Air Fryer Aloo Tikki
Crispy spiced potato patties cooked in the air fryer with minimal oil. Perfect for tea time, chaat plates, or lunchboxes.
Ingredients
For the patties
- 500 g potatoes boiled, peeled, cooled, mashed
- 2 tbsp poha or 2 tbsp rice flour; dry, lightly crushed
- 1 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1–2 green chilies finely chopped
- 3 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
- 1 tsp chaat masala
- 1/2 –1 tsp red chili powder
- 1/2 tsp amchur or lemon juice to taste
- Salt to taste
- Neutral oil spray for basket and patties
Instructions
Prep
- Mash cooled potatoes in a wide bowl until mostly smooth; a few small lumps are fine.
- Toast crushed poha in a dry pan for 30–60 seconds until aromatic; cool slightly (optional but helps texture).
Mix and shape
- Combine potatoes, poha or rice flour, cornstarch, ginger, chilies, cilantro, and all dry spices. Mix gently until even.
- If the mix is too wet, add a little more rice flour or cornstarch; if too dry, add water by the teaspoon until a ball holds when squeezed.
- Taste-test a tiny cooked pinch and adjust salt, chili, and amchur.
- Shape into patties about 2/3 inch thick and 2.5 inches wide, pressing edges smooth to avoid cracks. Chill 15–30 minutes in the fridge (or 10 minutes in the freezer).
Air fry
- Preheat the air fryer to 190 °C (375 °F) for about 3 minutes. Lightly spray the basket.
- Arrange tikkis in a single layer with space between; spray tops. Air fry 12–14 minutes.
- Flip carefully with a thin spatula; spray again. Cook 8–10 minutes more until deeply golden and crisp. Timings vary by model.
- Serve hot with chutneys, yogurt, onion, and sev for chaat if you like.
Notes
Cool the mash completely before mixing; warm potatoes make fragile patties.
Do not crowd the basket or the patties steam instead of crisping.
If a patty sticks, wait another minute before flipping so the crust can release.
Store cooled tikkis in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days; reheat in the air fryer 3–5 minutes to recrisp.
Stovetop option: shallow-fry in a nonstick pan with 2–3 tbsp oil until golden on both sides.
Freeze shaped uncooked patties in a single layer, then bag; air fry from frozen with a few extra minutes.
Do not crowd the basket or the patties steam instead of crisping.
If a patty sticks, wait another minute before flipping so the crust can release.
Store cooled tikkis in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days; reheat in the air fryer 3–5 minutes to recrisp.
Stovetop option: shallow-fry in a nonstick pan with 2–3 tbsp oil until golden on both sides.
Freeze shaped uncooked patties in a single layer, then bag; air fry from frozen with a few extra minutes.
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