Aloo Tikki (crispy-fried potato patties)

-Serves 4-5

Did you know that the India has some of the most amazing (mostly vegetarian) street food in the world? Not too far from where I grew up, a Sindhi man set up his “cholay patty” stall each evening. Everyday he would shape hundreds of spiced potato patties and pan-fry them on this gigantic cast-iron pan. The crispy-golden beauties were then placed in individual palm-leaf bowls, topped with spiced chickpea curry (cholay - recipe here), chopped onion, and hot coriander chutney. Every evening as the sun started to set, men, women and children (many times including me) queued up by his little hawker stall, and devoured this scrumptious combination of flavors and textures with savory buns called Pav. The recipe below is exactly like the street-food version I enjoyed as a child, and is best served with a firm savory bun like ciabatta or Turkish pide - enjoy!

Ingredients for Aloo Tikki

500g potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
2 fresh bird’s eye chilies, finely chopped
1 teaspoon mango powder
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 cup coriander leaves, finely chopped
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup olive oil, for frying

Recipe

In a large saucepan, bring potatoes and 6 cups of water to a boil. Lower heat, cover and cook for about 30-50 minutes (depending on size) until done. (Alternatively, you can pressure cook potatoes: place rinsed potatoes in a pressure cooker and add just enough water to cover them. Fix the lid and cook potatoes on medium flame until pressure is full. Reduce heat to low, and cook for 5-7 minutes. Take the pressure cooker off the heat and rest for 30 minutes before opening it.)
Once potatoes are cooked, drain excess water. Cool them down, peel off skin and mash them using a potato masher.
Next add salt, fresh chillies, mango powder, chili powder, coriander leaves and bread crumbs. Mix well using your hands.
Heat oil on medium heat in a large non-stick frying pan. Now, using golf sized balls make flat patties out of the potato mix.
Reduce heat to low-medium. Place patties and cook for 12-15 minutes, flipping occasionally until crispy and dark brown on both sides.
Serve hot Aloo Tikki as an appetizer with coriander chutney (recipe here) or as a complete meal topped with curried chickpeas (chana masala - recipe here), coriander chutney (recipe here), a sprinkle of chopped onions with a side of savory buns.