Rajma Tikki

Oh it was so much fun to create something new for dinner! A meal that is nutritious, delicious, and protein rich, with traditional flavors, but still presented differently. While I had soaked some rajma to make north Indian style rajma masala to go with rice, I ended up turning the same rajma and rice dish into these little cutlets or tikkis.

I know people do make rajma kababs...never made those but would love to some day. Maybe I did the same in this recipe...made rajma kababs while adding some cooked rice as a binder. Grains and lentils compliment each other well to make a complete protein meal. I have explained about complete proteins in one of my earlier recipes. Keeping this concept in mind rajma & rice tikkis were made. Of course, you could add bread, or breadcrumbs, or sooji/rawa/semolina as a binder too. These are so easy to make, and I would say that it makes a great picnic, travel, or school lunch meal. For vegetarians who wish to increase the protein intake for breakfasts, this recipe is perfect for a tasty, healthy, and quick breakfast with everything prepped ahead of time or a day before.

Ingredients (makes8-10 tikkis)
1/2 cup rajma
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup chopped onion
2-3 clove garlic
1/4 inch ginger
1-2 green chilies
1-2 tbsp. rajma masala (I like MDH rajma masala)
1 tsp. salt
1tbsp. red chili powder
Ghee or oil for shallow frying.

• Soak 1/2 cup rajma in 2 cups of water for 6 hours or overnight. 
• Pressure cook till you hear 4-5 whistles of for 45 minutes. Turn of the heat and let the pressure cooker cool. 
• Remove water from rajma.
• In a food processor of chopper add onions, garlic, ginger, and green chilies and mince them finely. 
• Add boiled rajma and grind it well to form a rough paste. (do not over grind and make it smooth).
• Add cooked rice, rajma masala, salt, red chili powder and grind them again till it is mixed.
• Try to form tikkis or cutlets. You should not need any binder. If it seems dry, add 2-3 tbsp. water and grind it again and make tikkis. 
• Shallow fry using oil or ghee. I used ghee to fry tikkis as rajma and rice goes really well with the flavor and aroma of ghee.
• Serve tikkis with sliced onions and chutney.

Here is step-by-step pictorial recipe:

Soak 1/2 cup rajma in 2 cups of water for 6 hours or overnight.

In a food processor of chopper add onions, garlic, ginger, and green chilies and mince them finely. 

Pressure cook till you hear 4-5 whistles of for 45 minutes. Turn of the heat and let the pressure cooker cool.

Add boiled rajma and grind it well to form a rough paste. (do not over grind and make it smooth).

Add cooked rice, rajma masala, salt, red chili powder and grind them again till it is mixed.

Try to form tikkis or cutlets. You should not need any binder. If it seems dry, add 2-3 tbsp. water and grind it again and make tikkis. 

Shallow fry using oil or ghee. I used ghee to fry tikkis as rajma and rice goes really well with the flavor and aroma of ghee.

My spriralizer to make spiral onions to serve these tikkis.

Serve tikkis with onions and chutney.

Yummylicious!!!