The versatile potato, loved by one and all over the world. It is rare to find a person who does not like potato. From French fries to roast baby potatoes sprinkled with Italian herbs, or the baked potato oozing with melted cheese and herbs in the western part of the world, to posto aloo in Bengal, aloo parathas of Punjab, or the pav wada which is nothing but a ball of spiced potato dunked in a golden chickpea batter and fried, the favourite street food of Maharashtra. This humble root is comfort food.
As a young bride, I soon learnt that Sunday brunch at my new home, every week without fail, was khichdi and potato sabji, always accompanied with fried papad and a bowl of yogurt. Potato is used as the base for many Indian snacks like samosas, tikki, chaats and as a filler in dosas, etc. But the tikki is a favourite in any Sindhi household. It was a must on Sundays in our home in Pune. My mother prepared the tikki in the most basic manner, boiled the potatoes, peeled, mashed and added some dry spices and bread to bind the potato, shaped and of course deep fried the tikkis, served them with bread slices and chutney, the famous Sindhi tikki dabroti. This snack was served during the interval of Sunday movies run on Doordarshan. The good old days.
Tikkis are also a popular chaat item sold as ragda pattice, which is a heart shaped potato cutlet, pan fried till crisp, and served with a tangy chickpea gravy and accompanied by slices of onion marinated in lime juice, a tamarind sauce and fresh green chutney, oh so delicious. The recipe I will share with you today is a fusion version of the tikki, tiny cherry tomatoes hollowed out, filled with a green paneer filling and engulfed with potato, breaded and deep fried till crisp. It is tasty as well as easy on the eyes, do try it out.
Stuffed Tomato Tikki
Ingredients for the Potato Covering
- 1 kg boiled, peeled and grated potato
- 3 slices grated bread
- Red chilli powder to taste, about 1 tsp should be enough
- 1 tsp caraway seeds (shah jeeri)
- Salt to taste
Method for Potato Covering
Mix everything together and divide into 15 balls and keep aside.
We also need 15 cherry tomatoes, preferably oval in shape. Cut off the top and reserve it. Now scoop out the pulp with a tiny teaspoon and use this pulp to make the filling. Keep the tomatoes upside down to drain any liquid remaining.
Ingredients for Tomato Stuffing
- Tomato pulp from cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup coriander leaves
- 1 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 green chilli
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- A little turmeric powder and salt to taste
- 1/2 cup grated paneer (cottage cheese)
Method
Grind together coriander leaves, garlic and green chilli.
Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and green paste. Also add coriander powder, salt and turmeric.
Mix well and add grated paneer. Shut the flame.
Assembling
Fill the paneer mixture into the cherry tomatoes and cover with the top of tomato.
Take a ball of potato mixture in your hand and hollow it out to form a bowl. Put the stuffed tomato into the bowl in an upright position and gently cover the whole tomato, pressing to make it tight.
Dip each tikki into a medium thick batter made with flour and water and roll in fine breadcrumbs. Keep refrigerated until needed.
To serve, deep fry in hot oil till golden brown. Cut into two pieces and serve.
What a great idea !