Chawal ki Tikki - Rice Cakes

Looking for a more attractive alternative to plain white rice? Try these fried rice cakes - nice to look at and great in taste.

How to prepare Chawal ki Tikki

Start by washing the rice. Put it then into the pot in which you want to boil it, add the water and let it soak for about 20 minutes. After this time, place the pot on the stove and heat it up at medium heat with a lid on the pot. When the water starts boiling, turn the heat down low. Don’t stir but just let your rice get cooked at low heat and with a lid on.

In the meantime you can wash the coriander and pick the leaves and fine stems off the big stems. Cut the remaining small stems and leaves into small pieces.

After about 15 minutes, the rice will be done. You can check it easily by listening whether there is still the sound of boiling water. If there isn’t and the tips of the rice are pointing upwards, your rice is ready. Take it off the stove and let it cool down. You can take it out in a bowl or spread it on a big plate, that will speed up the process.

Once the rice is cold, add salt and coriander leaves on top and mix it all well. While mixing, you can already use your hands and start mashing the rice a little bit. Once it is all well mixed and part of the rice mashed, you need to make small balls out of the rice. That is why you need to have it a bit mashed – so that it will stick together.

Roll each ball in between the palms of your hands and then press them slowly and gently together, making a cake out of the formerly round ball. Do that with the complete paste.

After washing your hands, you can take a non-stick pan for frying, add a bit of the oil and when it is hot, add as many of the cakes as can comfortably fit in your pan without them touching each other and thus sticking together. Let the bottom side get fried at medium heat and when it is solid enough for you to turn it around, do so carefully. Fry it from the other side, add some oil in the pan if necessary and turn again. Repeat the turning until the rice cakes are golden on both sides.

Take them out of the pan and serve them hot, for example together with a nice salad, a dip or some dal.

Enjoy!