What is Aloo Tikki?
Aloo tikki is a popular North Indian street food and snack made from boiled potatoes mixed with various spices and herbs, formed into patties, and shallow-fried until golden brown and crispy on the outside. The term "aloo" translates to potatoes, and "tikki" refers to a small cutlet or croquette. To make aloo tikki, boiled potatoes are mashed and combined with ingredients such as chopped onions, green chilies, ginger, coriander leaves, and a blend of spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric, and chaat masala. This mixture is shaped into round patties or flattened discs and then shallow-fried until crispy and golden on both sides. Aloo tikki is often served hot and accompanied by various chutneys, such as tamarind chutney, mint chutney, or yogurt-based sauces, along with a sprinkle of chaat masala and sev .
Ingredients
The russet potato, is also known as the baking potato or Idaho potato and has a thin skin that is a brownish grey. The russet is larger than other varieties and has a diameter of 2-4 inches and an oblong shape. When cooked, the inside is white with a texture that is creamy and and lightly flaky and has a moist starchy quality. The flavor of the russet is mild, bland, creamy and earthy. The flavor is greatly aided by salt. The russet can be boiled, baked, fried or cooked to make its hard texture soft and edible.
Breadcrumbs are made from dry bread. The bread is crumbled, dehydrated and ground into a coarse meal. Breadcrumbs are extremely dry, crunchy and have a mild wheat flavor. The are often a light brown or off white in color. Breadcrumbs are used in much of the Western world as a crunchy coating to meats, fish and deep fried croquettes.
The onion is a bulb vegetable, meaning its bulb and not its leaves are eaten. Onions come in many varieties, including white, yellow and red. Shallots are small and mild onions. Vidalias are sweet, while red onions are strong and sharp. The onion is usually round and has a thin dry skin around its juicy layers. This skin depends in the color of the onion, as does the flesh. The flesh, or body of the onion is made of multiple round layers, that get smaller towards the center. The flavor of onions are sharp and sweet when raw, with an astringent taste. When cooked, these flavors mellow and the sweetness emerges. Onion are a very common flavoring and ingredient for many savory dishes.
Eggs are an incredibly versatile protein and binder. Most eggs used in cooking come from hens and are usually unfertilized. Eggs are oval shaped and roughly 53 mm in length and 40 mm in width. Eggs have a hard, but thin and delicate shell that is brown or white and occasionally green. Inside is the clear and glossy white, with a slimy texture and in the center is the yellow opaque, round shaped yolk. Once cooked, the whites become opaque. Eggs can be scrambled, fried, boiled, and more. They are used in desserts and baked goods as a binder. Egg is also used as a wash to glaze items or dip meat into before breading it. The flavor is mild and sulfurous. It has many uses.
The green chili pepper is a spicy vegetable by culinary standards, but botanically it's a fruit. Green chili peppers have thin, green bodies with a tapered bottom. They are 2-3 inches in length with a one inch diameter. Their skin is a medium shade of green and is shiny and very thin. The flesh of the pepper is thin too and contains hot seeds in its center. It is an extra hot chili with a wonderful flavor and used in many dishes to add heat.
Lemon juice is made from the flesh of the pulpy yellow lemon fruit. The juice is squeezed from the flesh of the lemon and is a pale yellow color. The flavor is very sour and bright. Lemon juice is used in multiple cuisines around the world to brighten and enhance the flavors of the other ingredients. Lemon juice is used to make lemonade and goes well on fish. It has many uses.
Salt is a mineral composed mostly of sodium chloride. It is the main flavoring used in food and is naturally occurring in certain foods, such as cheese, beets, meat and celery, plus many others. Salt is white and has finer granules than sugar. Many commercial salts include iodide, while others exclude it. Most salts are white, while some are naturally pale pink with minerals. Salt brings out the flavor of something and can create a tangy mouthfeel, if used in excess.
Mint is a leafy herb with 13 to 18 species and grows in a bushy mass of thin stalks containing small, oblong green leaves with tapered ends. The leaves have indented lines and are delicate and get sturdier the more mature the plant is. They are highly aromatic and have a flavor that is green, zesty, sweet and ends on a cool note. Mint is used as a tea, sauce and herb to flavor sweet and savory foods.
Cilantro is a leafy herb with a thin green stalk and small, partially fringed green leaves that look similar to a three leaf clover. It has a distinct smell that is similar to a lime and a flavor to match that. In addition, it smells and tastes the same and has a strong flavor with a hint of greens. Due to a genetic trait, some people find that cilantro tastes like soap. This herb is used in many cuisines, particularly from Asia and Central and South America.
Botanically the chili pepper is a fruit, in culinary terms it is a vegetable. There are a number of varieties of red chili peppers. Some common ones used for spice powders include the piri piri, cayenne, pasilla, New Mexico chile and chile de árbol, among others. Each pepper is red and has a thin skin, with a thin flesh and seeds inside the middle of the pepper. The peppers are dried and ground into a powder that can be used in cooking. The heat level of each kind of red chili will vary as will the flavor, but it is always hot and some may be smoky, will others are earthy or bright.
Garam masala is a well known and popular Indian spice mix, used in a multitude of dishes throughout Indian cuisine and is sometimes found in fusion recipes as well. There are different variations of garam masala, however; some of the common spices include coriander, cumin, cinnamon, ginger and black pepper. Nutmeg, cloves, mace and other spices may be added. The general flavor of garam masala is sweet and a bit spicy with a very warm quality. This powder is brown and typically used in smaller amounts.
The peppercorn plant grows in tropical climate and produces tiny black fruit. The fruit is dried and become hard. At this point it is ground into a textured powder comprised of black and grey dots. It has a flavor that is spicy, pungent and sharp. Pepper is an extremely popular spice, especially in Western cuisines and lends a gentle heat to dishes. There are different varieties of black pepper and the flavor changes subtly because of this.
Cumin is a spice used in many cuisines around the world. The seed from which cumin is ground is a thin seed with a long body and tapered ends. Cumin is just a few millimeters in length and has a light brown or tan tone, which can look a bit grey. Ground cumin is light brown and has a flavor that is spicy, earthy and a little nutty. When pan heated, the flavor of cumin is both tempered and enhanced.
Coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant. These seeds are a warm beige color with a round and slightly oblong body. The seeds are commonly ground into powder and tastes citrusy, warm, and spicy.
Cumin is a spice used in many cuisines around the world. The seed which cumin is ground from, has a thin and long body with tapered ends. Cumin is just a few millimeters in length and has a light brown or tan tone, which can look a bit grey. The flavor is spicy, earthy and nutty.
