Patties or Tikkis are great as a tea time snack or appetizer in parties. Long gone are the days of common Aloo(potato) Tikkis. These patties, made of beet root and sweet potato are super healthy and delectable. These two veggies were not so common in our household. We rarely used beets for salad or some boring curry which we would push to the edges of the plate. So, I decided to make patties with beets. Here sweet potato is used for binding as it is considered much healthier than regular potato. Did you know sweet potatoes are rich in iron, fiber and vitamins A and C. This recipe is easy and uses minimal spices for flavor. These patties can be roasted in oven or shallow fried on pan with little oil. Serve with any garlic dip like garlic mayo or garlic guacamole as I did.

Beet and Sweet Potato Patties

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

Beetroot: 3 Medium size, boiled and grated

Sweet Potato: 1 Medium size, boiled and mashed

Ginger: 1 inch, finely chopped

Green Chilies: 2, finely chopped (As Required)

Coriander: 2 tbsp, finely chopped

Cashew Nuts: 6-7, coarsely ground (Optional)

Gram Flour: 3 tbsp, dry roasted

Bread Crumbs: 2 tbsp (I used whole wheat bread crumbs)

Roasted Cumin Powder: 1 tsp

Amchur Powder/Chat Masala: 1/2 tsp

Salt: 1 tsp

Oil: 1-2 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in non-stick pan and add chopped ginger and green chilies and saute for few seconds.
2. Add grated beetroot, cumin powder, salt and saute on medium-high for 3-4 mins until it looks dry
3. Add mashed sweet potato, coriander leaves, amchur powder and mix to combine
4. Add coarsely ground cashews and gram flour and mix well. At this stage the whole mixture comes together.
5. Adjust the seasoning and let the mixture cool.
6. Heat another non-stick pan and brush with oil
7. Make flat round shaped cutlets with mixture and coat with bread crumbs and place on the pan. (Season the bread crumbs with some salt and pepper if they are not already seasoned.)
8. Pour little oil around each patty and fry until the bottoms brown
9. Serve hot with spicy dip

Notes:

1. Do not over cook beetroot or sweet potato. Pressure cook both vegetables on high for 2 whistles and remove from hot water as soon as possible
2. If your patties are not holding shape, add more roasted gram flour or bread crumbs.
3. Cashew-nut just adds to the richness. Its optional
4. You can coat the cutlets with corn flour too