Today was one of those days when I actually “craved” for chat foods! I had to have anything that could even  remotely be categorised under “chat”! I check my pantry and I was out of puffed rice..else I could have made Bhel Puri/Jhaalmuri. No time for pani puris and there was too much prep work needed for Channa Chat. Uncheck!  Not enough boiled potatoes to make regular cutlets, but I remembered watching a TV show where the host used corn to make some sort of a patty for a burger. I turned to dear Sanjeev Kapoor for help and he did not disappoint me…These fast fix Makki Aur Alu ki Tikki were super easy and super yuummmmmmyyyyy!!! Make this evening for your family before they come home and let me know what they thought of it!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 Cup Sweet Corn.

1 Medium Potatoe boiled soft.

1 Tsp Jeera Seeds.

1 Tsp Saunf

1 Green Chilli chopped fine

1 Tbsp Ginger chopped fine.

1 Medium Onion chopped fine.

1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder.

3/4 Tsp Red Chilli Powder.

3/4 Tsp Garam Masala.

1 Tsp Dhania Powder.

2 Tsp Chat Masala.

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice.

1/2 Cup + 1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs.

Salt to taste.

Oil to deep fry/shallow fry.

PREPARATION:

• Keep all the ingredients ready at hand before starting the prep as the whole process hardly takes more than 20 minutes. Its a wonderful quick fix snack for you and your family with ingredients that are always at hand.
• In a kadai, add a spoon of oil and when its hot,  season with jeera and saunf. When they sizzle, add the green chillies and the ginger and allow them to get fried in the oil.
• Follow with the chopped onions and mix it around and immediately add the sweet corn kernels.
• Now add all the dry masala powders except the chat masala  – Turmeric Powder, Red Chilli Powder, Garam Masala and dhania powder. We add the powders at this point as we want the powders to part cook in the heat of the kadai.
• Mix for a couple more minutes and switch off the stove.
• Transfer to a mini food processor or a mixer and add the 1/2 cup of bread crumbs.  The bread crumbs allow the flavours to mix in and acts as a binding agent. Keep the remaining bread crumbs for dredging the tikkis before you fry them.
• When they are almost well pulsed add a smal bunch of chopped corriander leaves, the lemon juice and the chat masala.
• At this point add the boiled potatoe ( optional) and mix it in.
• When they come together to form a homogenous mixture , empty on to a clean dry bowl.
• The mixture has to be thick and not sticky. If you feel there is still moisture left over, add a little more bread crumbs, but adjust the salt accordingly.

• Using your palms, make out little patties , dunk them in to the bread crumbs and shallow fry them on  your dosa pan.
• Optionally, you could deep fry them in oil.

• Make a serving base of  micro greens, finely julienned cabbage and carrots and add a dash of lemon juice and chat masala for that extra crunch.
• Place warm cutlets over the salad base and enjoy with a side of Tomato Ketchup or Sweet Tamarind Chutney.
• Makes about 10 medium sized tikkis.

HINTS:

1. You can omit out the potatoes completely. I had one boiled potatoe already in my refrigerator so I wanted to use it.
2. When you use the sweet corn that is frozen , keep it out for at least 30 minutes before you use it.
3. ELse transfer to a microwave for about 2-3 minutes and transfer to a kitchen tissue so all the extra moisture is absorbed. This would make your cooking on the stove top faster.