Ragda Patties

We were tired and hungry, all 13 of us, including the two extras!!

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I'm talking about a few (!) years back, when I, as a part of my school hockey team had won inter-district competition and had qualified for inter-state competition. We were in Nagpur for this event. The food served was less than appetising even to hungry 14 year olds, we made do with some vada pav available in the vicinity of the school grounds and were hungry 15 minutes later!

Whilst thus roaming aimlessly, we bumped in to 'A', the captain of the opposing team and a localite at that. Our team captain 'K' had befriended her in the short 2 day period. 'K' had a vibrant personality and could befriend anyone she met even once, let alone the captain of the opposing team! While K & A chatted a bit, we just stood there, hands in our pockets thinking about our next meal. A invited K over to her house and looking vaguely in our direction said, why don't you guys join in too? What! 13 of us? including the two extras? We were evil then, always treating the two extras with lesser respect ;)

But we more than jumped at the opportunity thinking of the food that we might get to eat at her house. Poor 'A' might have been alarmed, but she had already spoken, so off we went to her house, all 13 of us!

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It was a small 2 room apartment, the lack of furniture was more than made up by the warm welcome given by her mom. We sat on the bed in the room, a few of us cross legged on the floor, every one's gaze fixed toward the kitchen :) As her mom emerged from the kitchen, our gaze followed her, she said she had made Ragda Patties and asked A to help her get the snacks into the room. Our faces had a distinct smile, all waiting hungrily and greedily :)

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A and her mom got the Patties in a couple of plates and Ragda in a bowl, we all shared from those plates and devoured the whole thing in a matter of few minutes.

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It was a simple snack, sans grandeur, sans pretense! It is one of the cherished moments and I remember the scene vividly to this day! I guess it was the warmth which struck a chord, the taste of the dish was never in question! I will treasure this memory with me forever, it was one fine moment!!

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I never met 'A' after that, but the memory still brings forth strong emotions when I think of it :)
There is a saying in India, 'Atithi Devo Bhavo', which means treat your guests like you would treat God. I've never seen anyone leave my parents house without first having something to eat, that is just the way it is :)

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So in honor of 'A' and her mom, for thinking about us hungry souls, how about a plate of steaming hot Ragda Patties!

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Ragda Patties
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Lets start with the Patties, which on it's own makes a yummy snack to go with tea. There are various kinds of Patties, I make mine with just boiled potatoes. I do not spice up my Patties too much, I like to use various aromatic and colorful chutneys to do the job :)
Also I shallow fry these little bundles of taste rather than deep frying them and you would never know the difference, trust me on this one ;)

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Patties

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4 potatoes boiled
2 tbsp coriander leaves
2 tbsp bread crumbs (optional)
salt, chili powder as per taste
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1. Mash the boiled potatoes well to a smooth mush.

2. Add salt, chili powder, bread crumbs and coriander leaves and mix well.

3. Shape into lemon sized balls and flatten to get the shape in the picture below.

4. Heat a non-stick griddle, spray with oil (in the absence of a spray, just drizzle a few teaspoons of oil). Add a few patties as per the size of the griddle and shallow fry one side till golden, flip, spray some more oil and fry till the other side is done too. Using a fairly large sized griddle allows one to cook many patties at a time, thus making this an excellent party dish and is loved by all.

Now for the Ragda recipe.
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1 cup yellow peas soaked overnight (green peas are not to be used for ragda)
3 tbsp onion chopped
Tadka: 1tbsp oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves
2 slit green chili (this can be easily discarded after cooking to make sure kids do not chew on it)
salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder
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1. Cook yellow peas till done, I pressure cook them which is the fastest & most efficient method in my experience.

2. Heat oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida & curry leaves. Let splutter and then add slit green chili and onion, saute till translucent. Add all the masala powders and boiled peas. Add more water as per desired consistency and simmer a few minutes.
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For serving:
Coriander chutney, Tamarind chutney & Garlic chutney. You can find the recipes for all the chutneys here. These chutney's freeze well and come in handy with all the savory snacks!
1 onion chopped fine
coriander leaves chopped
lemon/lime juice
Fried chickpea (sev/ganthia)
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Arrange 2-3 petite Patties in a bowl, let hot ragda drip over the nimble patties. Sprinkle chopped onion and splash the three chutneys as per your taste, be it hot & spice or sweet & tangy :) Can squeeze lemon juice as per taste.
Finally sprinkle the fried goodies(sev) over it and enjoy a bowl of sizzling hot Ragda Patties! Have I perked your interest yet ;)

This is my contribution to Nupur's A-Z series.

My contribution to dear Archana's One D event :)