Spinach and Peas Tikkis

This recipe comes from a long way. It has travelled all the way from my mother’s kitchen in New Delhi to my kitchen in Joburg. There is not even a single week when I’m not on the phone with my mother asking for recipes. My mother works miracles in her kitchen. She can effortlessly turn out simmering pots of the most luscious mutter paneer, daals, sambars, charroos, and kootus.

During one of our daily long distance conversations, she shared her spinach and peas tikki recipe. After making a mental note of it, I finally made them on Monday evening. The only addition was bread crumbs just to make them crispier. The great thing about trying out a new recipe and having it turn out well is that I now have something to post on my food blog.

The tikkis/ cutlets/ patties whatever you feel like calling them really taste different and certainly not like the typical aloo tikkis. It’s more flavorful and perfect for any time of the day.


Eat your greens and enjoy it too…

Ingredients (this will make 6 tikkis)

Chopped spinach leaves 1 cup
Frozen peas ½ cup
Boiled potato (small size)
Chopped green chilli peppers 2-3
Chopped coriander leaves handful
Finely chopped ginger and garlic
Bread crumbs 2 tablespoons
Salt to taste
Garam masala ½ teaspoon
Red Chilli powder ½ teaspoon
Oil 4-5 teaspoons


Directions

Before chopping the spinach leaves, just rinse and give a dry pat. There's no need to blanch the spinach leaves. In case you are using fresh peas, you may have to boil them till they become tender. Before you start cooking the tikkis, make sure the flat pan is hot enough. Pour some oil on the pan and it should sizzle.

In a wide mouth bowl, mash all the ingredients except for oil. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions. Shape them into a ball and then press it in between your palms to give it a tikki shape.

On a hot pan, shallow-fry the tikkis in hot oil for few minutes until crisp. You can have them as it is or with some chutney.