Tikkis are quintessential to Indian street food culture. Specially in North India (regions like Delhi), a typical street food shop would always have Tikki preparations on their menu. Tasty, usually deep fried and crunchy to core, tikkis are simply irrestible ! DSB takes a relook at the concept of tikkis and makes a much healthier yet equally tasty and appealing option which would make this treat a “guilt free” indulgence.
“Tikki” is hindi for croquettes or cutlets. Usually Indian Tikkis are vegetarian but sometimes meats are added too, the most common being spiced potato tikkis. My childhood memories include devouring plates of pipping hot Potato tikki adorned with copious amounts of various chutneys and spiced yoghurt dip. As picturesque as it looked, the feel,textures and taste would leave a long lasting impression on anyone who gave this amazing dish a try. Cold and soothing yoghurt dip compliments the hot and spicy potato tikkis and makes it a winning combination.
Now time for some confession – I have always loved tikkis but the thought of deep frying these potato bites gives me a major calorie guilt and hence potato tikkis have become a rare and occasional treat for us. This actually became a source of inspiration for me and i thought of re-looking at it.
Oats, as we all know is probably “world’s healthiest food” and has gained such popularity across the globe. We all enjoy nutritious bowls of oatmeal in our breakfast – so yummy, healthy and filling. Lately i have been making savory versions of oats in forms of Oatmeal poha, savory porridge or oat idlis. This one time, i made some oatmeal poha for breakfast but we did not finish the portions and it ended up in my refrigerator, taking up my precious space. Now there was this dilemma – wanted to finish the portion to empty my refrigerator space but was not interested in having the same meal again… what comes next ? Innovation off course 🙂
Good things usually happen by chance ! I added some more boiled potatoes to my ready made oatmeal poha to create the binding, shaped them into tikkis and just pan fried. It tasted so great. Crunchy and full of flavours, i had found myself a great option. Next time i made it from scratch and it took me less than half an hour to prepare, is’nt that great !
So here it is folks !! For people like me who like to have home made Indian food while reinventing techniques and finding newer ways to make things “nutritiously fun” , one more recipe gets added to the cart ! Enjoy these Oats tikkis guilt free and spread the joy around !
OATS TIKKIS
Oats Tikkis
Recipe
For Tikki mixture
- 2 cups instant rolled oats (can use steel cut or old fashioned or any so far they are instant)
- 2 large potatoes – boiled and crumbled
- 1/2 cup peas – boiled
- 1/2 cup grated carrots
- 1 zucchini – grated
- 1/2 cup corn kernel
- 50 gms tofu/ paneer/ cheese, grated
- 2 tsp fresh coriander – finely chopped
- 1 green chilli – finely chopped
- 1 tsp fresh mint – finely chopped
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder (optional)
- 1 tsp dry mango powder (optional)
- 1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)
For Pan frying
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 4 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs (optional)
- 5 tablespoons canola/vegetable oil
For Garnishing
Method
- Take a bowl. Pour in the rolled oats. To this, sprinkle about 3-4 tablespoons of water and mix well with a spoon. Here also add 1 tablespoon of oil and combine. The oats will start to come together. If u wish, you can microwave this for about 45 seconds.
- Now, add in all the ingredients for tikki mixture and combine using gentle hands. I prefer using hands to mix at this stage to ensure even mixing of ingredients.
- The oats tikkis are now ready to be pan fried. At this stage, you can either deep fry these tikkis or pan fry on the griddle using very little oil. I prefer pan frying.
- For Pan frying, we will start with preparing a corn starch batter. For this, mix the corn starch with water and mix well so that there are no lumps. Take out the bread crumbs in a separate bowl. Now, taking one tikki at a time, coat both sides with the corn starch batter (i usually just dip the tikkis in the batter and lift using a fork) and then coat in bread crumbs evenly. Arrange on a plate. Repeat with all the oats tikkis
- Now, take a frying pan/griddle and put 1 tablespoon oil on it to heat. Once the pan heats up, place 4-5 tikkis at a time (depending on the size of the pan) and roast on both sides till golden brown. Oats Tikkis are ready . If u don’t have the bread crumbs, you can simply avoid step 4 and continue.
OMG !! I love these tikkis ! They are so healthy and so so delicious. Me and my husband went crazy with these over lunch. I served these with mint-coriander chutney, vinegar onions and some cucumber raita and it was awesome. These tikkis were sumptuous and really filling. I found this as a neat idea for tiffins and outdoor picnic lunches. I even tried them as patty for burgers and in replacement of falafels for my greek pita pockets ! It is so versatile , i love it !
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Looks yummy!! I would like to try making these, but have a question for you. We are avoiding corn products in all forms. What can I use a substitute if I don’t want to use corn starch?
Thanks!
Sudha
Hi Sudha. Well corn starch is used here to bind the mixture together and absorb excess water from it so that the shape retains. If u want, you can also add in All purpose flour/besan (though u might have to add some more than corn starch). I would prefer chick pea flour (besan) if not corn starch. The taste will change just a little bit i guess it will still taste good. Try it and let me know ! Thanks 🙂
Hey, did u add the oats without roasting / grinding them into powder right? No need to powder it? Does it taste a little crunchy then?
Replied on ur previous query shweta. No need to powder them. Just sprinkle some water to loosen them a bit and they will break while mixing with other ingredients.
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Loved your nutritiously fun discovery 🙂 A Great page 🙂
Thanks !
Yummy & Healthy too Prachi 🙂
Hi, i just tried the tikki, the mixture is a bit liquid, is there anything I can do to fix it, please tell me
Hi Parul,
Not sure why the mixture is liquidy, maybe the type of potatoes are more starchy. You can add in bread crumbs to it to absorb extra water. It would also help in making your tikkis crispier. Remember to adjust spices accordingly 🙂
Hope it turns out great. Let me know how they turn out 🙂
Thanks for the recipe. I tried it and it came out great. I added lauki instead of zucchini. Very tasty and healthy 🙂
Hi Padmini,
I am so delighted to hear that you tried my Oats Tikki Recipe. It feels great when people try recipes and then come back to give a feedback. I am glad that the recipe worked well for you 🙂
Oats Tikki has become a favorite at my place and even guests love it as a accompany with Ginger Tea.
I also use this tikki for dahi chaat with some baked mathris and it taste yum. You can also try this with Matra (dry green peas curry) chaat 🙂
Thanks again !
If u have some pictures taken, i would love to include it along my post 🙂
Awesome Prachu!! Am printing this out to try 😀
Thanks Rohini ! Try it for sure and let me know how it turned out !Thanks:)
Tried a simplified version of this recipe yesterday and they were delicious. I used squash instead of zucchini, completed skipped the corn batter step. Thanks for the inspiration.
Oh that is lovely. I am glad you made changes to it to suit your palate. Better to modify than discard a recipe 🙂
After all food is all about iterations and re-inventing in inspiring ways !! Thanks Deepa for trying out the recipe 🙂
Wooooooow drrooling
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