Eating the street food from all over the world is one of the best ways of experiencing the particular cultural identity of that country and region. Forget dining in fancy restaurants and five star luxury hotels… just get out there and munch. Soak up all of that tradition and absorb the magical flavours that the locals are used to. Street vendors are the professional chefs of the outdoors.
Raghda Patties (pronounced: RughRa PETi-ce) just one of those street dishes you have to try once. This fast food is like no other MacD’s, BK’s or KFC’s. Here’s how we make traditional Gujarati style Raghda Patties at home. They have an East African influence with the raw mango or apple because the majority of my parents' generation were born and raised there. I plan to post more East African street food/snack food recipes soon because they are so blissful to eat!
For the outer covering combine:
4 medium floury potatoes cooked and mashed
275g paneer, finely grated
2 slices of stale bread (with crusts removed), made into breadcrumbs
Zest and juice of one lemon
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Chilli powder to taste
For the filling combine:
1 cup grated carrot,
1 cup peeled and grated raw mango or a sour apple (which is what I used)
½ cup fresh/desiccated coconut
Zest and juice of one lemon
¼ cup gathia/sev/Bombay mix, crushed
¼ cup fresh coriander
2 chillies (or to taste)
1 tbsp ginger, minced
½ tsp cinnamon powder
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
For dusting and frying:
¼ cup plain flour
Sunflower oil to deep fry
Method to make the Patties:
1. Wet the palm of your hand and take a tbsp of the spiced potato mix and flatten it on the palm of your hand.
2. Place about 2 tsp’s of the filling onto the flattened spiced potato mix and set aside.
3. Repeat step 1 and place it on top of the masterpiece you already made and seal all the edges. Make sure none of the filling shows, otherwise it will split when you fry it. Bad times.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 until you have no mixture left. My advice: Get a helper. (Note: You will have some filling left over after you have stuffed the patties- set this aside).
5. Dust the patties liberally with the flour and refrigerate for an hour.
raghda patties
For the Raghda:
1 cup dried peas, boiled
1 chilli halved and quartered
½ tsp cumin seeds
4-5 curry leaves
¼ tsp asafoetida
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp concentrated tamarind paste
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Method to make the Raghda:
1. Heat the oil, add cumin seeds, curry leaves, chillies and the asafoetida and fry for about a minute.
2. Add the reserved filling mixture leftover from making the patties and cook for a minute on a low heat.
3. Add 3 cups of hot water and the boiled peas. Bring to a boil and roughly puree this mixture in a blender.
4. Place the puree back on heat and bring to a gentle simmer for a minute. Remove from the heat and set aside.
To fry the Patties:
1. Deep fry the patties two or three at a time on a low heat until golden.
raghda patties 2
2. Drain the patties on kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
3. Repeat until you have finished frying all of the patties. (Note: Enlist the help of a slave next time).
Serve the Raghda on top of the Patties and garnish with: