Aloo and Beetroot Tikkis

Beet and potato tikkis – Super crispy, spiced vegan patties with the goodness of beets, corn, and peas. A delicious Indian appetizer enjoyed on their own or with chutney or ketchup.

I remember tasting my first authentic tikki in a street-side stall in a market in New Delhi, during a snack break while in the middle of my wedding trousseau shopping. It was love at first bite. Super crisp, served with a tangy tamarind sauce and green chutney, these tikkis were nothing like the ones I had eaten before.

Aloo tikki chaat is such a popular street food in Delhi and parts of North India, yet the many versions I had eaten previously (in South India), were not quite as crispy as the ones I ate that day. There had to be a secret to the crisp texture, and there simply had to be a way to replicate this at home!

How to make crispy tikkis

The key to making crispy tikkis lies in these two factors:

Keep Moisture Low

Make sure you are using potatoes and beets that have completely cooled down. A steaming hot potato will release moisture and will result in a softer filling for the tikki. Let your potatoes and beets cool down to room temperature at the least. You can also keep your potatoes and beet in the fridge to cool before you them.

Use Rice flour

Rice flour absorbs moisture well and when used in deep frying or shallow frying, they stay crisp for long, long after they are fried. Rice flour is also commonly used in vegetable pakoras to make them extra crispy. Some recipes for tikkis call for rice flakes aka, flattened rice (poha). However, I find that rice flour does a good job on its own. You can choose to add rice flakes after rehydrating them with water.