Chole Tikiya/Tikki Chole

Chole-Tikiya (CT) is one of my most favorite dish and my whole family and friends love it too. There are hundred types of Chaat items, but this is the king (queen!) of all.

Hint: If you ever plan to go Jaipur, do not forget to visit Bapu Bazaar for Chaat and Gol-Guppe (aka Paani-Poori). I don’t know how the vendors out there make it, but they are out of the world.

Now I am not "that great" cook but I make decent CT. I mean they are not bad ;-)

Here is my style of making CT, hope you will like it!

FOR THE TIKIYA

3 Mashed Potato (boil them, peel the skin and mash it)
Salt - to taste
½ tsp. Chili powder
2 tsp. Oil (prefer Olive Oil)
½ tsp. Black Pepper Powder
½ tsp. Mango Powder (Amchoor)
1 tsp. dry Mint Powder (to add taste)
3-4 Green Chilies (cut into small pieces)
½ tsp. Garam Masala Powder
3-4 Bread slices (grind them in mixer)
Some almonds, cashew nuts & raisins for filling (Optional)

Add all of the above ingredients in a bowl and mix them properly. Make small balls of the mixture and press them lightly to flat it. This is your raw Tikiya.
In a non-stick pan, pour 2 tsp. oil and heat it lightly. Do not over heat the oil but sufficient enough for shallow fry. Put the raw Tikiya in pan and shallow fry it. Turn them regularly until they turn brown and crispy on both the side. Once done, put them on tissue paper to remove extra oil.

You are all set with Tikiya.


FOR THE CHOLE:

2 Onions - chopped
1 tsp. ginger garlic paste
2-3 Green Chilies
2 Tomato - paste
2 tsp. Whole Masala (black pepper corns, corriander seeds, cardamom, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, clove)
Salt - according to taste
½ tsp. Chili powder
2 tsp. Coriander powder
¼ tsp. Turmeric powder
2 Bowls Boiled Chick Peas (Chole)
2 tsp. Chole Masala (prefer MDH brand)

Heat the oil in a pan and add Whole Masala in it. Fry for 1 minute and then add onions, some salt (so that Onions leaves the moisture fast & turn red faster), and ginger garlic paste. Stir them till the onions turn brownish red or fried.

To the above mixture, add all the powder masala and stir for at least 5 min. Add tomato paste and cover the pan. Lower the gas and let it be there for 10-15 minutes till masala leaves the oil.

Once the masala is ready, add all the Chick Peas and take 2-3 boils. That’s it...you are done.

Garnish it with coriander, Tamarind Chutney and add some Mint Coriander Chutney for zing.

Hope you liked my recipe. Try with it and don’t forget to update me. Your suggestions are always welcome.