34 METRO Tuesday, July 15, 2014 follow Chloe Scott Eat recipe quest @ChloeScottM The hottest Indian street food Chloe Scott indianasapplepie.com. It provides cooks both a genteel flavour and beautiful

tried and tested OLI JONES sunset colour. recipes to make the Madhur Jaffrey includes fresh coriander and mustard seeds. ultimate aloo tikki I love the coriander but prefer asafoetida over mustard seeds – LOO tikki is one of it still gives a truffley nudge but the most popular street there’s a garlicky note too. foods in northern India. The spicing needs to be complex A Made of potatoes, to compensate for the plain veg often with peas, and used. A beautiful new book, Meera with a decent chilli kick, it is a Sodha’s Made In India (Penguin), cheap, tongue-tingling snack achieves complexity with a red served with a rich chutney and onion, a green chilli and ginger minty yoghurt sauce. With its paste, cumin, garam masala, crisp shell and soft, spiced interior, chilli powder and fresh coriander. the patty is comforting vegetarian The red onion really makes grub at its best. a difference, sweetening the chilli, Traditionally, they are fried by while the cumin rocks with the roadside vendors on a tava, an fresh coriander. enormous hot circular plate. They’re doused with chutney and FRY UP sometimes smashed between With spices decided on, it’s time a bun. You’ll find aloo tikki sold on to cook. Ghai suggests: ‘Coat aloo road sides from Delhi to the Punjab. tikki with haldiram aloo bhujia But Jamshedpur-born Michelin- (little starchy crispy bites often starred chef Atul Kochhar found in Bombay mix) before benaresrestaurant.com) believes shallow frying. It will create a their spiritual home is Lucknow, crispy outer shell with all the the capital city of Utter Pradesh. Veggie snack: Aloo tikki is a spicy mixture of potatoes and peas, served with a rich chutney and mint yoghurt moisture retained inside. It also ‘Chowk ki tikki [another word for gives further texture and taste to aloo tikki] is a famous food street Lucknow,’ says Kochhar. ‘Lucknow I miss their green sweetness year so I knock at their kitchen the mixture.’ My result is a bit theatre in the gastronomic city of has a long food tradition and its plus they are in season now so I’d doors. Head chef Rohit Ghai crumbly, probably due to my own cuisine, called awadhi.’ like to use them. shares his recipe for aloo tikki poor technique. I find my solution in Anjum with peshawari choley. I toast For frying, Kochhar says: ‘The THE GREEN BIT Anand’s recipe on uktv.co.uk. cumin until it starts to crackle, pan shouldn’t be too hot or Most of the recipes I try have She stuffs the peas inside the then add cooked, grated potato, smoking. The best results are peas in the spicy mash, which mashed potato, leaving a smooth, ginger, green chilli, salt, toasted achieved on a medium heat.’ I find results in quite a chunky crisp shell. cumin seeds, lemon juice and Deep frying is a little greasy but exterior, nothing like the coriander. The ginger enlivens with a shallow fry over medium to high vendors’ smooth-surfaced SPICE ’EM UP its camphorous heat. It balances heat caramelises the outside well. crisp snacks in India. Critical to my piquant patties too so well with the lemon, offering All that’s left is to follow Sodha’s Kochhar peels and grates are the spices. London restaurants a refreshing sourness after the advice to ‘eat your tikki like a real his potatoes. This results in Gymkhana (gymkhanalondon.com) initial hit of spicy salty potatoes. Indian’ – dunk them into some a comforting croquette-style of and Trishna (trishnalondon.com) Cookery writer Anupy Singla chutney and a little mint yoghurt Test plate: Meera Sodha uses red onions tikki but he doesn’t include peas. have had a lot of press in the past uses turmeric in her recipe on with chillies.

CHLOE’S ULTIMATE ALOO TIKKI RECIPE

INGREDIENTS Serves 4-6 very finely chopped♦ 1-2 thin Step 2 In a non-stick frying green chillies, finely chopped♦ You’ll need a good non-stick frying ♦ ♦ Half a lemon, squeezed 1 bunch fry the asafoetida, turmeric pan 500g Maris Piper potatoes, fresh coriander, finely chopped peeled ♦ 1tsp asafoetida ♦ 1tsp ♦ ♦ ♦ Salt to taste low heat. Mix the spices into cumin 1½tsp turmeric 2tbsp the potato. Add the flour to flour♦ Oil or butter for frying The chutney: 1 red onion, finely chopped ♦ 1 tin 400g chopped the potato and mix. Season tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, with salt and pepper. Taste The filling: 80g garden peas ♦ Step 7 ♦ quartered 2cm ginger, peeled and check you’re happy with Heat 1tbsp oil or (frozen are OK) 4cm knob of ♦ ♦ and grated 1tsp cumin seeds the seasoning. ♦ ♦ 1tsp coriander seeds 4tbsp Step 3 In the same frying ♦ 3tbsp white wine ♦ pan, cook the onion until it’s 2tsp tamarind paste translucent. Stir in the ginger, 100ml plain chilli and add the peas. Cook for Now evenly stuff the mashed peas ♦ 1 handful mint leaves, about 2min on a low to medium into the hole. Squeeze over the top without squashing them – and ♦ 1 green chilli, chopped heat. Sprinkle in the salt, lemon of the potato so it’s closed. Squash cook them on the first side for ♦ salt and pepper juice, and fresh coriander. Season each ball down carefully into patty about 3min. Resist the temptation to shuffle them about or turn METHOD Step 1 with salt and pepper. Mash a little shapes. Put in the fridge for 30min Peel the in the pan so they’re crushed but to an hour to firm up. them over. When they are golden retain texture. Step 5 and crispy, flip them over with a Make the mint yoghurt by spatula. Repeat the process until Step 4 Divide the potato into 6-8 combining all the ingredients. you’ve cooked them all. Serve portions. Shape each into a ball. Step 6 To make the chutney, dry- each portion warm with 1tbsp With your thumb, make a deep fry the chutney spices in a pan. Then of the mint yoghurt and 1tbsp depression in each ball for the filling. add 2tbsp oil. Tip in the onions and of the chutney.