MUM'S MATAR KACHORI
Mum's matar kachori is a Gujarati deep fried snack with a filling of spicy fresh peas in a flaky and crispy pastry. Mum's matar kachori is so delicious and she made them perfectly. She didn't use garam masala. Simply spiced with fresh green chilis and ginger with a bit of sugar and lemon juice.
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1¾ cups plain flour all purpose flour
- 3 tbsp oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅓ -½ cup water
For the filling:
- 2 cups fresh peas
- ¼ cup fresh coriander chopped
- 1-1¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1-2 tsp green chilli paste
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp coriander cumin powder
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp asafoetida
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- oil for deep frying
Instructions
Preparation of the dough:
- Mix flour and salt in a bowl.
- Add oil and rub it into the flour.
- Add water and make a dough that is not too soft or too hard.
- Just knead it enough so its smooth. Don't knead too much otherwise the puris will shrink when you try to roll them out.
- Cover the dough with a lid or damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Preparation of the filling:
- Wash and process the peas till you get a course paste. Don't process them till they become smooth.
- Heat oil in a wide pan over medium heat.
- When it is hot add mustard and cumin seeds.
- Add asafoetida and turmeric powder.
- Immediately add the minced peas.
- Mix well.
- Add the ginger and chilli paste. Mix.
- Cover the pan and let the peas cook for 4-5 minutes over low heat. Stir the mixture gently twice or thrice during the cooking time so it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. If the mixture becomes too dry sprinkle a tablespoon or two of water over it.
- Take the pan off the heat. Remove the lid and let the filling cool at bit.
- Add salt, sugar, dhana jiru, lemon juice and coriander and mix well.
Preparation of the kachoris:
- Divide the dough into 30 -35 parts. Roll each part into a ball. It should be size of a big marble.
- Roll one ball into a circle of nearly 3" in diameter.
- Make a boat shape by pinching the two edges at the middle (see photo). This helps to fill the stuffing easily.
- Take 1½ tsp of the filling and put it in the boat. Bring the edges together and pinch to seal. Make twisted pattern. If you can't do that then make a pattern using a fork.
- Put the kachori on a lightly oiled tray.
- Cover with a damp cloth.
- Repeat till the filling and dough is over.
- Heat oil in a deep pan, wok or karai over medium heat.
- When it is hot, drop in 6-8 kachoris and fry them over medium low heat, turning them over frequently.
- Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon when the kachoris are light brown in colour.
- Fry the remaining.
- Serve hot kachoris with a chutney of your choice. Usually coriander and mint or coriander and mango chutney goes well with it.
Notes
- Its best to use fresh peas.
- Adjust the spices according to your taste.
- If you want to serve the kachoris later, then fry them in hot oil for just s few seconds and remove. At this stage they can be stored in the fridge till required.
- Heat oil and fry them over medium heat.
- The dough should be pliable. If it is too hard, then it will be difficult to seal the edges. If its too soft the kachoris will not be crunchy. Amount of water required will vary from flour to flour.