Paneer Ragda Tikki With Caprese Salad
A golden brown paneer tikki paired with some spicy ragda curry and an Italian-inspired tomato salad , this chaat is a modern twist on the classic. Traditional ragda or white peas chaat is a very popular street food in India and is served with potato cutlets or patties. I’ve opted to go for paneer tikkis for a fun change in texture and added the Italian tomato mozzarella salad to elevate the flavors!
Ingredients
Caprese Salad:
- 3 medium tomatoes , deseeded and diced
- 1/4 cup fresh mozzarella cheese , diced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2-3 cloves garlic , finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
- 10-12 basil leaves , finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- salt , to taste
Paneer Tikki:
- 1 cup paneer or cottage cheese , grated
- 1 medium potato , boiled and mashed
- 2 slices bread , for breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup mixed color bell peppers , diced
- 3 tbsp cilantro , finely chopped
- 1 inch ginger , grated
- 1 green chilies , finely chopped
- 1 tbsp hung curd or greek yogurt
- 1/2 lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp chaat masala
- 1 tsp red chili flakes
- salt , to taste
- ghee , or oil for shallow-frying
Ragda - White Peas Curry:
- 1 1/2 cups dried white peas (vatana) , soaked in warm water for 6-8 hours
- 2 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tsp ginger , minced
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 cloves
- 1 bay leaves
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1 1/2 tbsp ghee , or oil
- 1 small potatoes , chopped
- 1/2 cup onions , finely chopped
- 2/3 cup tomatoes , deseeded and finely chopped
- 10-15 strands ginger , julienned
- 2 green chilies , finely chopped
- 2 tbsp tamarind pulp
- 1 tsp jaggery , or sugar
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tbsp chana masala
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp chaat masala
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp mango powder (amchur)
- salt to taste
- 1/4 cup cilantro , finely chopped
Garnish:
- balsamic vinegar
- microgreens
- cilantro , finely chopped
Instructions
Caprese Salad:
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To make the caprese salad, mix everything together, cover it with some cling wrap, and let it marinate in the fridge until we’re ready to assemble.
Ragda - White Peas Curry
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Soak the dried white peas (white vatana) for 6-8 hours or ideally overnight in warm water.
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Drain the white peas and pressure cook them for 2 whistles with potatoes, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric powder, bay leaves, minced ginger and water. Make sure to add a generous pinch of salt.
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In a large pan, heat some ghee and saute the onions, ginger, and green chilies until the onions become translucent. Then, add in the tomatoes and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
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Drain the excess water from the white peas and potatoes and add them into the pan. Mash the white peas using the back of the spoon, to release some starch and thicken the gravy.
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Add red chili powder, mango powder (amchur), chana masala, chaat masala, cumin powder, tamarind pulp, and jaggery (or sugar). Mix it all in and adjust the salt to taste.
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Add cilantro and cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Adjust the consistency by adding more water if needed (you can use the extra water from the pressure cooked white peas for this).
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The ragda curry is now ready, set it aside.
Paneer Tikki:
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To make the paneer tikki, add the bread in a food processor or grinder and pulse until they become a coarse powder. Don’t over-pulse since we don’t want it to clump up.
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Transfer the breadcrumbs into a bowl and add in all of the other ingredients and mix well. Make sure that your yogurt doesn’t have a lot of moisture because otherwise the mixture will become too wet.
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Shape the mixture into small tikkis, using about 1-2 tbsp of your mixture for each. I ended up making about 20 tikkis.
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Heat your ghee or oil in a large nonstick pan and add in your tikkis in small batches. Cook them for 2-3 minutes on each until they become nice and golden brown.
Serve:
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To assemble the final dish, add in a small spoon of the radga curry, followed by a tikki, and finish it off with some caprese salad. Garnish with some microgreens or cilantro and drizzle over balsamic vinegar! Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- I would recommend for you to make the breadcrumbs fresh as they work better than store bought.
- If you’re using homemade cottage cheese (chena) instead of paneer, just make sure there’s no water.