Alloo Tikki -Bittoo Tikki Wala (BTW) Ishhtyle! (Potato Kebabs)

Memories are enough to drive you nuts! Especially cravings!

This is the BTW outlet...Pitampura,Delhi.

Every once in a while I get these mad cravings for Gol Gappas, Papri Chaat and Alloo Tikki. If you’ve spent a large amount of your life in a place like Delhi, you’ll understand my cravings. The crisp Gol Gappas filled with the tangy water made with tamarind and mint. The crisp Papri dunked in sweetened dahi/curd and served with boiled chickpeas and slivers of ginger (they already know you’ll get the “gas”- the ginger is to protect the ones around you). And best of all, the crisp, hot FRIED Alloo Tikki served with Imli ki Sonth, Pudine ki Chutney and cold dahi/curd …topped of course with the ubiquitous slivers of ginger. If your taste buds are tingling right now… go to Delhi!

Sometimes I feel that the Chaat sellers must add something addictive in their Chaat. Despite the muck and filth that surrounds them- not to mention their dirty hands, one still loves the Chaat. I know there are outlets that sell stuff made with bisleri (could be distilled water –for all they are advertising), and servers wear gloves- the stuff just doesn’t taste the same.

Sick , I know, but when you sit in the comfort of an AC outlet and eat Tikki on a Styrofoam plate, don’t you miss the Tikki from a roadside vendor….the heat of his stove, the buzz of people around the vendor, the being greedy and asking for more chutneys….

I was lucky. The parents live in Shalimar Bagh, which has its share of roadside vendors. But we also have BTW! Bitto Tikki Wala. He who started from a humble cart selling Tikki and now runs a catering business from Netaji Subhash Place in Pitampura.

Missed the Tikki last visit to Delhi, and the craving for BTW’s Tikki was almost driving me insane…finally managed to get the spice mix right.

Between sweet child and me, we made a dinner of 8 Tikki. The only thing missing were the Cholas (Dried peas in spicy gravy) and the pollution and dust that is Delhi. I couldn’t wait to post this. There have to be more “Chaat”manics like me on the World Wide Web, so this BTW special is dedicated to them.

For the

Alloo Tikki -Bittoo Tikki Wala (BTW) Ishhtyle! (Potato Kebabs)…

You need

500 Gms potatoes-boiled

3-4 tbsp corn starch/ Corn flour (bread crumbs will not do, I use Brown and Polson’s Corn flour)

½ cup Chana Dal/ Bengal Gram

A pinch asafetida

½ tsp cumin seeds/jeera

 A pinch of turmeric

½ tsp coriander powder (optional)

Red chili flakes to taste

½ tsp Amchur/Dried Mango powder

½ tsp finely chopped g ginger

2-3 tsp chopped fresh coriander/cilantro

3-4 tsp desi ghee/clarified butter (Nothing else will do)

After many tries, I finally got the taste right. So if you are a purist, I suggest using the desi ghee and only the desi ghee (or desi khyo!)!

Start with the boiled potatoes.

If you have a potato ricer, wow! Time to use it. Peel and rice the potatoes. If not, like me you’ll need to grate the boiled potatoes and then mash to get a fairly smooth mash. If you do this while the potatoes are hot, you won’t have to work too hard.

Now add the cornstarch and blend well. It’s a messy job, but someone’s got to do it. Let this rest awhile.

Wash and soak the dal in some water for at least half an hour.

In a saucepan place the dal and some water along with half a tsp of salt. Boil 6-10 minutes till the dal is just cooked. If you cut into a grain of dal with your fingernail, there should be some resistance and it should taste just a bit underdone. Now drain this dal and spread out on a plate.

In another pan place ½ tsp of the ghee. Add to this the pinch asafetida and the cumin seeds.

Put in the ginger and let it just shrivel up. 

Now add the dal and stir. Turn off the heat; add the salt, red chili flakes, a pinch of turmeric and the coriander if you are using it. Also add the dry mango powder.

Add the chopped fresh coriander/cilantro and Mix well.

Now place your non stick pan on low heat and pour up to 2 tbsp of the ghee.Thats the rested potato mash...

With wet hands, take a small fistful of the potato mash,

Press a little and place a spoonful of the dal mix in the centre.

Try and seal the dal in. no worries if you have gaping holes in your Tikki/kebab.

Wet hands again, a bit of the mash again and fix the holes. Gently does it now…

Lightly shape the Tikki and place it on the pan, in the ghee.

Don’t disturb it till it is ready to move itself.

Same way, make all the Tikki, you will have some dal left over, munch on it or you can stuff a parantha- flatbread.

By the time you’ve done all the Tikki, The base will be cooked.

Ever so gently with a flat spatula flip the Tikki over. You may need to add more ghee.

