Life feels a little wobbly right now, doesn’t it? Holy smokes! School closures, job losses, and economic instability are all a lot to handle on top of the public health crisis. One thing that remains predictable in all of this is that you all need to eat and take care of your selves. We have been, well, just staying home. Not eating out, not going to events, not hanging out with groups of people. This is an effort to do the MOST GOOD for our family, for our healthcare workers, and for those most vulnerable in our community.
Honestly right now flexibility is key! The whole point here is making do with what we have so as to avoid unnecessary trips out and the only way that works is by using the most out of what you have at home and experimenting. Indian cuisine is so versatile and has varieties of beans and legumes. You can practically make a meal with beans/legumes if you did not have any other vegetables. Most of the days, I make sure that my family eats wholesome home cooked foods, but there are days when I just feel like taking a break from everyday food and indulge in some spicy delicious street food!
As to continue our bean/legume series, this month I am sharing with you one of the popular street foods called Ragda Patties. Ragda is a thick gravy concoction made with dried green peas which is poured over the patties which is made from vegetables and spices. Then it is garnished with finely chopped onions, chutneys and sev. Whenever we made this dish, I end up making extra Ragda to eat the next day as soup or with roti or rice. This is one seriously addictive chat and with the given recipe you can make the best tasting ragda patties at home. Read on and enjoy!
Ingredients
For Patties
2 large yellow potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
2 tbsp corn flour
¾ cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp ginger paste
1-2 tsp finely chopped green chilies
½ tsp lemon juice
½ tsp sugar
Salt to taste
2-3 tbsp EVOO for cooking patties
For Radga
1 cup dried green peas, soak them overnight if planned ahead of time
1 tbsp EVOO
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ cumin seeds
8-10 curry leaves
1 tsp asafetida
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin-coriander powder
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp ginger finely chopped
1 tsp garlic finely chopped
1 tsp finely chopped green chilies
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 tomato finely chopped
2 tsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
For mint-cilantro chutney
2 cups chopped mint leaves
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 tbsp lemon juice
2-3 green thai chilies
1 tbsp chopped ginger
¼ cup apple chopped
2-3 cloves garlic
Salt to taste
2-3 tbsp of water as needed
For date- tamarind chutney
1 cup deseeded dates
½ cup deseeded tamarind
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp roasted cumin powder
Salt to taste
Garnishing – finely chopped onions, cilantro and fine sev (which you can find in Indian grocery store)
Method
For mint-cilantro chutney
Wash and prep all ingredients. Combine all ingredients in Vitamix and blend until smooth paste using minimal water. Store in airtight container up to 1 week in fridge and up to 3 months in freezer.
For date-tamarind chutney
In a bowl heat 2 cups of water. Once bubbling hot, add dates and tamarind to it. Allow them to soak for 1 hour. Once soaked, blend in Vitamix until smooth puree. Vitamix makes a very fine paste, so I don’t have to sieve it. If your blender doesn’t make smooth paste, then sieve the puree to get best texture. Transfer the mixture in pan, add all the seasonings and mix thoroughly. Cook the mixture over medium heat for 2-3 minutes and cool completely. Store in air tight container up to 1 week in the fridge and up to 3 months in freezer.
For patties
Prep all the ingredients. Add 1 cup of water in instant pot. On top of the trivet, place potatoes and close the lid with pressure valve to seal. Cook on manual high temp for 8 minutes followed by natural pressure release. Once cooked, peel and mash potatoes in a big bowl. To the same bowl, add corn flour, salt and knead the mixture. Add green chilies, ginger paste, lemon juice, sugar and salt. Combine mixture until everything is mixed thoroughly. Add little bit more corn flour as needed to keep the shape, it helps with binding. Divide the dough into 8-10 portions. Press the potato in between both palms and form patties. Heat 3 tbsp of EVOO in a pan on medium heat. Once oil is hot, place the prepared patties into the pan. Cook until the patties are golden brown from both sides. This process takes approximately 5 minutes on each side. Set aside.
For Radga
Soak the dried green peas overnight for best texture. Once soaking process is finished, drain excess water and set it aside. Turn on instant pot on sauté (more) mode. Once hot, add oil. Allow oil to heat up then add mustard, cumin seeds, and curry leaves. Once they start spluttering, add asafetida, ginger, garlic, green chilies, turmeric, chopped onion, chopped tomato, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala, red chili powder and salt. Mix thoroughly and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add soaked peas along with 2 cups of water. Close instant pot with pressure valve to seal. Cook on manual high pressure for 20 minutes followed by natural pressure release. Once finished, open instant pot, adjust spices as needed.
Assembling the dish
Place 2 patties on a plate. Add 1 cup of ragda on top. Add finely chopped onions, cilantro and sev. Prior serving as per your taste buds, top it off with sweet and green chutneys. Enjoy!
Tips – Ragda Patties is perfect leftover lunch and if you want to make it lighter, you can skip the patties and just have Ragda with the toppings as a soup or serve it with roti or rice.
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