Aloo Tikki & Corn Bhel (Indian Street Food Fare)

It would be no exaggeration if I said that one of India’s culinary glories is its comforting street food which offers a myriad of flavours with almost every street corner lined with mobile food vendors (or shall we say restaurants-on-wheels) selling sumptuous snack delicacies.Infact the mushrooming snack joints speaks volumes of how street food is a way of life to the common man and the elite who relish the irresistable rich tapestry of flavours these snacks have to offer,not to mention that it is easy on one’s pocket as well.

There’s something mystical and magical about Indian street food indulgence with the flavours sinking into the food cooked in the open, right before our eyes,the aromas awakening our senses which in turn fires the appetite and its hard for the taste buds to resist the temptation of these freshly made, mouth-watering,wide variety of snacks like pani puri,bhel puri,masala vada,pav bhaji,dahi bhalla,aloo tikki,mirchi bajji,kebabs and papdi chaat to name a few.

Today I prepared not one but two potato based snacks because they not only happen to be my favourites but my husband's all time favourite snacks as well.He suggested we go to our regular street food hawker for some hot chaat this evening and I surprised him by preparing them at home for dinner.So one of the snacks I prepared was Aloo Tikki or Potato cutlets which are pan fried patties,with a crispy exterior and soft interior,made from boiled potatoes,green peas,bread, garam masala,chilli pwd,ginger and lemon.These tikkis are traditionally served with mint and cilantro chutney(green chutney) or a tangy tamarind(imli) chutney.

Aloo Tikki
Ingredients:

1/4 kg potatoes boiled and grated
1/4 cup of boiled and mashed green peas
2 slices white bread toasted a bit and made into a coarse pwd
2-3 green chillies finely chopped
1" ginger grated
3 tbsps of chopped fresh coriander leaves finely chopped
salt to taste
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp chaat masala (optional)
1 tsp roasted cumin pwd
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
ghee/oil for shallow frying

Boil potatoes and cool them before grating them.Add the rest of the ingredients except the ghee and mix well.Roll into lemon sized balls and flatten them and shape into cutlets or round burger shaped patties and flatten them a bit.
Heat 1 tbsp ghee on a griddle and add 3 to 4 tikkis at a time and let them cook on slow fire till a crisp golden color crust is formed on both the sides.Remove on absorbent paper and serve with tamarind chutney.

Aloo Tikki can be served in a number of ways and one way is to drizzle some green chutney over the tikkis or just plain tamarind chutney and the other is to pour some beaten curd and tamarind chutney with a sprinkling of coriander leaves.Now that's what I call a hard to resist,absolutely lip smacking,inviting snack..:).

Corn Bhel,another delicious snack,is a crunchy spicy sweet chaat or salad,prepared with corn kernels,onions,tomatoes,coriander leaves,sev(crisp lentil based savoury),boiled chick peas,crushed roasted peanuts and drizzled with tamarind chuntey (dip)giving it a spicy, sweet and tangy flavour.

Corn Bhel
Ingredients:

3 tbsps of sev
2 tbsp of crushed roasted peanuts
1 boiled potato diced into small cubes
¼ cup of boiled chick peas (kabuli channa)- optional
small cup of boiled corn kernel
1 small onion chopped finely
1 green chilli finely chopped
1 small tomato de-seeded and chopped finely
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
big pinch of chaat masala pwd(optional)
¼ tsp red chilli pwd
½ tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste

Combine all the ingredients and just before serving drizzle with tamarind chutney.The above ingredients would make 2 portions and is a meal by itself.If sev (gram flour based crispy savoury)isn't available,dont worry,as it tastes great even without it.

Tamarind Date Chutney is a brown color,sweet and sour flavored dipping sauce made with tamarind pulp and pureed dates.It is generally used as a stir in with chaats or salads or drizzled over deep fried savoury snacks.

Ingredients:

1 cup tamarind pulp
½ cup fresh dates pureed
3/4 cup grated jaggery or brown Sugar
1/2 tsp red chilli pwd
1 tsp cumin pwd
1 tsp saunf pwd (aniseed)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp jeera powder
2 cups water

Add the tamarind pulp, chopped dates,grated jaggery and water to a pan and cook on a medium flame stirring once in a while and once the dates and tamarind turn soft turn off heat and allow the mixture to cool.Grind to a smooth paste.
Heat this ground sauce in a vessel on medium flame and cook it for 2-3 minutes.Add the spices and mix well.Bring to a boil and turn off heat.Cool and serve.

Note: This chutney should have more of a sweeter flavour and less sour.So check the taste before turning off the heat and if you find that its more sour,add some more grated jaggery.This sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for a few weeks.

You can also check out Meenal's Aloo Tikki recipe here.

Aloo Tikki and Corn Bhel are my entries for this week's Virtual Recipe Club started by Alysha of The Savoury Note Book and the guest food blogger Biscuit Girl of Your Gonna Eat All That is hosting this week's VRC and the theme chosen by her is Potatoes.These delicious snacks which are my hubby's favorites are also my entries for 'Cooking With Love' theme for this month started by Meenakshi of Hooked On Heat.

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