Gorgeous golden color….no it’s not done. Once you cook the Tikki, you’ll need to refry them. Same pan, just cook on a little higher heat, with a wee bit more ghee.

Done…ta da….

Served with green chutney made with coriander, lemon juice, onion, salt, sugar and green chilies.

And...Imli ki Sonth….I’m off on a vacation in a couple of days…so was not keen to replenish the LOW supply of Tamarind. Whatever I had (about 1 tsp) soaked in water and strained, and mixed with 2 heaped tbsp dry mango powder, topped up with hot water to make 1 cup.

Now, ½ tsp mustard oil/any veg oil in a pan….hot! Pop in some cumin seeds(less than ½ tsp) ...

And pour the liquid mix. Let it come to a boil. 

Add the sweetener. I used jaggery (Khajur / date palm jaggery), salt and red chili flakes.

Let it simmer 5 minutes 

And it’s done.Thats cheating for you.

And also accompanied with some sweetened yogurt and sliced onions.The spices in the small bowl are salt, red chili flakes and cumin powder.

This is how the Tikki is supposed to be eaten. Drenched in the chutneys and the yogurt and the Imli ki Sonth, topped with sliced onions.

Indulge and enjoy.
A word of caution. If you are unfamiliar with the sourness of Imli ki Sonth, Be CAUTIOUS!
And whatever you do, don’t drink water straight after you finish the Tikki. Your throat will not forgive you.
We indulged today; coz sweet child is finally free of the Sixth Grade!!!
You can, of course bake these, but one misses the taste of the open fire.
Those of you who love Bittoo Tikki Wala (BTW), try this and the only thing you’ll miss is the taste of the dirt and the sight of dirty hands.

So what are you baking today???

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Apricot Juice Cake…

Juice is so misleading. Juice is so tempting. Paradise and the evil serpent, all come to mind. No wonder eve was tempted.

Wassup with all things tempting and sinful??

Hubby dear’s absence. Work, if you please, takes him often to distant shores, to be back soon and back again sooner.  This will be the trend for the next few weeks so you may as well prepare yourself to read stuff that may be no relation to food.

Last exam, thankfully on Monday. The way I’ve been obsessing about sweet child’s Hindi exam, had I done so for myself when I was young and with it, I would have ACED the tests. Not been a constant disappointment for my Hindi teacher back in Loreto convent, Delhi.

That’s water under the bridge now, now I strive to please.

 Your eyes, your taste buds and your funny bone.

This was the cake that I made for Sanskriti and Upamanyu. The outside was nice, the inside was too.

It was a different flavor. I found tetra packs of Real Apricot Juice and I decided to try them in something sweet. Most of them ended up ,empty at the bottom of the dustbin before I could dream of something to do with them. Just managed to salvage two. When I called for more…they were not available anymore. Ranchi, remember???

Btw, on my way back from the airport the other day, I saw Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s( The captain of team India Cricket Team) house. Did you know, it’s a tourist must see here.  Jharcraft has an outlet just opposite his house.  Jharcraft is a government undertaking, where the handicrafts made by the indigenous people are retailed. We love the Dokra Art. Suddenly my tabletops are overflowing with crocodiles, frogs, tortoises and fish. I even have 2 horses and a pair of deer… much to hubby dear’s disgust. He can never find place to place his glass. At least the crystal is stored safely, and this Dokra art will break the thing that tries to break it….not break itself.

Ooh cake!

Yes the juice….could not find much use for it in deserts are the scene to party is bleak. So the only way out was Cake!

This is a basic butter cake recipe from  http://baketitude.blogspot.in/2011/07/sugar-and-spice-and-all-things.html  that I have made minor alterations to. Just made it more fruity and tangy.

For the

Apricot Juice Cake…

You need

3 cups self raising flour (I live in a place where you get simple packed Maida. So we make this)

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter/ vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 cup/ 240 mls Apricot Juice (any fruit juice will do-whatever is gathering dust in your pantry works best)

For the Self Raising Flour…I followed Allrecipes -1 cup flour, ½ tsp salt and 1 ½ tsp baking powder mixed well and used as needed.

Simple…Pre heat the oven at 180C/350F. Grease and flour a round cake tin.

Start with the eggs and the sugar. I use icing sugar, for convenience. 

Poured in the vegetable oil into this. I didn’t use butter, because I had to slather the cake with butter cream for the fondant. So my heart could only allow me just that butter.

Flour sifted well, now folded in alternatively with the apricot juice.

The vanilla essence was poured in somewhere mid way.

The juice gave it such a lovely sunshine pale yellow color. Truth be told, you can use mango juice here, you won’t notice much difference. That’s not saying a lot about Real Apricot Juice.

I also made 4 cup cakes...

Pop in to the oven 30 -35 minutes….and it’s done.

