When we think of Indian tea-time treats Aloo Chop comes to mind. Also known as aloor chop or alu chop, this is a street-food dish famously eaten at tea-time in the state of West Bengal. Our Bengali aloo chop is a snack made with potato, and can be best described as a mini cutlet or croquette - spiced to your liking and batter-crisped to perfection. We walked down the streets of Kolkata to bring to your kitchen this Yummefy-ed easy aloo chop recipe.
The Bengali style aloo chop is reminiscent of a potato cutlet or croquette found in western preparations. Our simple four-step alu chop recipe is likely to become a tea-time favourite in your house.
Throw on your favourite apron and get going in preparing the potato mixture, shape the aloo chops, coat in the batter, fry, and relish. The mixture for aloo chop has simple ingredients such as potato (boiled and mashed), ginger and garlic pastes, onion, and a few spices easily found in most (if not all) Indian kitchens. The batter for this simple aloo chop recipe is made from besan or gram flour. Rice flour and baking soda are also added to bring the desired crispiness and body to the alur chop.
Though the Aloor Chop is widely consumed and a favourite in West Bengal, this snack is also found in the states of Orissa (Odia aloo chop), Jharkhand, and Bihar. In fact, aloo chop is just one of the numerous tasty potato snacks found across India, such as the vada pav in Maharashtra, potato bonda and potato 65 in southern India, aloo tikki, and aloo or papdi chaat in northern parts of the country. Samosa filled with potatoes is another pan-Indian potato-based snack which has a mass appeal in India.
Tea Time in the state of West Bengal is all about snacks or tiffin as they are referred to there. Street side shops finish preparations for various kinds of chops such as mochar chop, mutton chop, egg chop, and of course the delicious aloor chop. The mooriwalas start serving the famous puffed rice snack, puchka shops dole out spicy and tangy water filled snacks, and egg roll stations start rolling out delicacies. All these snacks or tiffin dishes go well with a helping or two of chai (tea) in mitti ke kulhad, the environment-friendly clay cups. These also make the perfect setting for the ‘Bengali Adda’, a meeting of sorts, in which neighbourhood friends get together to discuss every topic under the sun with a side of their favourite snacks.
Though our Alur Chop recipe Bengali is relatively simple, you can master making it at home with simple do’s and don’ts. Make sure the boiled potatoes are drained properly before mashing so that they don’t become gummy.
For the best aloo chops, the batter should be of a thick consistency and not runny so the potatoes are coated evenly. If you do not have rice flour, you could use a mix of semolina and cornflour to replace it.
Also ensure that the oil in which you plan to fry the potato chops is very hot. Reduce the heat to medium and adjust heat as needed after placing the chops in the oil. You could alternatively shallow fry or air fry the aloo chops, if you want a healthier alternative.
Serve aloo chops hot from the kadhai with fresh hari chutney or ketchup. In Kolkata, the chops are served atop a bed of moori or puffed rice. Sometimes, chopped onions, tomatoes, green chillies, salt, and a drizzle of mustard oil are added to the moori.
If you love everything potato, then after watching our Bengali aloo chop recipe video, you may also want to watch and try:
Aloo 65
Baby Potato Masala Fry, Chettinad style
Hyderabadi Aloo ka Korma
Easy Masala Potato Chips
Potato Salad
Hare Bhare Kebab
Perfect Mashed Potatoes with Cheese
Konkani Masala Potatoes
Dahi Aloo
Aloo Paneer
Potato Mushroom Posto
Or see all our Snacks Recipes right here!