Poha Alu Tikki

Finding myself with a big bowl of leftover Kanda Poha, I was wondering what to upcycle it as. It seemed such a shame to throw away such precious organic red poha. Thus was born Poha Alu tikki. Since rice flakes (Poha) is so quick to soak, and because the tikki is easy to put together with readily available ingredients, I am sure you will enjoy making and savoring this simple Poha Alu Tikki as much as we did.

You can use either Red or White Poha for this Poha Alu Tikki. Or you can use up leftover Aval upma/Kanda Poha like me! Just add a boiled potato for binding, some herbs and seasonings, and the Poha Alu Tikki is ready to be pan fried and gorged upon.

Here is how I made Poha Alu Tikki.

ALLERGY INFORMATION

• Does NOT contain lactose, nuts, soya, corn, egg.
• Suitable for people with gluten allergy or lactose intolerance,

Preparation Time -  15-20 minutes, Cooking Time –  25–30 minutes, Makes – 12 –14 medium size tikkis. 

YOU NEED

COOKWARE – colander, 5 litre mixing bowl, chopping board, knife, potato masher, non-stick tawa/griddle

INGREDIENTS

1. 1 heaped cup Red/ White rice flakes ( poha). I used *Red Poha. OR 1 heaped bowl leftover aval upma/Kanda Poha
2. 1 medium potato boiled, or half cup boiled mashed potato
3. 1/4 cup finely minced red onion
4. 2 green chillies, finely minced
5. a handful of fresh coriander leaves,finely minced
6. 1/2 teaspoon salt
7. 1/2 teaspoon amchur powder
8. 1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder

METHOD

1. If using fresh rice flakes(Poha), cover with fresh water, soak for 5 minutes. Then place in a colander and rinse under running water. Set to drain.
2. Clean and mince finely onion, green chilly, and coriander leaves.
3. Add the above to the drained poha, mashed potato, salt, amchur and garam masala in a mixing bowl. Mash them together using a potato masher. Mix well to a homogenous mixture.
4. Make big lemon size balls, flatten slightly, and shallow fry on a heated non-stick tawa. Drizzle as little oil as possible while shallow frying. Flip to other side, and cook till browned. Take care to brown both sides evenly.
5. Remove to serving plate. Serve with onion rings and mint chutney.

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Using Leftovers–Veg Cutlets

 

This recipe is about leftover-makeover. Celebrating the nifty, resourceful cook, who I guess most of you are! What would you do when faced with small bowls of random curries in the fridge? Make parathas? Or some fried rice and toss in those veggies, perhaps? We made these cute cutlets last week.

Even if we discovered the combination quite by chance, it had a great balance of protein, tubers and vegetables thrown in. Our kids could not find any fault with the textures and flavours in this melange. After polishing off several of them at their post-school snack time, they asked for it at dinner too! It was then I realised we had a killer combo in hand. Quite versatile too, for they can be devoured as such, can be sandwiched between buttered bread and packed for school lunch, or get converted to burger patties, or get drenched in the very Indian ragda pattice.

Since we made them with whatever was in the fridge, I am not sure as to how to record a recipe. Here is what we threw together -

Preparation time – 20 minutes + 8 hours soaking time, Cooking time – 40 minutes pressure cooking + 20 minutes, Serves – 4 - 6 

Allergy Information

• Does NOT contain egg, dairy, lactose, corn, soya.
• Can be made gluten free by substituting bread crumbs with rice flour or corn flour for dusting.

You Need

Cookware – Pressure cooker, electric mixer, colander, mixing bowl/basin, non-stick skillet / any other skillet.

1. Boiled* and mashed potato -  1/2 cup
2. Cooked* kala channa / Brown channa (Garbanzo beans)– 1/2 cup
3. Raw plantain* –peeled, chopped and cooked till just done -  1/2 cup
4. Beetroot* – peeled and boiled, 1/4 cup
5. Onion – finely chopped – 3/4 cup
6. Chopped Coriander leaves – 1/4 cup
7. Chopped green chillies – 2 tbsp
8. Garam masala / Pav bhaji masala / Chole masala – 1 heaped tbsp
9. Salt – 1+1/4 tsp
10. Bread crumbs – 3 - 4 tbsp ( Use rice flour or corn flour to make it gluten-free)
11. Oil – for sautéing, about 2-3 tsp

To Assemble

1. Peel, rinse and chop onion, green chillies, and the coriander leaves as finely as possible. Set aside in a colander.
2. *To save time, you can place the soaked channa in a container topped by another with all the other veggies (add 1/2 tsp salt to the vegetables to avoid getting mushed up) and cook in the same pressure cooker. I normally pressure cook the channa on a low flame for 20 minutes after the cooker’s first whistle. We want a just cooked texture without being mushy.
3. After the pressure has released, drain all the cooking water into another bowl, place all the cooked contents in a mixer, pulse until coarsely mashed.
4. Take a mixing bowl. Transfer the contents of the mixer into it. Also add the chopped onions, chillies, green coriander, add 1/2 tsp salt, the masala powder you are using, bring them all together using your fingers. It should feel like a moist coarse mixture (not paste), but should not ooze water or extra fluid.
5. Make lemon sized balls, flatten slightly using your palm, dredge in bread crumbs and set aside. You can keep these in the fridge for half an hour to stabilise the texture. (Or prepare ahead till this stage, store them in a suitable air-tight container in the freezer. Thaw and fry as many as needed each time.)
6. Heat a skillet, season the skillet with a few drops of oil, place as many cutlets as the surface of the skillet holds, and fry over high heat first and medium flame later on both sides till well browned.
7. Remove to kitchen paper.
8. Serve warm with mustard and tomato ketchup as accompaniments. Or make it into a sandwich filling. Or make thicker pattties, shallow fry on both sides and use to assemble burgers along with some onion, tomato rings and crisp lettuce. Whichever way you choose to gorge on it, you will find it delicious!