Thai Chilli Cakes

Thai Starters.. They don't  have that! Its soup usually that they begin with! So I had to look for something that's Thai and could be made into starters. So began the internet surfing for this. Spring Rolls is overdone. I wanted something new. And then, I came across Thai Chilli Cakes by Sanjeev Kapoor. Something innovative, easy and healthy too! I knew I had to try this.

Its a mixture of bengal gram (chana dal), chickpeas (kabuli chana / choley) and to give it the thai touch, the Thai Red Curry Paste. Its really simple. Its such a change from using potatoes is most of the tikki type starters that this recipe is a must try. Plus its shallow fried!

This recipe is adapted from here. I have followed it almost entirely with just a few optional changes. Its a protein rich recipe and can be made even otherwise as a snack or a tikki to make kathi rolls, wraps, burgers, or sandwich!! Great for kids and a healthy option for dieters.

So here it goes:

Serves: 6 Preparation Time: 15 mins Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

To be soaked overnight, boiled with salt and drained:
1 cup Chickpeas (kabuli chana / choley)
½ cup Bengal Gram (chana dal) 

Other Ingredients:
3 tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste
8-10 coriander stalks, cleaned and roughly cut
1 cup onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp coriander, chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt as per taste
Oil for shallow frying, as required

Dipping Sauce:
Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
Ketchup

Method:

1. In a mixer/ food processor/ grinder, take the coriander stalks and crush them into a paste. If required, add some bengal gram to it so it gets crushed well.

2. Once the stalks are crushed, add the chickpeas and balance bengal gram and crush.

Do not use any water to while crushing.

3. It should now resemble a largely smooth & moist dough. Add in the onions, coriander leaves, salt, curry paste, lemon juice and salt. Mix well.

4. Roll them out into even sized flattened balls/tikkis.

5. In a pan, put 3-4 tbsp of oil or as required. Let it heat and then place all the tikkis and shallow fry them on each side.

And its ready! Serve hot with the thai chilli sauce or ketchup!

Its that simple! Enjoy!

Notes & Tips:

1. Unlike the original recipe, I boiled and used the bengal gram, perhaps that gave a slightly loose texture to my mixture. I used about 2 tbsp of breadcrumbs. My mom felt it was loose but I felt it was alright! It cooked and tasted just the same without the bread crumbs. So you can go with your preference.

2. The quantity of curry paste will depend on the potency of it.

3. You can also crush some kaffir lime leaves with the coriander stalk to make it more thai.

4. If you are using it as a tikki, you can add some mint/phudina leaves instead of kaffir lime leaves. Serve it with coriander chutney. Alternatively, if using it in a wrap or a roll or for burgers, just get creative and use it!

5. For Jains:

Just omit the onions. And the rest is same.

A very simple protein rich jain option!

If you try it, do leave your experiences in the comment section! And ofcourse, for any queries too!

Enjoy!