Air fryer aloo tikki (spiced potato patties) with chickpeas
Crisp, golden spiced potato patties from the air fryer, topped street-food style with warm chickpeas, cool yogurt, onion and cilantro.
- 55 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $1.92 a serving
- 410 calories
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 3 russet potatoes, about 1½ lb, peeled and cubed
- ½ cup frozen peas, thawed
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 serrano pepper, minced
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped, divided
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 lemon
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ red onion, finely chopped
From your pantry
- 1¾ tsp salt, divided
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1½ tsp ground cumin, divided
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp sugar
Each serving has about 410 calories, 18 g protein, 63 g carbs and 11 g fat, and costs about $1.92 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No russet potatoes? Yukon Gold potatoes work.
- No frozen peas? Frozen mixed vegetables work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No plain Greek yogurt? Plain yogurt or sour cream works.
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the potatoes in a pot of water with 1 teaspoon salt until very soft, about 15 minutes. and let them dry in the colander for 5 minutes.
Boil. Boiling means heating a liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. It’s the fastest way to cook pasta, potatoes and eggs, because it’s as hot as water gets.
How you’ll know: Bubbles are breaking across the whole surface, not just at the edges, and steam is rising.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Steam. Steaming means cooking food over or in a little simmering water with a lid on to trap the steam. It cooks gently and keeps vegetables bright and tender.
How you’ll know: The color turns vivid, and a fork goes in with just a little resistance.
High heatTimer: 15 min
Dolly’s tip: Dry potatoes make firm patties. Wet ones turn gluey and fall apart.Mash the potatoes, then mix in the peas, cornstarch, garam masala, 1 teaspoon cumin, the ginger, serrano, half the cilantro and ½ teaspoon salt. Let it cool 10 minutes.
Timer: 10 min
Shape into 12 patties about ½ inch thick and brush both sides with 1 tablespoon oil.
Air fry in one layer at 400°F until and , 12 to 15 minutes, flipping gently halfway. Work in batches.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Timer: 13 min
Meanwhile, heat the rest of the oil in a over medium heat.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heat
Add the chickpeas, the rest of the cumin, the chili powder and of salt and cook 4 minutes.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min
Squeeze in half the lemon.
the yogurt with the sugar and the last of salt until smooth.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Serve three tikki each, topped with chickpeas, a spoonful of yogurt, red onion, the rest of the cilantro and a squeeze of lemon.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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