Melt-in-the mouth treat

Pushpesh Pant

Long ago, a friend asked us a seemingly easy, but difficult to answer question. The question was: why and when do you call a vegetable patty a kebab and when a tikiya? We couldn’t satisfy him with our response then. However, made wiser by our gluttonous experience, we could try solving the riddle. The answer lies in the spicing. Kebab, the delectable morsel, is redolent with cloves, cinnamon, black peppercorns, nutmeg, mace, cardamom, etc. The tikiya works its seductive magic differently. Be it APJ or matar, the veggies don’t allow these strong and supposedly hot spices to upstage them. Just a hint of mint or green chillies. Traces of black rock salt and hing maybe. Cumin roasted abd freshly ground perhaps with a pinch of tangy amchur. It’s an altogether different spectrum. What triggered this delicious chain of thoughts was a remarkable dahi kebab we recently savoured. This is how it was listed in the menu but we think it was the perfect dahi ki tikiya. We have outlined the recipe from Chef Bisht in New Delhi. Do try it. All it requires is a little patience and some TLC as you pan grill it.

Dahi Paneer Ki Tikiya

Ingredients

• Paneer 200 g
• Hung yogurt 200 ml
• Bread crumbs 1/2 cup
• Green chillies 2 
• (reseeded and chopped fine)
• Raisins (optional) 1 tbsp
• Royal cumin seeds 1 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Ghee 1 tbsp

Method

Crumble the paneer and mix with yogurt drained of all water. Mash well, add salt, chillies, cumin seeds and raisins. Spread bread crumbs on a platter and crust the tikiya by placing these on the crumbs and turning gently once. This is the part when TLC is required most! Shape into small, even-sized balls and flatten gently to shape a tikiya. Line a non-stick pan with a thin layer of melted ghee. Pan grill on medium low flame till golden on both sides. Use a thin sharp wooden spatula to turn the tikiyas taking care they don’t crumble or break. Pair with any mild chutney or simply sprinkle your favourite chaat masala over these.