Spiced potato patties shallow-fried golden and served with yogurt, tamarind chutney, green chutney, spiced chickpeas and sev. The most eaten evening street snack of Uttar Pradesh — every city and town has its famous aloo tikki stall.
Ingredients
For the tikki:
4 medium potato — boiled and mashed completely smooth
2 tbsp cornflour (to help the tikkis hold shape and become crispy)
1 tsp ginger paste
2 green chilli — very finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds — dry roasted and coarsely crushed
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp amchur (dry mango powder)
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves — finely chopped
salt to taste
oil for shallow frying
For the toppings:
1/2 cup canned or boiled chickpeas — spiced with 1/2 tsp cumin powder and 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 cup yogurt — beaten smooth, chilled
sweet tamarind chutney — 3 tbsp (boil tamarind with jaggery, salt, cumin powder until thick)
green coriander chutney — 3 tbsp (blend coriander, mint, green chilli, lemon juice, salt)
chaat masala powder — 1/2 tsp
thin sev — 1/2 cup
1 small onion — very finely chopped
Method
Make perfectly smooth mashed potato: Boil 4 medium potatoes with skin until very soft — they should mash without any resistance. Peel while warm. Mash completely smooth using a potato masher or press through a fine strainer. There should be absolutely no lumps — even small lumps cause tikkis to crack when frying.
Season the potato: To the smooth mashed potato add cornflour, ginger paste, finely chopped green chilli, crushed cumin seeds, red chilli powder, amchur, coriander leaves and salt. Mix everything together thoroughly. The mixture should taste well-seasoned — a little salty, spicy and tangy from the amchur.
Divide and shape: Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions. Take one portion and roll it between your palms into a smooth ball. Then gently flatten between your palms into a round patty about 1 cm thick and 7 cm in diameter. Press the edges smooth with your fingertips. Make all 8 tikkis.
Chill the tikkis: Place the shaped tikkis on a plate. Refrigerate for 15 minutes — chilling firms them and they will hold their shape better during frying.
Make the chutneys: If making from scratch — tamarind chutney: dissolve tamarind in water, strain, cook with jaggery, salt, cumin powder and red chilli powder until thick and flowing. Green chutney: blend coriander leaves, mint, green chilli, lemon juice and salt with a little water to a smooth bright green paste.
Shallow fry the tikkis: Heat 3 to 4 tbsp oil in a flat wide pan on medium heat. Add the chilled tikkis. Fry without moving for 3 minutes until the bottom turns deep golden and crispy. Flip carefully. Fry the other side for 3 minutes.
Spice the chickpeas: In a small bowl mix the cooked chickpeas with cumin powder, red chilli powder and a pinch of salt. Heat in a pan for 2 minutes if using canned chickpeas.
Assemble on a plate: Place 2 hot tikkis on each plate. Spoon 2 to 3 tbsp spiced chickpeas on top. Drizzle cold beaten yogurt generously. Drizzle sweet tamarind chutney and green chutney.
Add final toppings: Sprinkle chaat masala powder over everything. Add finely chopped raw onion. Top with a generous handful of sev.
Serve immediately: Aloo tikki chaat must be eaten within 2 minutes of assembling — the sev goes soft very quickly. The crispy tikki, cold yogurt and crunchy sev together are the essential texture combination.
Note: Aloo Tikki Chaat is eaten at street stalls across every city in UP from 4 pm onwards. In Delhi and UP, the most famous stalls have been operating for decades with devoted regular customers. The tikki base itself is sold all across UP as a standalone snack — it is the addition of the yogurt, chutneys and chickpeas that makes it chaat. Every stall has its own chutney formula that it guards as a trade secret.