Healthy pan-fried Beetroot Tikki made with beets, rolled oats and spices. Addition of panko bread crumbs adds to the crunch, these vegan tikkis are best enjoyed as a snack or served as an appetizer.

Beetroot was not a very popular vegetable in my home in India. I don’t remember mom making it often. One way she would make it was beetroot raita and she also added it to salads sometimes. But other than that, it wasn’t cooked much.

It’s only when I started cooking on my own that I started incorporating it more often into my diet. Honestly, I really like roasted beets. Just plain roasted with salt and pepper is my favorite way to enjoy beets. But on days when I want to make something fancy with them, I take the extra step and make koftas with them or these beetroot tikki!

Oven roasted beets are grated and then combined with potatoes, oats, spices and panko bread crumbs, shaped into tikkis and then pan fried until golden brown. These are definitely a great way to include beets in your diet.

These Beetrook Tikki

• make a great vegan snack!
• can also be used as a patty in sandwiches and burgers.
• great way to include beets in your diet.
• are vegan and can be easily made gluten-free.
• enjoyed best with a cup of chai!

Ingredients

For binding the tikkis, we use potato, rolled oats and some panko bread crumbs.

Beetroot: sweet beets work well for this recipe. I always roast them in the oven for this recipe. But you can also steam them.

Potatoes: I have used russet potato in this recipe but you can use golden potatoes too.

Oats: rolled oats really add a lot of texture to these tikkis. They help in binding the dough too. I use old fashioned rolled oats which I pulse in a food processor until it’s little broken but not turned into a fine powder. If you want, you may also roast the oats before using in the recipe. I do not do this step.

Bread crumbs: my choice here is panko bread crumbs. They add a lot of crunch to these tikkis. If you can’t find panko bread crumbs, you may use regular bread crumbs but I definitely recommend panko.

Spices & seasoning: these tikkis are flavored with coriander, cumin, garam masala and amchur (dried mango powder) for the tang. The addition of chili, ginger, cilantro and green onions also adds to the flavor.

Step by Step Method

1- Pre-heat oven to 425 F degrees. Rinse the beets and pat dry them (2 large beets or 2 medium & 1 small). Wrap them in aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet.

2- Roast the beets at 425 F degrees for 30 to 45 minutes. The time taken to roast the beets will depend on their size. When done, you should be able to insert a knife easily throughout the beetroot. The small ones take around 30 minutes while the bigger one around 45 minutes. Once done, remove from aluminum foil and let them cool. Then peel the skin using a peeler.

Also boil a large potato meanwhile either using a stove-top pressure cooker or Instant pot. Once boiled, peel the skin and mash it.

3- Now, using a grater, grate the beets (I use the thicker side of the grater). Add it a large bowl along with the boiled mashed potato.

4- Using a food processor, pulse 1 cup of old fashioned rolled oats a few times. You don’t want it to turn into a powder so just pulse few times, until it breaks down a little. We want some texture here. Transfer it to the bowl along with grated beets and potato.

Add chopped green chili, chopped ginger, cilantro and green onion. Add the spices- coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala and amchur. Also add the salt.

5- Mix everything together, add in the panko bread crumbs.

6- Mix again until everything is combined. The dough is now done.

7- Take a lemon size portion from the dough and roll between your palms to make a round. Then flatten it to make a tikki. Make all tikkis similarly. I was able to get 11 tikkis out of this mixture, each weighing around 75 grams.

8- Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons of oil in a pan (I used my cast iron skillet) on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, place the tikkis into the pan. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on one side until browned, then flip and cook the other side for 3 to 4 minutes until browned. Serve hot!

Serving Options

You can enjoy these tikkis as such with ketchup or cilantro chutney.

Here are few more ways to enjoy these beetroot tikki-

• as a patty for your burger or sandwich.
• use in wraps/kathi rolls. Spread chutney on plain paratha, place tikkis in middle, add sliced onion, cabbage for the crunch, roll and enjoy.
• make a chaat with it- drizzle some yogurt, cilantro chutney, sweet tamarind chutney, cumin powder, chaat masala on top and enjoy as a chaat!
• serve on top of lettuce for a light lunch or snack.

Making It Gluten-free

You can easily make these tikkis gluten-free by replacing these 2 ingredients in the recipe-

• replace regular rolled oats with gluten-free rolled oats.
• use gluten-free bread crumbs or skip bread crumbs. These tikkis bind really well even without the bread crumbs so you can skip it. But panko bread crumbs do make them crunchier.

Can I Steam Beetroot?

Sure, you may steam the beets in a pan or instant pot. I prefer roasting since I love the flavor of roasted beets (just like I love the flavor of every roasted vegetable)!

Air Frying Option

Yes, you can air fry these tikkis. Pre-heat the air fryer at 380 F for 2 minutes, then spray tikkis with oil and air fry at 380 F degrees for 12 to 13 minutes.

I prefer the taste when they are pan fried in oil but air frying is also a good option here.

Storing & Re-heating

Store the tikkis in an airtight container in the referigerator.

Best way to re-heat is the air fryer. I usually press the re-heat button on my air fryer which re-heats at 300 F. I re-heat for 5 to 6 minutes and it’s good as fresh. You can also re-heat in a pan.

Tips & Notes

• I like grating the beets for more texture but you can also just mash them.
• If you want to freeze them, shape into tikkis, place on a baking tray and freeze for 1 hour. Once they are rock solid, then transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze.
• Roasting in the oven is my preferred method for cooking the beets here but you can also steam them or pressure cook them in a regular pressure cooker or Instant pot.
• I do not toast the oats before pulsing them in the food processor but you may choose to do it. Toast in a pan on medium heat for few minutes until they are very lightly browned and aromatic. Then pulse in the processor and use.
• For spicier tikkis, increase the amount of green chilies in the recipe. You can also add some red chili powder.

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