One of the best chaats of Varanasi is its very own stuffed aloo tikki served at Kashi Chat Bhandar. This delicious chaat is unbelievably flavoursome with a bit of everything – crunch, spice and wholesomeness.
Potatoes are first boiled and divided into two portions. One portion is grated when hot and mixed together with a little oil and kneaded till it becomes soft while the other is mashed thoroughly.
For the stuffing, coriander, green chillies, garlic and a spoonful of secret garam masala specially prepared for this is ground with a little water. Oil is poured in a large kadai to which cumin seeds are added followed by the ground paste and turmeric powder. Boiled peas are added and allowed to cook on low flame for a few minutes.
The mashed potatoes are added along with salt and mixed well. It is then allowed to cool. A portion of the grated potato dough is spread out on the palm like a cup and a generous helping of the stuffing is put into it and closed together on the sides to form a ball. It is important that the sides are sealed tightly else the stuffing will pop out when placed on the tawa.
The ball is then lightly rolled till it becomes smooth. The balls are then dusted with corn starch and gently patted. The balls are placed on a hot tawa and fried till they turn reddish brown in colour.
While serving, a little creamy curd, chole, tamatar chutney (prepared with secret ingredients) and hari chutney (prepared from coriander and spices) are drizzled over the hot tikki. It is topped off with some finely chopped coriander, sliced onion and sev.
Written by Lakshmi Subramanian
sahasa.in 
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