Ragada Patties

Out of the things that i missed after coming to US was all the lovely street foods like pani puri,chaat,pav bhajji,noodles.......n the list goes on.So I thought the country might be foreign to me but still its where my home is....my very first home after marriage.

I sat down one day n started thinking why not make everything that i miss in india at home in US as well n there i am today will all the pav bhajjis,chaat's,pani puris etc.Today here i am with a dish named Ragada patties.

Its one of the north indian fast food dishes.We get it in Andhra on the street carts but they sell it as chaat,well its a type of chaat.Ragda Patty is one of the renowned food items in Maharashtra. Ragda is a spicy mash of potatoes and various lentils. This spiced potato cake with tangy chickpea curry garnished with chopped onions and cilantro is the essential fast food in Mumbai.

For Patty

2 big potatoe's

2 green chillieschopped

1tsp grated garlic

salt

1 tsp chaat masala

cilantro chopped

1/2 tsp turmeric

salt

2 bread slices crusts cut off

Boil the potatoes until soft.Remove n cool and mash them into a smooth paste. To this add all of the above ingredients except bread slices n mix.Now wet the bread slices with bit of water n squeeze out all the water by pressing the slices inbetween the hands.Add this to the potatoe mixture and combine.U should be able to form round patties with it just like vegetable cutlets,if not then this means ur mixture is wet if so add more bread slices to it.Then shallow fry the patties on a hot tawa with bit of oil on both sides.

Ragada:

2 cups white or green vatna(dried peas) soaked overnight

1 medium onion chopped finely

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp coriander pwd

1 tsp jeera pwd

1 tbsp chillie pwd

1 tsp chaat masala

pinch of sugar

lemon sized tamarind soaked in water

salt

oil

Garnish(curd,store bought or home made mint n coriander chutney and tamarind n date chutney-i prefer the knorr one we get in indian stores,haldirams sev,chopped cilantro,chopped onion's)

Method:

• Pressure cook the soaked vatna upto 2 whistles,be sure that they reatin their shape,once cooled remove palm full of vatna n smash them n keep aside also reserve the water in which the vatna were boiled
• Heat some oil in a pan,add chopped onions and let it fry till golden yellow.
• Next add the turmeric and ginger garlic paste
• Fry for a min then add the coriander pwd,jeera pwd and chilli pwd immediatley add 1/2 cup of water to make sure that spices dont get burnt.
• Then add the boiled vatna along with the reserved water,let it come to a boil .
• Add the tamarind water/pulp,also add the chaat masala n salt at this point,leave it to boil to recquired gravy consistency
• Add some sugar ,taste it n adjust the spice n sour levels in it according to ur taste.

Assembling

Beat the curd to a flowing consistency,but not too loose. Place 2 patties on a plate or a bowl .Pour the Ragada gravy on top of it.Garnish with the curd,mint n coriander chutney,date n tamarind chutney,sev,chopped onion's and cilantro.