Alu Corn Tikkis

I love street food! And chaat tops the list. Alu tikkis is one of my all time favourites and I can yum up a few at one go :) Having made this a couple of times, I wanted to try a slight variation this time by adding in some corn kernels.

Bread is an important ingredient in tikkis as it provides the much needed binding between the other ingredients and holds the shape of the tikki intact. And this time I did not have bread at home, but I really really wanted to make tikki that day... so I just went on, keeping my fingers crossed that these tikkis wont disappoint me by splitting up in the pan, as I did not add in bread to the mixture. Thankfully, the tikkis behaved well and came out perfectly shaped :)

The taste was good with the crunch of the corn kernels amidst the soft potato mixture. Though the shape held well without the bread, I would definitely suggest the addition of bread, as the texture is a little better with the bread blending in the tikkis. Trust me on this... no one can eat just one! :D

Ingredients

Potatoes - 4-5, medium sized

Corn Kernels - 1/2 cup

Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Cumin Powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Oil - as needed

Corn flour - 2 tbsp

Coriander Leaves - a little

Method

• Boil the potatoes and once cooled, peel and mash.
• Par boil the corn kernels.
• In a mixing bowl, add the mashed potatoes, corn kernels, salt, red chilli powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, about 2 tsp of corn flour and a dash of oil. Combine well.
• Make small lemons sized balls from the mixture, roll them between your palms for a while and slightly flatten out ensuring there are no cracks on them. Place it on a mildly greased plate.
• Do this until all the mixture is used up.
• Place the plate in the refrigerator for about 10- 15 mins. You can even place them for longer if not using immediately. This is just to set the dough and avoid them from crumbling in the pan.

• Heat about a tbsp of oil in a shallow bottomed pan.
• Take a flattened tikkis and dip it in cornflour such that the entire surface on both sides is covered in thin layer of cornflour.
• Place it in the oil, once the pan is heated.
• Similarly, place some more tikkis in the pan.
• Allow the tikkis to roast on one side before turning it over and letting it roast on the other side too.
• Take off the stove and place it on plate lined with tissue paper.
• Serve hot with tomato ketchup :)