Warm up to tikki

Surjan Singh Jolly

Akhrot nadru anjeer tikki

Ingredients

• 50 gm dried figs, 50 gm shelled walnuts
• 400 gm (2-3 stems) lotus stem (kamal kakri), chopped 
• 200 gm cottage cheese (tsaman or paneer) 
• 4 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 tbsp fennel seeds (saunf), coarsely crushed
• 1/2 green chilli, chopped finely
• 1/4 tbsp black peppercorns, crushed 
• 1 pinch dried ginger powder 
• 1 tbsp caraway seeds (shahi jeera) 
• Pinch of salt, Chutney

Method

• Soak figs in water for an hour in room temperature. When soft, chop finely.
• In a shallow pan, lightly dry roast walnuts. Set aside until cool, then crush coarsely.          
• In a pressure cooker, cook chopped lotus for 10 minutes. When cool, mash it into a coarse paste.
• In a shallow frying pan, heat 1 tbsp canola oil on medium heat and sauté fennel seeds and chopped green chilli. 
• Add mashed lotus stems, cottage cheese, walnuts and chopped figs. Mix together to form a smooth, thick paste. Add crushed pepper, dried ginger powder and caraway seeds and mix again. Remove from the flame after 2-3 minutes.
• Once the mixture cools, season with salt and make small or medium-sized patties (tikkis).
• In a frying pan, heat the remaining canola oil and shallow fry patties until golden brown on both sides. 
• Serve it with chutney of your choice.

(Jolly is a senior executive chef)