I am a huge fan of these Plantain/Raw Banana Tikkis. These taste similar to mutton shami kebabs because of the meaty texture of plantain and bengal gram used. Serve it as a snack or starter and you will not be disappointed. I served it with plum (aloo bhukara) chutney and it was absolutely delicious. A quick recipe of chutney is included too.

Plantain/Raw Banana Tikkis

Servings: 15 medium size tikkis

Ingredients:

Plantain/Raw Bananas: 3 Large, peeled & cubed

Onion: 1 small, chopped

Green Chili: 1, chopped

Ginger Garlic Paste: 1 tbsp (Or 1″ ginger and 5 garlic cloves chopped roughly)

Red Chili Powder: 1 tsp

Coriander Powder: 1 tbsp

Cumin Powder: 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder: 1/4 tsp

Roasted Bengal Gram: 1/3 cup (Or alternatively you can use gram flour/besan. Dry roast it until raw smell goes off)

Cloves: 5

Green Cardamom: 3

Cinnamon: 1″  piece

Chat Masala: 1 tsp

Cilantro: 2 tbsp, chopped finely

Onion: 1/2 small, chopped finely

Oil: 1 tbsp

Water: As required

Procedure:

1. Oil your hands and peel the plantain. Cut it into cubes.
2. In a saucepan, bring together plantain cubes, salt, chili powder, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, ginger garlic paste, chopped onions and green chili. Add water until cubes are covered and boil for 20 mins uncovered until plantain is completely cooked and all the moisture is evaporated
3. Let it cool down. Meanwhile grind roasted bengal gram, chat masala, whole cardamoms, cinnamon and cloves to a fine powder
4. Pour the powder on plantain mixture and mix well. It will soak the extra moisture present.
5. Grind the mixture in blender by giving short pulses to make a coarse paste as to make tikkis (or alternatively do the same with potato masher)
6. Add finely chopped cilantro and onions and mix well. It will give nice crunch for the tikkis.
7. Adjust the seasoning and shape into tikkis. You can keep the tikkis in freezer for a month or in the refrigerator for two days (To freeze, arrange on baking tray and freezer for 30 mins and pack them in zip-loc bags. This way tikkis will not stick to each other)
8. Heat a pan and brush with oil and fry the tikkis on both sides until brown.
9. Serve hot with any chutney

Sweet and Sour Plum (Aloo Bhukara) Chutney

Ingredients:

Plums: 4 medium size, pitted and sliced with skin on

Red Chili Powder: 1 tsp

Brown Sugar/Sugar: 4-5 tbsp, As required

Cloves: 3

Salt: 1 tbsp

Vinegar: 1 tbsp (to preserve)

Water: 2 cups

Procedure:

1. Bring everything together in a pot and boil it until plum slices are cooked thoroughly and mixture thickens to chutney consistency
2. You can blend it to smooth puree or keep it as is if you like it chunky
3. Store it in glass jar in cool place for more than a month. You can use this in chats as well.
4.