Bateta Chaap is an appetizer made of flavorful minced meat stuffed inside mashed potato exterior and fried for a crispy exterior. Serve it as an appetizer or perfect for a brunch meal.
Bateta Chaap is a classic appetizer served in Bohri cuisine with similar variations in Parsi and Goan Cuisine as well. It is made with cooked flavorful ground meat which is enveloped with a mashed potato around it then coated in breadcrumbs, egg wash and fried to a golden brown. This is a hearty and filling appetizer!
I have to admit, this is not a beginner dish and takes some work; however its a classic that most people love and will attempt to learn it at some point. Don’t be scared, here is a step by step recipe you can try out with detailed instructions and measurements. First we make the filling, then make the exterior potato mash, assemble, coat, and fry them. Although the size can vary and most are large the size of a baseball; I recommend for beginners to make them in smaller sizes like golf balls so that its easier to handle.
The filling is typically made of cooked minced meat. You can use chicken, beef, turkey, lamb, goat whichever you prefer. After the meat is cooked we will drain out the excess liquid and oils so it does not matter how much fat it has when you buy it. The meat is cooked with ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander as well as fresh greens like green onion, cilantro and mint leaves.
Lets get started:
Makes: 5 chaaps
Time: 20 mins to make filling, 20 mins to assemble, 20 mins to fry
Step 1: Make the filling:
Ingredients for the Meat Filling:
- 3/4 lbs of ground meat (chicken, turkey, beef or lamb whichever you prefer). Clean and drained.
- 1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste (adrak lasen)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper powder
- 1 tsp cumin & coriander powder
- Optional: 1 fresh green chili diced small (as much as you can handle)
- 1/2 tsp Garam Masala or 1 tsp Seekh kabab powder masala (I like Shan and Laziza brands)
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions (white and green parts) or white regular onion is fine too
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro and or mint leaves (fresh dhania & fudina leaves)
- In a non stick pan, add ground meat, ginger garlic, salt, all the powder spices and cook till fully done. As you stir break up the large pieces to get a nice fine ground. Once cooked in about 15 mins, drain any excess liquid from the meat.
- Stir in the green onion, chopped cilantro and mint. Set aside. See picture below of how the filling should look.
- 4 medium sized Potatoes
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/8 tsp Red Chili powder
- 1/4 tsp chaat masala (I like the MDH brand for this)
- In a non stick pan, add ground meat, ginger garlic, salt, all the powder spices and cook till fully done. As you stir break up the large pieces to get a nice fine ground. Once cooked about 15 mins, drain any excess liquid from the meat.
- Stir in the green onion, chopped cilantro and mint. Set aside.
- In a large pot, add the potatoes and cover with water. Boil for 20 mins till fully cooked. Poke a knife and it should be soft, its ok if the skins crack open.
- Let it cool, then peel the potatoes. Add the spices and mash them completely with no lumps.
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 2 eggs
- oil for frying
Method:
- Divide the potato mash into 10 equal sized portions. Using your fingers and palm, flatten the potato portions into a round smooth patties about 1/4 inch thick and 3 inches in diameter.
- Take one patty in your hand and round your hand like a cup. Fill the center with about the meat filling.
- Take another patty and lay on top. Using your fingers pinch the edges all the way around to join the top and bottom patties. Reshape it into a round ball with no cracks.
- Roll the ball in breadcrumbs to coat all the way around. See picture below of the chaap just before frying.
- In a small frying pan fill oil to halfway up the pan and on Medium.
- In a bowl, crack and whisk the eggs
- Roll the ball in the egg wash to coat all the way around and gently put it in the pan to fry. Turn on both sides till a nice golden brown color all around. Because of the egg, there will be foamy bubbles forming on the surface of the oil as they fry, this is perfectly normally.
- Pull out on paper towel.
- Serve with your favorite chutney or sauce. Green chutney and Imli goes really well with this.
Tips:
- You can make these a day ahead if you like. Once you coat them in breadcrumbs you can cover and store in fridge overnight. Egg wash and fry when ready to eat.
- I am not a fan of frozen potatoes as the texture becomes crystalized so I do not recommend you freeze these. Although, they are so delicious, I rarely have leftovers.
- Because potatoes come in different sizes, it can be tricky to get the right ratio of meat to potato evenly. You may have one or the other left over. Do not worry, either is a great grilled sandwich filling.
- Another way to fold the chaap is like aloo paratha. You can make one large potato patty and then fill it. Bring up all the edges of the potato and pinch at the top to seal. If 1 patty is easier for you versus 2, go for it.
- Some people also like to add chopped boiled eggs in the filling. You can boil 2 eggs and dice them up and mix in with the meat filling.
- Check out other veg and nonveg appetizer recipes here.