After 5 minutes, run a knife around the cake and invert.

Cover the cake in film or foil and keep till you are ready to frost.

I made Swiss meringue butter cream a.k.a. SMB. That I saw on one of my random surfing’s…at Sweepolita.

Sliced through the centre...slathered with the remaining juice....of 400 mils i had used 240 to make the cake.

Fondant on…

Flowers were made a day ago….

Attached with butter cream…

I should’ve painted the cake and flowers with my fave Remix Magic Moments Appletini before attaching the flowers and the leaves…this was difficult!

The final result…sweet child couldn’t keep the secret….so sweet sister saw it early.

But she and Sanskriti were thrilled. So were we….

 Totally worth it.

So what are you baking today???

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Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Chili Cake

Hello, you all!

No, I’ve not lost my marbles, neither am I posting in sleep. The cake, yes cake did have two types of chocolate and CHILLI! And alcohol! Double or triple whammy???

A smooch and a love bite!

That’s passion for you.

That’s what it was like. Mind you, that’s why the children did not really appreciate the bite of the chocolate and chili. You have to be grown and quite amorous to appreciate the mutinous mix of chocolate and chili. Sweet child had been hankering for a plain chocolate cake, which was “HIS” specifically. Period. No sharing, no sending to the neighbors for testing or tasting. 

But being the mean mum I am, trying to get him to move his butt, as the only exercise he generally gets is moving his thumbs and eyes playing video games, I added a little something that would ensure that he would not gobble the entire cake by himself. I did not discount the fact that hubby dear and your truly would like it more. Sob!

So we walk a little more and more and try (the operative word is TRY) to eat a little less. What with mum being here for nine days, she ensured that skipping dinner was not possible and that temptation would rule. But then that’s what mums are. When sweet child flies the nest, I’m sure my primary focus would be stuffing his face, whenever I get the opportunity to do so. 

That’s Indian mom”ness” for you. I see the same forces at work, whenever hubby dear and mother in law are together. (Sic)

Empty nest, indeed!

Sanskriti came, she stayed and she conquered our hearts. Ever since she left last night, we’ve been missing her and her antics and her screaming like crazy. Blessed are the mothers of girls…I’ll always have this grudge against my maker. Why could I not have had two, sweet child and a baby girl?

Thanks to Sanskriti, I at least have crumbs!

That notwithstanding, we bake!

Chocolate!

I stole this idea of the chili from the movie Chocolat. Where she sprinkles the chili flakes on the cup of whipped cream topped chocolate. Yumm…..Johnny Depp. Yup, I did try it once.

And I’d do it again.

And hey, it’s microwaveable and eggless.

For the

Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Chili Cake…

You need

2 cups plain flour

4 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp instant coffee

50 mils HOT water

¾ cup yogurt/buttermilk

1 cup caster sugar (if you don’t intend frosting the cake-add ¼ cup more)

½ cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup apricot juice (I had leftovers from another cake; you can subs this with milk)

1 Patiala peg / 5o mls rum (I use old monk)

½ tsp cinnamon powder

¼ tsp chili flakes (more or less according to your taste buds)

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

¼ tsp salt

2 -3 tbsp white chocolate chips (I smashed a bar of white chocolate  ...we had BIG chunks)

1 recipe Just Desserts Chocolate Fudge Sauce- get the recipe here

Rose by this name…. Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Chili. The silicone mold again. You may of course use a glass dish or bake in a convection oven, but sometimes there’s a greater pleasure in “Quick” fixes. Thus we microwave.

Grease and flour the cake tin/glass bowl.

In a bowl combine the cocoa, coffee, hot water and rum ....

till well blended.

Sift the flour with the bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon powder. Now pop in the chili flakes.

In a large bowl lightly mix the oil, yogurt/buttermilk and sugar.

Mix in the sludgy cocoa mix.

Add in the flour mix and lightly whisk together.I added extra chilli...

Add as much apricot juice/ milk to make the batter of a pourable consistency.

Fold in the white chocolate chips.

Now into the dish. and into the microwave at 80% power for 15-17 minutes.

Don’t forget the glass of water.

Just out….it was steaming.H.O.T.

 A word of caution, this cake (with or without the chili flakes tastes beat after a day’s rest). Like a pleasant hangover.

Frosted with the easiest fudge sauce, find the recipe here Reshaped ,mind you...sweet child had eaten a wee bit before I could get the cake cooled and frosted. So this rose may not look like a rose.

After two days….Sanskriti loved the chocolate frosting more. You would’ve loved to see her dancing after eating chocolate!

Happiness!

We are going to you again on the 14^th.

Delhi, here we come!

Slathered with the fudge sauce... 

Try this, with or without the chili. Feel the kiss of love!

So what are you baking today???

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