Chicken Tikki Chaat
It seems to me as if I start cooking a certain type of food I get obsessed with it for a few weeks. My latest obsession: the Street Food of the city I was born in; MUMBAI. There are a variety of dishes to look for inspiration and you cannot go wrong with any of them. My inspiration for this recipe was the popular “RAGDA PATTIES” which I turned into this sumptuous, flavorful “CHICKEN TIKKI CHAAT”. Every bite of this spicy, tangy chaat is going to create an explosion of flavors on your palate.
Chaat is something which always brings back fond memories for any Indian. Especially for those living in the two big cities of Mumbai and Delhi. These two are the de facto chaat capitals of the country and have a bit of rivalry going as to which one has the best chaat. However tussles like these cannot change the fact that the humble chaat of my childhood has morphed into a huge global phenomenon. The number of variations of this dish that have come up is simply mind-blowing.
My original plan for this post was to make the regular version of “RAGDA PATTIES” which literally means patties covered with gravy. Its the type of dish which appeals to all of your senses and hence is universally loved. Normally the dish consists of potato patties smothered with a white pea gravy. It is the garnishes going on top of the gravy which add layers of flavor to this dish. You can add tamarind for a bit of tang, spicy chutneys for the heat, sev for a little crunch; the list is endless!!!!
People around me know that I cannot resist twisting up the traditional recipes. Fortunately I found the inspiration for this twisted dish right in my own backyard so to speak (LAUGHS!!!!). I saw my neighbor grilling outside his apartment and it hit me instantly; why not make a meat version of this popular street food dish???
So the potato patties got replaced by ground chicken tikkis. I tried to keep the flavors similar to the original but added my own touch with ingredients like bread crumbs and the one and only “OLD BAY”.
Combine ground chicken, onion, carrot, ginger-garlic- chili paste, fresh bread crumbs, lemon juice, roasted cumin, old bay, red chili powder, salt and cilantro in a large bowl.
Divide the mixture in equal portion. Shape them in round patties. Instead of pan-frying these patties I pulled out the new toy that I recently bought: A grill pan. It was time for me to grill!!! This was my first time grilling (even if on a pan!!!) and I must say it gave the tikkis a totally different flavor. If you do not have a grill just pan-fry them on a regular pan.
Now that the tikkis were ready it was time to make the gravy. I had actually come across a bunch of recipes of chicken-chickpea curry. It was something I had always wanted to try so making a chickpea gravy here was a no-brainer.
Soak the chickpeas in sufficient water overnight. Drain, rinse and add 4 cup of fresh water and pressure cook until they are soft and tender.
Dry roast bay leaf, cinnamon stick, coriander seeds and cloves until just fragrant. Cool and grind in a coffee grinder to a fine powder.
Heat oil in a vessel over medium heat and add cumin seeds. When they splutter add onion and ginger- garlic paste. Saute until onions are translucent. Mix in the tomato puree, red chili powder, fresh roasted masala powder, turmeric powder, chole masala and stir until a thick paste is formed. Add chickpeas and water as required. Mix well and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and garnish with cilantro.
The curry and the tikkis are done and the dish is not ready to come together. There are a variety of garnishes that can be used like chutneys, tamarind, yogurt, sev etc. I added just sev and onions in this dish but you can go wild with these garnishes as you like!!!
Ladle the curry on a plate/bowl and place chicken patties top. Sprinkle onion, sev and cilantro. A bite will leave your tastebuds tingling.
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Chicken Tikki Chaat
Ingredients
Chicken Tikki
- 1 pound Ground Chicken
- 1 small Onion chopped
- 1 Carrot grated
- 1 ½ cup Fresh Bread crumbs
- 2 tsp Ginger Garlic Chili Paste
- 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
- 3 tsp Old Bay
- ½ tsp Cumin Seeds Roasted
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- ¼ cup Cilantro chopped
- Salt – to taste
Chickpea Curry
- 1 cup Chickpea / Chana
- 1 small Onions finely chopped 2 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 Bay leaf
- 2 Cinnamon Sticks
- 10 Cloves
- 1 tsp Coriander Seeds 2 tsp Red Chilly Powder
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 ½ tsp Chole Masala
- 1 ½ cup Tomatoes Puree
- Salt – to taste
- 2 tbsp Oil
- Cilantro for garnish
Topping
- Sev
- Onion finely chopped
- Cilantro
Instructions
Chicken Tikki
- Combine ground chicken, onion, carrot, ginger-garlic- chili paste, fresh bread crumbs, lemon juice, roasted cumin, old bay, red chili powder, salt and cilantro in a large bowl.
