Tikki,  It struck me, Aloo Tikki are essentially wonderfully seasoned mashed potatoes fried up into little patties, Brilliant!  I was finally inspired so off I went looking for the my ultimate mashed potato recipe in the form of Aloo Tikki and I found it at Arundhuti’s My Saffron Kitchen.  The recipe was simple and the pictures captivating so I was ready to cook…well once I picked up some potatoes. 

I changed the spices in the recipe somewhat to utilize what I had available at home and also to adjust it to my tastes and in the end I have to say, I made some ultimate Aloo Tikki and and I think they qualify as the ultimate mashed potato recipe of the month.  If you think so too, I’d appreciate your vote on the links below.  I hope too that you’ll give Aloo Tikki a try and remember if you have some regular mashed potatoes, they could easily be used as the base for these.

My beautiful Maisie Miao Miao helped by mashing the boiled potatoes.

We mixed all the ingredients together in one big bowl and then using a large cookie scoop I portioned out the potato mixture.

I patted down the scoops to make patties, each about 1/4-inch thick.

I coated the outside of the patties with a cornmeal & cornstarch mixture.

 In about 1/8-inch of oil, I fried the Aloo Tikki.

 Once browned on the first side I carefully turned and browned the other side.

  Crispy on the outside, creamy spicy potatoes on the inside and the peas have a nice little pop when you bite into them, perfection!

Aloo Tikki  (Adapted  from here)

2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and boiled until easily pierced by a knife
1 cup frozen sweet peas
1 medium onion, finely minced (I used Vidalia)
2 green Thai chilies, seeded and minced finely
1 red Thai chili, seeded and minced finely
2 1/2 tsp. amchur powder (dried mango powder)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 TBS. finely grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
salt to taste
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup cornstarch
Oil to shallow fry (I used peanut oil)

Drain and mash the potatoes in a large bowl.  Add the peas, minced onion, minced green & red Thai chilies, amchur powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, grated ginger, fresh cilantro and ground pepper.  Mix well and add salt to taste.  Using a large cookie scoop portion out the potato mixture.  Flatten each ball to approximately 1/4 –inch thick.  In a bowl mix together the cornmeal and cornstarch and then coat each patty lightly with the mixture.  In a large fry pan heat approximately 1/8-inch of oil.  Fry the tikkis on both sides until golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack lined with paper towels to drain the excess oil.  Salt if desired and serve hot with ketchup or a chutney of your choice.

Enjoy!