Ragda Pattice (Mumbai Street Chaat)

Ragda is a soft curry of dried white or yellow peas; pattice are golden potato cakes. Together, topped with sweet tamarind and green chutney, onion and crunchy sev, they make one of the most loved plates on Mumbai's beaches and street corners.

Video by Your Food Lab on YouTube. Our recipe below is our own home-style version, written in our own words – quantities and steps may differ from the video.

Serves 4
Prep 30 min
Soak 480 min
Cook 40 min
Vegetarian
Famous in Mumbai

Ingredients

For the ragda: 200 g dried white or yellow peas (vatana), soaked overnight, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp oil, ½ tsp cumin, 1 onion chopped, 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp chaat masala
For the pattice: 500 g boiled potatoes mashed, 2 tbsp cornflour or bread crumbs, 1 green chilli chopped, ½ tsp salt, 2 tbsp coriander, oil for shallow-frying
To serve: tamarind chutney, green chutney, 1 onion finely chopped, sev, chaat masala, coriander

Method

Cook the peas with turmeric, salt and 800 ml water for 30 minutes (or 4 whistles) until soft. Mash lightly.
Heat the oil, add cumin, onion and ginger-garlic paste and fry until golden. Add chilli powder, chaat masala and the peas and simmer for 10 minutes until thick but pourable.
Mix potatoes, cornflour, chilli, salt and coriander and shape 8 flat patties.
Shallow-fry the patties on a tawa until golden and crisp on both sides.
Place two pattice on a plate, pour hot ragda over, then top with both chutneys, onion, sev, a pinch of chaat masala and coriander. Serve immediately.

Tip: The ragda thickens as it cools – thin it with hot water before serving.