Chatpata, often used to describe chaat, is a Hindi word without an English equivalent. My Matar Tikki Chaat, celebrating the bounty of winter-fresh, sweet green peas turned out to be deliciously chatpata(a combination of tangy, salty and hot flavours). I had stuffed them with a paneer and raisin filling. If you’re a chaat lover, you must try this green version of the usual aloo tikki. I’ve included recipes for the sweet, tamarind chutney and green, mint (pudina) chutney too intricate post.
How to perfect your matar tikki
- A tikki, made from potatoes or peas is basically just a patty seasoned with fresh aromatics like green chillies, ginger and onions along with ground cumin, coriander and chillies, Kala namak or rock salt and chaat masala. A perfect tikki is the base of the chaat, must be well seasoned with punchy flavours and have a crisp, golden crust. I’m sharing my tips to ensure that you get your Matar Tikki Chaat on point.
- I used a combination of fresh green peas and potatoes to make tikkis. Boil the potatoes a few hours or the evening before the day you plan to make your chaat. Refrigerating the potatoes will dry up any residual moisture. This will ensure that your tikkis crisp up nicely. Also, while cooling, some of the carbohydrates will turn into resistant starch that takes longer to digest. This doesn’t cause a sugar spike and helps regulate blood sugar.
- I prefer grating the boiled and cooled potatoes rather than mashing them. This makes the tikkis lighter. Mashing makes potatoes gummy and sticky. Handle the potatoes with a light hand, kneading and continuous mashing will result in dense, heavy tikkis.
- A Matar Tikki Chaat should have a vibrant green rather than an unappetising grey-green colour. For the peas to retain their colour, gently boil them for 7-8 minutes, drain and immediately dunk them in ice water to stop their internal heat from cooking them any further. Once cooled, drain well.
- I like my tikkis to have some bite and texture and not be pasty. So I mash the peas very roughly to retain their taste and character.
- Chilling the shaped tikkis in the fridge for an hour before frying will help them to crisp up nicely.
- These tikkis should be shallow fried on medium heat – very low heat will make them suck-up oil and high heat will burn them. Be patient while frying. Allow them to cook for 5-6 minutes on each side before flipping. Also don’t flip them more than once.
Accompaniments for Matar Tikki Chaat
Sweet tamarind chutney with dry ginger (saunth ki chutney)
Hot and tangy mint, fresh coriander and green chilli chutney (pudina chutney)
Natural yoghurt whisked with rock salt (kala namak), roasted cumin powder and chilli powder
Thin sev (savoury chickpea floss)
Chaat masala (store bought)
Roasted cumin powder
Red chilli powder
Finely chopped raw onions
Finely chopped fresh coriander
Pomegranate arils (optional)
How to assemble the chaat
A plate of Matar Tikki Chaat has the tikkis (usually 2) as the base. Yoghurt, tamarind chutney and green chutney are then slathered on top. They’re followed by sev and chopped onions. Then a sprinkling of chaat masala, chilli powder and cumin powder with a final sprinkle of pomegranate and fresh coriander. The quantity of each accompaniment depends on personal taste, so I normally lay out everything and let people make their own chaat. Chaat is creative, freestyle food and you can make it your own by adding innovative chutneys and garnishes.
Matar Tikki Chaat
Ingredients
For the tikkiis
- 350 g fresh green peas, shelled, washed, boiled, cooled and coarsely mashed
- 200 g potatoes, boiled, cooled, chilled and grated
- 3 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- 3 green chillies, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely minced
- ½ tsp red chilli powder
- ½ tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp roasted cumin powder
- 1 tsp chaat masala
- Salt
- Neutral oil / ghee for shallow frying
For the paneer filling
- 30 g soft paneer, crumbled
- 1 tbsp onions, finely chopped
- ¼ tsp cumin (jeera)
- 12 raisins
- Salt
- 1 tsp oil / ghee
For the sweet tamarind chutney
- 3 tbsp tamarind paste
- 5 tbsp jaggery powder
- 1 tsp rock salt
- ½ tsp dry ginger (saunth) powder
- ½ tsp aniseed (saunf) powder
- ¼ tsp red chilli powder
- 6 tbsp water
For the mint chutney
- A big handful of fresh mint leaves, washed
- A big handful of fresh coriander leaves, washed
- 2 fresh green chillies
- 1 small clove of garlic (optional)
- Juice of a walnut-sized lemon
- Salt
- Water as needed
For the masala yoghurt
- 300 g fresh, natural yoghurt
- 1 tsp rock salt
- 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
- ½ tsp chaat masala
- ¼ tsp chilli powder
Instructions
- To make the paneer filling, heat ghee in a pan and crackle the cumin seeds, Fry the onions till soft and add the paneer and salt and sauté for 2-3 mins till the paneer is soft. Add the raisins, cook for 30 seconds more and set aside to cool.
- To make the tikkis, mix together all the ingredients with a light hand, until combined. Shape into 8 tikkis. Make an indentation in the centre using your thumb, fill with 1 heaped tsp of the paneer filling, gather the edges, close the tikki and reshape. Chill in the fridge.
- To make the green mint chutney, put all the ingredients in a blender, add a little water and process till you have a smooth chutney of pouring consistency. Correct the seasoning and add a little more water if needed. Decant into a bowl, cover and set aside.
- To make the sweet tamarind chutney, dilute the tamarind paste with water in a small saucepan, add the jaggery powder, mix and bring to a simmer. Let this mixture simmer till it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add rock salt, dry ginger, aniseed and chilli powder. Cook for 30 seconds, taste and adjust the seasoning and spices, add a little more water if needed (it must have a pouring consistency) and turn off the heat. Cool, cover and set aside.
- To make the masala yoghurt, whisk the yoghurt with rock salt, chaat masala and roasted cumin and chilli powder till the yoghurt is lump-free and the spices are well combined.
- Heat enough oil in a flat pan on medium flame for shallow frying. When the oil is hot but not smoking, fry 2-3 tikkis at a time. fry for 5 min on one side or till the edges are golden brown. Then, gently flip the tikkis and cook the other side for 5 min or till the tikkis are crisp on both sides. Drain on paper towels and assemble the chaat.
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