- Divide the mixture in equal portion. Shape them in round patties.
- Heat grill pan over medium heat and cook the patties, until crisp and golden brown on both sides
Chickpea Curry
- Soak the chickpea peas in sufficient water overnight.
- Drain, rinse and add 4 cup of fresh water and pressure cook until they are soft and tender.
- Dry roast bay leaf, cinnamon stick, coriander seeds and cloves until just fragrant. Cool and grind in a coffee grinder to a fine powder.
- Heat oil in a vessel over medium heat and add cumin seeds.When they splutter add onion, ginger- garlic paste and saute until onions are translucent.
- Mix in the tomato puree along with red chili powder, fresh roasted masala powder, turmeric powder, chole masala and stir until a thick paste is formed.
- Add chickpeas and water as required. Mix well and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
- Season with salt and garnish with cilantro
Assembly
- Ladle the curry on a plate/bowl and place chicken patties top. Sprinkle onion, sev and cilantro.
- You can add tamarind for a bit of tang, spicy chutneys for the heat; the list is endless!!!
- Enjoy.
Love that you used ground chicken! Looks so delicious and easy. Thanks for sharing and trying very soon 🙂
It is extremely easy not to mention really tasty…
interesting take on the classic chat! I am sure my chicken loving brothers will love it!
Just wanted to try something different Manali.. 🙂
Mouth watering. Love the combination of flavors. WOW!
Thanks Kushi.. 🙂
My love for chickpeas runs DEEEEEEEEP, so this chaat is definitely calling my name! The chicken tikki patties look delicious! Love how jam packed with flavor this dish is! You totally hit this one outta the park, Rahul! Cheers, buddy!
Do try it Cheyanne if you can.. Chaat is something people we Indians cannot get enough of… 🙂
How interesting! I can imagine that a potato version would also be tasty, but I love the chicken idea.
The potato version is how it all started Jeff and is the one which made this dish popular.. 🙂
I love chickpeas, you know that! You made my weekend cooking plans easy. I can’t wait to try that chickpea curry sauce!! MMMMM!!!!
Happy to hear that Tonya. Let me know how the curry turns out for sure.. 🙂
I always learn something reading your recipes – now I’m excited to try my first chaat!
Hope you like it Kate.. 🙂
I just love chaat items. But since I am vegetarian I think I will replace chicken tikki with aloo tikki, Lovely sharing. 🙂
Do let me know how it turns out..
This chicken tikki chaat looks absolutely delicious. A true delight for chicken lovers!
Thanks Anu.. 🙂
Looks utterly delicious and comforting!
Thanks Angie..
Awesomeee Share…. I wll definitely try vegan version of this recipe
Sure. Do let me how it turns out.. 🙂
I think I could eat the grilled chicken patties all by themselves! It all looks wonderful!
I felt the same way too Kathy.. It was extremely difficult for me to wait to eat them till I finished making the curry.. 🙂
This sounds like one delicious comfort food, Rahul! And it looks amazing…thanks for sharing!!
It sure is David. All the different garnishes that go on top gives this dish a ton of flavor..
This gorgoeus dish has me drooling over. chaat is all time favorite. this one is absolute craving i felt right away
My wife and I are the same way Smitha. I guess great minds think alike.. 🙂
What a gorgeous dish! And I always forget about Old Bay unless I’m making shrimp or crab—great addition!
I discovered Old Bay by accident but now it has become an essential ingredient in my kitchen.. 🙂
Rahul, your chaat has me drooling! Good use of that grilling pan too.
There is an Indian restaurant near my work called “Chaat Patti” and they are an epic example of how chaat “has morphed into a huge global phenomenon” They have so many variations listed, my eyes glaze over every time!
Hope you and your wife have a lovely long weekend and you don’t have to work the whole time.
Chaat is something my wife and I have can never have enough of.. Luckily for us even Dallas has a couple of places just like the one you mentioned Shashi.. As for the grill pan then it was a no-brainer especially if all your neighbors are grilling pretty much every weekend. How can I be left behind???
Oh, yum! This looks terrific — SO much flavor. You’ve outdone yourself — and we’re all grateful. Thanks!
Thanks John… 🙂