About Ragda Patties Recipe
I am a big fan of Indian street food recipes, like Sev Puri, Bhel Puri and Pani Puri. However, Ragda Pattice is by far my favorite chaat. They are commonly enjoyed as snacks in Mumbai, but are so delicious, it’s well worth a bit of effort to make them from scratch at home. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside fried potato patties are set on a plate with homemade ragda – which is a savory curry made from dried peas and spices. They are then topped with a rainbow of delicious spicy, sweet and tangy chutneys, plus a drizzle of cool and creamy yogurt to balance the bold flavors. The dish is finished with a sprinkling of spice powders and crunchy fried gram flour vermicelli (sev) for more great textures. In Hindi, we call the blissful combination of sweet, spicy, savory, tangy/sour flavors chatpata. And let me tell you, this ragda patties recipe definitely brings that chatpata taste!
Elements of Ragda Pattice
This snack food recipe requires three key components:
- Potato Patties – Mashed potatoes are formed in patties and pan fried or shallow fried until crisp. They are crunchy, lightly spiced and taste so good when enjoyed as part of this dish or even eaten plain on their own.
- Ragda – Dried white peas are cooked with a few spices in a creamy curry (or gravy) until soft and flavorful.
- Toppings – For authentic ragda pattice, you need to top the curry and crispy potato patties with an assortment of chutneys, yogurt, veggies and spices. These are optional, but I highly recommend you include:
Green Coriander Chutney – Either made just with coriander leaves, or coriander and mint. Red Chilli Chutney – Made from dry red Kashmiri chilies and garlic. Tamarind Chutney – A sweet and tangy tasting chutney made with dried tamarind, jaggery or sugar and a few spices. Yogurt or curd – Adds a terrific bit of tangy creaminess and richness. Onions and tomatoes – These veggies add a lovely bit of fresh flavor.Sev – Fried gram flour vermicelli that gives the dish great crunchiness. Ground spices – I use a combination of chaat masala, roasted cumin powder, and black salt or regular salt. Pomegranate arils – These ruby red, tangy-sweet Pomegranate arils bring some freshness, color and crunch to the dish. If you can, I suggest that you make as many of the above recipes as possible for the best, freshest toppings.
You can even prepare the chutneys 1 to 2 days in advance and keep in the fridge until you’re ready to enjoy! Do note that I keep the spicing in the peas curry and the potato patties to a minimal, so that there is a harmony and balance in the dish. The three chutneys contribute so much in the taste and flavor department, that you do not need to heavily spice the curry and the patties. We are not eating simply a plain potato patty or only the curry. We are spicing and flavoring these with the three chutneys and this what makes ragda patties so flavorful and tasty.
How to make Ragda Pattice Recipe
Prep Ragda (White Peas Curry) and Potatoes
- Rinse a few times in fresh water and then soak 1 cup of dried white peas in water overnight or for 8 to 9 hours. You can also use dried green peas.
- Drain all the water and rinse the soaked peas once or twice with fresh water in a strainer. Add the soaked white peas to an Instant pot. Add the ground spices – ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon red chilli powder and salt as required. Also add 1 tablespoon oil. Note that I prefer to cook the dried white peas and the potatoes together in the Instant pot to save time. You can also cook the dried white peas in a stovetop pressure cooker. In a pan it will take a lot of time to cook these peas and I would not recommend it. The potatoes can be cooked in a pan or in a stovetop pressure cooker. Make sure to cook the potatoes until fork tender.
- Add 2 cups of water.
- Place a trivet in the pot, ensuring that the top part of the trivet is much above the layer of water covering the peas. Add a pan with 2 to 3 large potatoes (or 4 medium sized potatoes) on the trivet.
- Seal with the lid with the pressure valve positioned in the sealing mode. Pressure cook for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes the pressure cooker will beep. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before releasing the valve. Open the lid and check the potatoes with a fork or knife. The fork should pass easily through the potatoes.
- Check if the peas are tender and softened. Sometimes you may find that some peas are thoroughly cooked and some are not. So pressure cook for 10 more minutes if needed to ensure that all the peas are cooked well.
- Press the sauté switch and set the time to 10 or 12 minutes. Mash some of the cooked peas with a potato or vegetable masher. This helps to thicken the ragda.
- Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or more until the consistency thickens. You should not get a runny or thin consistency. The ragda consistency should be medium to medium-thick and flowing. Keep the warm function on. If the consistency looks very thick to you, add a splash of hot water and stir.
Make Potato Patties
- While they are still hot or warm, peel and mash the potatoes in a bowl. You can also grate the potatoes and then mash.
- Add ½ teaspoon red chilli powder, ¼ cup bread crumbs and salt as per paste.
- Mix all the ingredients very well. Check the seasoning and add more salt if required.
- Make medium sized balls of the mashed potato mixture. Flatten them, shape into round patties and keep aside.
- Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons oil or ghee on a skillet or tava or in a shallow frying pan. Add the potato patties in the hot oil in the tava for pan-frying.
- Lift with the spatula and check to see if the base is golden. Turn over the patties and fry the other side.
- When this side gets a golden, turn over again. Fry until the patties become golden brown and crisp from both sides turning over as needed.
- Place the pan-fried patties on kitchen paper towels or in a mesh strainer.
Assemble and Make Ragda Pattice
- Keep everything ready for the topping and garnish before you assemble the ragda patties. The potato patties have to be hot or warm before you assemble, so keep everything ready before you fry the patties. Keep the ragda hot or warm. Have both the green chutney and the sweet chaat chutney ready, plus the spicy red chutney if you like. Also have the onions, tomatoes and coriander chopped and set aside, if you are including. Set aside the ground spice powders – chaat masala, roasted cumin powder, rock salt/black salt.
- Once you’ve got all of your toppings ingredients ready to go, assembling the dish only takes a minute. In a bowl, take a portion of the ragda curry and then place two or three potato patties on it.
- Top it up with 2 to 3 tablespoons whisked or beaten curd or yogurt. Adding curd is optional and can be skipped.
- Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of green chutney or mint coriander chutney, ½ to 1 teaspoon dry red chilli chutney (optional) and 1 to 2 tablespoons sweet tamarind chutney on the ragda. You can prefer to add the amount of chutney as desired.
- Top with 1 to 2 tablespoons of finely chopped onions and finely chopped tomatoes, if desired. I have not added tomatoes.
- Sprinkle on a few pinches of the ground spices – roasted cumin powder, chaat masala, black salt or regular salt. At this stage, you could add a few drops of lemon juice or chopped/grated raw mango if in season.
- Top it with some sev (fried gram flour vermicelli) as much you like. You can also sprinkle on some pomegranate arils optionally and chopped coriander leaves or mint leaves. Serve ragda patties immediately for the best textures and taste. Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Pav Bhaji Recipe (Video + Step by Step Photos) Misal Pav (Misal Recipe) Momos Recipe | Veg Momos Spring Rolls | Crispy Veg Spring Roll Recipe This Ragda Patties recipe from the blog archives first published in August 2010 has been updated and republished on June 2021.
