Aloo Tikki Chaat

Despite having moved to London in August, I feel like I’ve hardly seen the city. This is down to a combination of factors; I’ve been working on my PhD (an alarming truth), I’ve been tired (thanks a lot, underactive thyroid) and like most PhD students I’ve been paranoid that going out and doing something for an afternoon makes me a bad person who is doomed to fail. But one Sunday morning, rather than sitting slumped in front of my laptop madly planning my research schedule in different coloured pens (and not actually achieving anything, of course), I went outside, crossed the river, hit up the Tate Modern, then walked to Borough Market.

I limited myself to spending ten pounds only, which is quite a challenge in such a tourist trap. Tourism aside, I still really enjoy forcing my way through the crowds and seeing the displays of fish, cheese, bread and game. It was lunchtime and I duly scanned the pop-up stalls and settled on a veggie option- aloo tikki chaat, otherwise known as spicy chickpeas topped with little potato cakes and slathered in sweet and sour chutneys, pomegranate seeds and yoghurt. Made from chickpea flour and lightly spiced, sev would normally be the crowning glory here- those little stick-like bits in your Bombax Mix? That's sev. But I’m afraid I didn’t happen to have any hanging around in my cupboards, so I went without. If you can get hold of some, sprinkle on top before eating.

For me, this dish was the food of victory. I’d gone outside, after all. Yes, I may have needed a sleep in the afternoon after all the excitement, but that’s beside the point. I made it for Roger a week later and it’s his “new favourite meal”. Praise from Caesar!  Give it a go if you’ve got a bit of mash lurking around and you can’t face bubble and squeak. 

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

For the chickpeas:

½ red onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 can chickpeas, drained 

1 dessertspoon ginger paste

1 tablespoon tomato puree

1 teaspoon each cumin powder, ground coriander, chilli powder, garam masala and cumin seeds

Pinch sugar

½ chicken or vegetable stock cube.

For the aloo tikki:

About 1 large handful of leftover, cold mash (not sure what the correct term is for a measurement of mash, a cupful? A little more than a leftover portion made eight small patties for me)

¼ red onion, finely chopped

1 green chilli, finely chopped

1 teaspoon each ground ginger, ground coriander, cumin powder

1 tablespoon each cornflour and semolina.

To serve:

Natural yoghurt

Pomegranate seeds

Finely diced cucumber

¼ red onion, soaked in 1 dessertspoon of vinegar, mixed with a big pinch of sugar

Chutney- traditional recipes call for both green and sweet tamarind chutney; having neither, I made something as close to a sweet-sour chutney as I could, by putting a couple of dessertspoons of red onion chutney in a small food processor with a big squeeze of lemon, some chilli sauce and a vinegary red pepper sauce. I whizzed it up to get a loose consistency. Anything sweet-sour-spicy that springs to mind will be nice!

Method:

1) Begin by making the chickpeas. In a frying pan, heat the oil and fry the red onion for a few minutes until soft. Add in the garlic and cook for a further minute, before tipping in the chickpeas. 

2) Stir in the ginger paste and tomato puree, the spices and pinch of sugar. Crumble over the chicken or vegetable stock cube, and then pour over enough water to cover (just fill the can from the chickpeas). Season with salt, and leave to bubble gently for 20-25 mins, until tender.

3) While the chickpeas are cooking, make the potato cakes: mix the mash with the red onion, green chilli and spices. Shape into small balls, just smaller than a ping pong ball, and squash slightly to form patties. 

4) Roll the patties in the cornflour/semolina mixture and fry in a little oil, until they are golden brown on both sides.

5) To assemble the dish, divide the chickpeas between two bowls and top with 3-4 potato cakes. Dollop over a little yoghurt and a spoonful of chutney, then sprinkle over red onion, pomegranate seeds and diced cucumber. If you have it, a little fresh coriander and sev wouldn’t go amiss!