Matar ki Kachori

Peas are such a delightful veggie. Love their sweetness and crunch. They add a great dimension to any food you add them to. They are also a no-waste veg. You could use their pods in as many ways as you may use its seeds themselves. Hopefully, you have seen my pea pod chutney and Shammi Kebab recipes.

My aunt got me beautiful and fresh green peas, I decided to try my hands on Matar Kachoris which is basically a fried and stuffed flatbread. It is a popular street food and there are a various ways it’s had in India. The most popular way is with imli/tamarind chutney and dhaniye/coriander chutney. People in Uttar Pradesh and close by areas eat them with tari wale aloo/potato gravy and what not.

I wanted to try making these kachoris but with a lovely matar/Peas filling and this is what I did. Do try this recipe and I am sure you will love it.

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes
COOKING TIME: 20 minutes
SERVINGS: 10-12
DIFFICULTY SCALE: Medium

INGREDIENTS:
For the stuffing –
1. Peas – 1 cup
2. Garlic Greens – 2 sprigs, optional
3. Ginger – a small piece
4. Green chilli – 1, or more to taste
5. Fennel seeds/saunf – 1 teaspoon
6. Cumin Seeds – 1 teaspoon
7. Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon
8. Coriander Leaves – a few
9. Oil – 1 tablespoon
10. Salt – to taste
For the kachoris –
11. All purpose flour/maida – ¼ cup
12. Semolina/Sooji – 4 tablespoons
13. Whole Wheat flour/atta – 1 cup
14. Carom seeds/ajwaein – 1 teaspoon
15. Oil – for frying
16. Salt – to taste
RECIPE:
1. We would start with the stuffing. Take a pan and add a tablespoon of oil.
2. Add a teaspoon of cumin and fennel seeds.
3. Once the splutter, add grated ginger and chopped green chili. Saute for a minute.
4. Then add in the peas and add turmeric powder and salt. Mix well.
5. Also 2-3 tablespoons of hot water and cover this with a lid for 3-4 minutes.
6. Chop the garlic greens and add them to the pan. If you don’t find garlic greens then add a clove of garlic along with the ginger (in step 3).
7. Once the peas are cooked, take a potato masher and squish the peas with it. You could also grind them if you like but they tend to become pasty which I don’t like.
8. Let the mixture cool for 15 minutes.
9. In a big bowl, add the all-purpose flour, sooji and atta. Add in the carom seeds and some salt.
10. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and mix it with the flour with your hands.
11. Take some warm water and knead the dough nicely. Keep it slightly hard than the dough you make for rotis. This should be similar to the Poori dough.
12. Smear oil on the dough and cover it with a damp cloth for 20 minutes.
13. Once the peas mixture is not hot anymore and the dough is well rested, take oil in a kadhai or a heavy bottom wok for frying.
14. Make small balls from the dough.
15. Grease your hands and flatten the dough ball into a small flatbread.
16. Add a generous spoon of the peas filling and then start closing the sides of the dough to form a stuffed ball or kachori.
17. Flatten it out with your fingers to make a small circular stuffed kachori.
18. Use the entire dough to make stuff kachoris.
19. Once the oil is hot, start adding 2-3 kachoris in the oil.
20. Remember to keep the flame on medium-low and keep turing the kachoris on each side.
21. They will take about 4-5 minutes to completely cook from the inside. Don’t keep them on high flame otherwise they will quickly crips up from outside but wouldn’t be cooked from inside and would be doughy.
22. Repeat this step till all the kachoris are fried.
23. Serve with chutneys/ketchup.