Ragda Patties for my Valentine

For valentines day I wanted to make something "hearty" for my husband. He loves this snack/street food called ragda patties that we get in the state of Maharashtra in India. Its essentially a potato patty served with cooked lentils, yogurt and a blend of sauces. Its absolutely delicious. In the north of India you get a similar dish called tikki and that essentially is the same with a different type of legume. So to "hearten" it up I made the potato patties in a heart shape and he thought that was cute.

For the Ragda

One cup dry green/yellow peas soaked in water for atleast 2-4 hrs.
One teaspoon garam masala / whole spice mix
One teaspoon red chilly powder
one teaspoon cumin
one teaspoon guda masala (a maharashtrian spice mix: totally optional)
Salt

For the patties

7 to 8 potatoes cooked and mashed
One teaspoon turmeric
chopped cilantro
salt
Heart shaped cookie cutter

For the toppings

1 cup plain yogurt beaten with a little water, 1tsp sugar and 1tsp salt.
1 cup date and tamarind sauce (from the Indian store). Add 1/2 cup water to it and stir.
1 cup green corriander chutney (from the indian store).Add 1/4 cup water stir.
Some ground cumin
Some red chilly powder
One large onion Chopped
Chopped cilantro

All above chutneys/sauces can be made at home very easily but I had these on hand.

Mix all ingredients for the potato patties together. Fill the cookie cutter with the potato mix. Press down and lift the cutter leaving behind a heart shaped patty. Oil your hands to make handling easier.

Pan fry patties in little oil on both sides till golden brown.

Cook the peas with all the spices either in a pot or in a pressure cooker till the peas are well cooked. Take a few patties in a bowl. Add ragda (peas) over it. Add yogurt, then the tamarind sauce, the corriander chutney. Sprinlkle chopped onions, cilantro and a pinch of cumin and red chilly powder. Serve.