Sweet Potato Stuffed Tikki Chaat

Next time you are craving chaat, make sure to cook the sweet potato moong dal stuffed tikki chaat.  It is really simple to make and turns out really delicious.

You could eat the tikkis on their own… right out of the pan or add some beaten yogurt, tamarind chutney and spices and make a delightful chaat.

The moong dal (or split green lentils) filling has all the flavor in it. So, I like to keep the sweet potato really simple in terms of added flavouring. Just add some seasoning to best enjoy the taste of the potato (when you bite into the sweet potato stuffed tikki chaat)

Sweet Potato Stuffed Tikki Chaat                              Makes about 12 tikkis

(Shakarkandi / Kachaloo Tikki Chaat)

Ingredients

For the covering:

Sweet potato – 500 g

Black salt and Chaat masala – for seasoning (to taste)

Roasted besan / gram flour – about 2 tblsp

For the filling:

Moong Dal / Split green lentils – 1/3 cup

Cumin seeds / Jeera – ½ tsp

Hing / Asafetida – ¼ tsp

Turmeric / Haldi pdr – ¼ tsp

Fennel seeds – ½ tblsp

Ginger paste – ½ tsp

Chopped green chili – 1

Chopped coriander leaves – 1 tblsp

Chopped basil or mint – 1 tsp

Vegetable oil – 1 tblsp

Salt – to taste

For the chaat:

Tamarind chutney – as required

Beaten curd/yogurt – as required

Black salt – to taste

Salt – to taste

Roasted Cumin / Jeera powder – to sprinkle on top

Chili pdr – to sprinkle on top

Sev bhujia / Fried gram flour vermicelli – to sprinkle on top

Method:

1.    To make the filling, wash and soak the moong dal in water for 2 to 3 hours. Grind it coarsely.

2.    Heat oil in a pan and add in the cumin seeds and the hing or asafetida. Add in the ground lentil / dal. Cook on a low heat for a minute. Add in the turmeric pdr, chopped green chili, coriander and basil / mint. Mix well.

3.    Add in the coarsely ground fennel seeds and ginger paste. Season with salt. Cook stirring continuously till the dal looks cooked. Leave it aside to cool to room temperature.

4.    To make the outer covering, wash the sweet potatoes and boil them. Peel and mash the boiled potatoes.

5.    Season with black salt and chaat masala. Add in 1 tblsp of gram flour or besan. Mix well till well combined. Check and adjust the seasoning.

6.    Make small balls (golf ball size) from the potato mix. Take a ball of potato and make a depression in the centre, add in some dal filling into it. Carefully close it to form a ball again. Press on the filling and pinch the coating. Flatten it slightly, and shape it into a tikki.

7.    Once all the tikkis have been formed, fry them on a flat pan with a little oil. Till they get a nice colour on them.

8.     To assemble the chaat, make a bed of beaten yogurt on the serving plate. Place the tikki on top. Drizzle with tamarind chutney. Sprinkle salt, black salt, cumin pdr, chili pdr. Finish off with a sprinkling of sev.

9.    Serve immediately.

© Rinki’s Kitchen 2018