Chola Tikki

Here is the recipe my friend Michelle used for the delicious chickpea patties! It's from a web site called Manjula's Kitchen, which is a great resource for those new to Indian cooking, because it has videos of each step of the recipes. Enjoy!

CHOLA TIKKI (Chickpea Patties)
1 cup boiled chickpeas
3 medium potatoes
1 Tablespoon shredded ginger
1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 chopped green chilis, seeded (adjust to taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Oil to shallow fry or bake

For garnish:
Plain yogurt
Cilantro or coriander chutney
Tamarind chutney or tamarind sauce

Boil potatoes until tender; drain and let cool. (Note: do not cool potatoes under running water because the potatoes will keep absorbing water and become mushy.) When potatoes are cool, peel the skin off and mash them. Drain the water from the chickpeas and blot excess water off with paper towels. Mash chickpeas coarsely; do not make smooth. Mix all ingredients together; adjust salt and pepper to your taste. With oiled hands, divide mixture into 8 or 10 equal portions and shape each into patties, keeping them about 1/2-inch thick. Heat oil in skillet; oil should cover the surface of the pan generously. (Test oil readiness by dropping a little piece of tikki in oil; tikki should sizzle.) Place tikkis in pan and shallow fry on both sides until both sides are golden brown. If the tikkis are very dry, use more oil as needed without making them too greasy.

To serve, drizzle some yogurt and chutneys over hot tikki.

Variation: To bake in oven, preheat to 350 degrees. Brush oil generously on both sides of the tikki, and bake on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn over and cook for another 10 minutes, or until golden brown.