This melt in the mouth, spiced Easy Aloo tikki, also known as aloo ki tikki or alu tikki, is a popular vegetarian snack from the Indian subcontinent. It is often referred to as an Indian hash brown as it is made with potatoes and spices. If you love Aloo Tikki, why not try it this Aloo Tikki Chaat recipe.
Boil the potatoes in a pot of boiling water (covered) on the stove top over medium heat until fork tender. At least 20 - 25 minutes.
OPTIONAL STEP - Once the potatoes are cooked and cooled, you can place them in the fridge for 5 hours to dry them out further which makes them extra cripsy. Then peel and mash. Or mash immediately as I do.
Add onions, coriander, green chili, chili flakes, cumin, salt corn flour to a large mixing bowl and mix well.
Add potato mixture to spice mixture and mash well with your hands and divide and shape into patties.
Heat vegetable oil in a pan.
Once the oil is hot, fry the tikki for 4 - 5 minutes each side.
Notes
Tips and Tricks to make Easy Aloo Tikki
Potatoes
Make sure the Potatoes are cooked throughly before removing from the water. You should easily be able to get a knife through. Equally, don’t overcook the potatoes as this results in a mushy texture.
Oil
Make sure that the oil is hot before adding tikkis and don’t add too many at once as this forces the temperature of the oil to come down.Oil that isn’t hot enough results in Tikkis that will absorb the oil and become soggy and they may also fall apart.
Leave them alone!
Don't disturb the tikkis whilst they are cooking. The outer layer needs to form a crust and disturbing them means they will break.
Cornflour
Adding this ensures that the tikki won’t fall apart. You can replace with rice flour or breadcrumbs.
How to Bake/Air fry Aloo Tikkis
You can air fry or bake the aloo Tikkis for 8 - 10 minutes at 200 C. To bake place on a lined tray and bake for 220 c/gas Mark 9 for 15 - 20 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
You can eat them as they are with a cup of chai.You can use the Aloo tikki in Aloo tikki chaat.You can have them as a burger.They also work well in:
Salads
Wraps
Sandwiches
Toasties
As a main with sides of your choice
In Buddha bowls
Perfect in Kids Lunch Boxes
As a side dish with a main like Lentil or Chana/Chickpeacurry..
Storage/Make Ahead
Fridge
Aloo Tikki can be made in advance and up to 2 days before you intend on eating them. In fact a bit of extra fridge time might do them some good.
Can they be frozen?
I don’t recommend freezing aloo tikki, as they don’t taste as good from the freezer and canIf you do want to freeze any leftovers I would suggest bread crumbing the outside first by dipping them in egg then breadcrumb.Then place on a tray and freeze until firm then remove to freezer bags or an airtight container and keep for up to a month.
Top tips and Variations for Aloo Tikki
Stuff with VegYou can add veg into the mix or into the centre of the tikkis. You could also add paneer.When we were younger my mum would add a small egg in the centre but that will need a whole separate post to explain the process.SpicesAdjust according to your taste. You can add any spices you like. Other popular additions are dry mango powder, anardana (pomegranate) powder, black salt, chaat masala.Use a different binderYou can use rice flour instead of corn flour.Dip in Egg/BreadcrumbYou can dip the mixture in egg before frying. You can also dip in breadcrumb before frying. Add LemonI have updated this recipe and removed the Lemon but feel free to add 1 tbsp Lemon Juice and up the Corn Flour by a tsp to absorb the extra moisture.