Spaghetti Squash Fritters or Tikkis

Spaghetti squash isn’t a vegetable I pick on my grocery run but I recently realized I have been missing out on its amazingness. While doing my third Indian whole 30, I explored the versatility of this vegetable. For a great primer on how to cook spaghetti squash, check out this post by one of my favorite food bloggers Cookie and Kate – https://cookieandkate.com/how-to-cook-spaghetti-squash/.

I decided to experiment with creating a tikki out of the squash. Aloo tikki is my favorite Indian street food, it’s a patty made of mashed potatoes, stuffed with spicy peas and shallow fried on a skillet till its crispy on the outside. Topped with a green spicy chutney and sweet tamarind chutney, it’s a party in the mouth. Here’s a take on that tikki with spaghetti squash!

Ingredients

• Spaghetti squash
• Onion
• Almond flour
• Eggs
• Garam Masala
• Garlic Powder
• Chilli Powder (optional)
• Coriander leaves (optional)
• Salt
• Oil

Recipe

Cooking the Squash

Preheat the oven to 400 degree Fahrenheit. Carefully cut the spaghetti squash in two halves longitudinally with a sharp knife. Spray or drizzle the insides with oil and place it cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake for about 40 minutes till the interiors can be easily pierced with a fork. Let the squash cool down and then scoop out the flesh out in a bowl. You can save extra flesh for other recipes, there is a ton that can be done with Spaghetti Squash. Sprinkle this with salt and let it stand for 15 minutes. This is done to draw out the water from the squash.

Making the Tikkis

Squeeze out as much water as you can out of the squash and add to a mixing bowl. Next, chop one red onion finely and add to the squash mix. Also add a few springs of chopped coriander if available. Next, add garam masala, chilli powder and salt. Give it a good mix. In order to bind this mixture, add 1-2 eggs and the almond flour. You might have to adjust the quantity of the almond flour based on how wet the spaghetti squash was when you added it to the mix.

Heat a pan on medium heat and add some ghee or oil. Now scoop out a little of the mix and add to the pan. You can also add multiple scoops at a time depending on the side of the pan. Flatten the scoops and let them finish cooking on one side. Should take about 5 minutes. Turn them over and cook on the other side. Remove it once its nice and crispy. In addition, cook the remaining tikkis in batches. Serve with a side of tangy salsa, its the perfect dipping sauce for this.