Roma's Space

Chole Tikki Chaat

A Tikki is nothing but a flattened cutlet made out of alu. Its to be eaten with Chole masala, Pudina and Tamarind chutney. In the picture you can see the set of suggested garnishes that go with Chole Tikki.

The overall time and effort to make this dish is actually quite high. Also, unlike other chaats its very heavy, so one day you can make this dish and give dinner a miss.

Ingredients :

For the tikki

• 3 potatoes
• 1/4 cup peas
• 1 teaspoon Jeera powder
• finely chopped green chillies
• finely chopped coriander leaves
• A small piece of ginger

For the Garnish

• Chole Masala
• Pudina chutney
• Tamarind chutney
• Curd (optional)
• Finely chopped onions
• Finely chopped coriander leaves
• Om podi or Fine Sev

Procedure :

For the tikki

1. Boil potatoes and peas. Mash and let them cool.
2. Add jeera powder, salt, grated ginger, green chillies, coriander leaves and mix well.
3. Make small flat cakes with wet hands and shallow fry on a hot tawa.

Serving

1. Place alu tikki on the serving plate. Add 2 tablespoons of chole masala on it.
2. Now garnish with curds (optional), pudina chutney, tamarind chutney, finely chopped onions, coriander leaves and finally sev mixture.

Please NOTE :

1. Salt in the tikki should be added carefully as chutneys and Chole masala already contain salt. The alu tikki usually contains a lot of masalas. However, in this dish we are coupling it with chole masala which is already full of spices, so we keep the tikki simple.
2. The order of garnishing needs to be followed correctly. For instance, if we put the curds or chutney on top of the sev, the sev can become soggy.

Paani Puri

With every single paani puri you can experience an explosion of flavors in your mouth. Freshly made minty water is something people like to drink like a mocktail. Its not only tasty but also helps in overall digestion just like jal jeera.

Ingredients :

• 1 cup Pudina leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon Black salt
• 1/2 teaspoon White salt
• Pinch of sugar
• Pinch of red chilly powder
• 1 teaspoon roasted jeera powder
• 1 lemon sized ball of tamarind
• 10 puris
• 1 aloo
• Handful chole (or whole green moong dal)

Procedure :

For the masala

1. Boil potatoes and cut into tiny cubes.
2. Soak channa (or moong dal) overnight. Boil them till they are soft.
3. Dry roast jeera seeds. Once brown, grind in a mortar pestle.
4. Mix channa and potatoes with some roasted jeera powder, salt and chaat masala (optional)

For the paani

1. Soak tamarind in some water and let it swell.
2. Wash pudina leaves well and puree it in a mixie jar.
3. Once puree is ready, strain it and add roasted jeera powder, black salt, white salt, red chilly powder, sugar and tamarind water.
4. Now add some plain water and taste the mix. You might need to add more salt or chilly depending on the final taste.

Serving :

1. Make a hole on the face of the puri. Fill it with the aloo masala made earlier and serve with Pudina Chutney, Tamarind chutney and paani.
2. When you are ready to eat, take the puri add both chutneys in desired quantities and dip it in the paani.

Fruit Punch

Please don’t use aerated water if this Punch is being made for children. Substitute it with milk or plain orange juice and you will be happen to discover a creamy, yummy drink for those kids who don’t like milk!

Ingredients :

• 3 tablespoons of orange squash
• 1 tablespoon of fresh cream
• 1 tablespoon of lime squash
• 1/4 cup aerated water (optional)
• 3/4 cup milk

Procedure :

1. Blend milk, cream, orange and lime squash in a mixie jar. Taste the mixture and see if you get the flavor of orange. If no, please add some more orange squash and blend again.
2. Pour into a tall glass, add plain soda (milk/orange juice) and serve chilled.

Please NOTE :

1. You can add vanilla ice cream to the drink if you don’t have fresh cream.
2. You might need to check the taste towards the end and add some sugar. It depends on whether you used cream or ice cream and how sweet your squash concentrates are.

© Roma Sharma 2007-2008

Chole Masala

This is one tasty and filling curry that can be had with anything right from samosas, tikkis and chaats to meals with rotis and rice. I usually make this when I have guests over.

Although you get chole in most restaurants today there is nothing to beat the taste that you get at home. Once you finish making it enter your kitchen after an hour and you can catch the aroma still lingering around.

Ingredients :

• 1 cup of Chole
• 3 tomatoes
• 2 onions
• 10 garlic cloves
• A small piece of ginger
• 1 green chilly
• A small piece of Dal chini
• Few pieces of Laung
• Few pieces of Choti elaichi
• 2 teaspoons of dhania powder
• 1 teaspoon of haldi powder

Procedure :

1. Soak chole overnight. Boil and cook well with about 4-5 whistles.
2. Grind onions , Ginger-garlic-green chillies, Tomatoes, each separately.
3. Roast Dal chini, Laung, Choti elaichi and grind in mortar pestle.
4. Heat oil. Fry onion paste. When little more than half cooked add Ginger-garlic-green chillies paste and cook till brown. Add haldi powder, dhania powder, salt and cook for few more minutes.
5. Now add tomato paste and continue to cook till paste leaves fat from the sides.
6. Finally add the roasted ground masala and cook well. Add chole and cook till the curry comes together.

Stuffed Capsicum

Every timeI find baby capsicums in the market I pick them up specially for this dish. If you don’t find baby capsicums you can try slitting medium-sized capsicums into two halves and filling them up. You can also try making this same dish with Big green chillies instead of capsicums.

Ingredients :

• 6 baby capsicums
• 1 large potato, boiled
• 3 onions
• 1/2 teaspoon Haldi powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Mirchi powder
• 1 teaspoon Dhania powder
• 2 tablespoons Besan
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Procedure :

1. Grate onions. Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil, fry onions well.
2. When onions turn glossy add haldi powder, mirchi powder, dhania powder, besan and salt. Fry further till onion turns completely brown.
3. Mash in the boiled potato, add a pinch of salt and mix well. Set this mixture aside to cool.
4. Remove stems of the baby capsicums and shell out the seeds from within.
5. Stuff the baby capsicums with previously prepared onion masala.
6. Fry the stuffed capsicums in about 2 tablespoons of oil. Once capsicum appears done, turn off the heat and serve hot with rotis.