Mushroom tikki sitting pretty on a whole wheat bun

Just as I am writing this, there are gusty winds blowing and it’s starting to pour and instantly there is the unmistakable mitti ki khushboo or the sweet smell of the freshly drenched soil. The weather feels suddenly quite bearable and I am craving for a large masala chai. It rained like this the evening of the day before and wow this feels deliciously good, even if our dish TV antenna is failing to catch signals due to the crazy winds!

An ex-collegue and me had made afternoon plans to catch up but am I glad we cancelled it. There nothing as good as enjoying the rains from your balcony, even jutting your head out to catch the downpour nothing as bad as getting stuck in the middle of the road , when every autowala worth his salt will refuse to take to anywhere. Can I see other Mumbai_kars_ nodding their heads??

And hey, what a conincidence that I’m sharing with you perfect rainy season food, something chatpata and fun to have with spicy chai! This one is totally inspired by one of the recent episodes of Sanjeev Kapoor‘s Khana Khazana. My addition was mainly the Nigella seeds or Kalonji which imparted a strong fragrance to the tikkis.

That’s the way aha aha I like it!

Mushroom tikki flavoured with Nigella seeds

Category: Finger food, quick dinner

Time taken: Under 30 minutes

Makes: 4 large tikkis

Mushroom Tikkis flavoured with Nigella Seeds

Just as I am writing this, there are gusty winds blowing and it's starting to pour and instantly there is the unmistakable mitti ki khushboo or the sweet smell of the freshly drenched soil. The weather feels suddenly quite bearable and I am craving for a large masala chai. It rained like this the ev

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Ingredients

1/4 tsp kalonji Seeds or Nigella
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
quartered pack mushrooms , cleaned and 1 (to make 2 heaped cups or so)
1 potato medium , boiled , peeled and smashed
1 onion medium , finely chopped
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsps coriander leaves chopped
1/2 cup rava

for browning tikkis

Instructions

Boil the mushrooms in1/4 cup water or microwave on high for 4 minutes, till soft. Drain and cool. Grind this in a small jar into a coarse paste. You could also use a ricer to mash this. Keep aside.
In a non stick pan, heat 1 tsp oil. Sizzle the Nigella seeds in oil for a few seconds, add the chopped garlic. Saute for a brief while. Do not brown. Put it in the chopped onions with a pinch of salt and saute until soft and lightly browned. This will take around 3-4 minutes.
Next, add the coarsely ground mushrooms and stir for 3-4 minutes on high heat, till the mixture is dry. Remove into a bowl and cool for 5 minutes or so.
In the same bowl, add the smashed potatoes, remaining ingredients and season with salt to taste. Taste the mixture for salt and spices.
Spread the rava/semolina on a flat dish. Shape the mixture for the tikkis into thick rounds. I made 4 large tikkis from the above mentioned quantities. Handling them gently, coat on both sides with rava and shallow fry on a greased non-stick pan or grill for 3 minutes on each side till brown and crisp.
Serve in a burger bun or as it is with ketchup or chutney.

Notes

Notes:

Boiling and grinding the mushrooms brings out a lot of flavour from them and the nigella seeds are a powerhouse of taste. Less is more in this case and just 1/4 tsp keeps the oniony taste going throughout.

If you find the tikkis somewhat fragile to handle, then put it in the fridge for 30 minutes before shaping and browning. If that doesn't help either, add in some bread crumbs to the mixture.

Between starting this post and ending it, the rains have ceased and the sun is trying to come out once again to terrorise us 🙂

Since Tikkis are so Indian and there are two hearty vegetables in this one, I shall submit this for the T of Indian Vegetables at Nupur's!

Comments

Richa says: June 2, 2007 at 4:12 pm

we had similar weather out here yesterday and the temps have dropped a bit since :)tikki’s look yum, u are on a roll, pun intended :)have ur bulgur patties on my to-try list before i try these!!!thanks

bee says: June 2, 2007 at 4:21 pm

i love mushrooms, so does j. this one’s been bookmarked. gal, my bookmark folder is full, and you’ve hogged most of it.

Suganya says: June 2, 2007 at 8:15 pm

On time for Coffee’s ‘Something Lite’ MBP 😉

Rachna says: June 2, 2007 at 9:58 pm

mmm i love that mitti ki khushboo, never heard of mushroom tikkis, will give it a shot…

Cynthia says: June 3, 2007 at 2:22 am

Mushrooms and potatoes! They are among my favourites. I have bookmarked the recipe. This is a definite got-to-make-these.

Coffee says: June 3, 2007 at 2:40 am

Yes I am nodding my head. :)Thats a great variation to burgers! Mushroom tikki looks fab! 🙂

Sig says: June 3, 2007 at 4:09 am

Ah, it is rainy season already? Here we are having nice sunshine for a week now… but those tikis look too delicious to have even in sumshine… love mushrooms. Hope you are having a great weekend!

Raaga says: June 4, 2007 at 3:24 pm

You post more stuff than I can keep pace with… haven’t gone beyond your tomato salad… though everything is on a “must-do” list!!

Nupur says: June 4, 2007 at 9:55 pm

The combination of mushrooms and potatoes is quite unusual to me! What a delicious, creative recipe.

Anjali says: June 11, 2007 at 4:35 am

It must be such relief now in Mumbai with the rains. The tikis look absolutely mouth watering.

Sheela says: June 11, 2007 at 7:25 pm

hey girl, coating with rava is a new thing for me – must try it… i love mushrooms but D doesn’t so i haven’t used it much so far… and, doesn’t it feel great to have hot bajjis or pakoras (or tikkis in your case) with steaming cups of chai cozily in the comfort of your sofa when it is pouring outside?!

Mushroom Tikkis flavoured with Nigella Seeds