Lentil Cutlet/Chop/Patties
Dal ki Tikki
Mamta Gupta
Vegetarian cutlets, or tikkies as they are called in the Northern parts of India, are very popular as snacks and are sold by ‘chat wallahs’, the street hawkers of India. They are made from all sorts of vegetables, often mixed with mashed potatoes as a base. Here, I have made them with dal. They taste different but nice! Makes about 8.
Ingredients
1 cup arhar or tuvar or toor dal (pigeon peas) or chana dal (split Bengal gram/back chickpeas). You can make them with dry peas too, the ones that look like chickpeas.
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2-3 tbs. besan (Bengal Gram/chickpeqa flour) or maida (plain white flour) to bind the dal
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped (adjust to taste)
1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated or finely chopped
A handful of coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp. roast cumin seeds, coarsely ground
1/2 tsp. Garam Masala
Oil for pan frying
Instructions
Wash the dal/peas and soak in warm water for a couple of hours.
Place in pressure cooker with 1 1/2 cup of water and cook under full pressure for 5 minutes. Peas may take a few minutes more, perhaps 8-10 minutes. The resulting dal must be thick like dough when it is ready.
Allow to cool the pressure cooker before opening.
Take the dal out in a bowl and leave aside to cool completely.
Add flour, onion, ginger, green chilli, coriander leaves, cumin and garam masala. Taste and adjust seasoning. Leave in the fridge for a few hours for the flavours to mix.
Take small portions, about a tablespoon, at a time and make into burger shapes or flat pear shapes.
Heat oil in a frying pan and fry 2-4 of these tikkis at a time, until crisp on both side. Be careful during turning over, they can be rather fragile.
Serve straight off the pan, with Green Mango Chutney or Imli Chutney or Chilli Sauce.
Notes
Also see Chaat Selection.
