Matar Kachori(Green Peas Kachori) and Alu Sabzi - Delhi style

I have mentioned in many of my posts that fried foods appear very rarely at home and when I make it we relish them to the fullest extent.TH has a profound love for Medu wada and Chole Batura,especially the way his mom prepares.Ohhh!! Did I tell anytime about my MIL's Chole Batura?? Hubby loves his mom's Chole batura very much and he always keep it as a benchmark when I prepare it;of course I do follow the same recipe and also learnt from her to please him.I have been planning to post my MIL's chole batura recipe from ages but somehow it never happened as we cannot control ourselves on the day we make it at home.I think I should be posting this recipe soon- stay tuned.

Coming back to today's post...during the green peas season we shelled several kilos of fresh green peas and I used them in various dishes. I  could not control myself to prepare this stuffed Matar Kachori which is a typical Delhi preparation.
This Matar Kachori is a cross in between regular khasta kachori and stuffed poori and is usually served as breakfast or evening tiffin.It tastes best when served with Aloo sabzi which is a thin alu gravy spiced up in masalas. Do definitely give this recipe a try if you love variety food and especially the typical Delhi style street food.However this needs a bit of preparation but its worth the effort.

You can check out other varieties using fresh Green Peas here:

• Matar Paneer
• Matar Mushroom Masala | Dhingri Matar 
• Pudina Fresh Peas Gravy   - highly recommended recipe
• Green Peas Usli-Karnataka Style 
• Methi-Peas Bath 
• Gobi Matar/Cauliflower-Peas Curry
• Methi Matar Malai 
• Peas Pulav

Matar Kachori Recipe:

(makes 12-14 kachoris)

source:Nita Mehta

Ingredients:

for dough:

2 cups All purpose flour(Maida)

a pinch of Baking powder

1/2 tsp Salt

2 tbsp Ghee

1/2 cup water to knead,approx

Oil,to deep fry

for filling:

2 cups fresh/frozen Grren Peas

2 tbsp Chickpea flour(Besan)

1 tsp Coriander powder

1/4 tsp grated Ginger

2 Green chillies,finely chopped

1/4 tsp Red chili powder

3/4 tsp Chaat masala

3/4 tsp Amchur powder

1/2 tsp Garam masala

1/4 tsp Cumin seeds

2 pinches Asafoetida(Hing)

1 tsp Salt,approx

1 tbsp Ghee

Method:

to prepare dough:

• Sift flour with baking powder and salt through a sieve.
• Add ghee and mxi well till it appears like bread crumbs.Knead well with water to a soft and pliable dough.Keep it aside for half an hour.

to prepare filling:

• Bring 4-5 cups of water with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar.Add peas to the boiling water and boil for 4-5 mins.Let the peas sit in hot water for another 10-15 minutes.Strain and keep aside.Mash the peas lightly with a back of a big spoon or a masher.
• Heat ghee in a kadai,add asafoetida and cumin seeds.
• Reduce the heat and add grated ginger,coriander powder and turmeric powder and fry for a minute.
• Add the chopped green chilli and fry again for a minute.
• Add slightly mashed peas to it and mix well.Fry for 7-8 mins on low heat until it turns slightly brown.
• Add the salt,red chili powder,chaat masala,amchoor powder,garam masala and besan and fry for another 2 mins.Remove it and let the mixture cool.

to make Matar Kachori:

• Heat oil in a kadai for deep frying the kachoris.
• Pinch a lemon sized ball out of the dough and flatten it to small poori.

• Fill  2-3 tbsp peas mixture and cover it to form a ball and flatten it slightly .Do not roll it much or do not keep it very thick.

 

• Gently drop 2-3 pieces at a time into the hot oil in kadai(depends on the size of kadai and quantity of oil you are using) and fry them until they turn brown.When you put the kachoris in oil you should keep the flame in HIGH and reduce it later and fry them on LOW flame until they turn brown.Flip it in between.

Serve it with Aloo Sabzi(recipe below),sliced Onions and North Indian Aam ka Achar or Mixed Veg Pickle.

Notes:

• The original recipe asked for 1/2 tsp baking powder and also mentioned to use warm water for kneading.As I wanted my kachoris to be neither too hard like a regular kachori nor too soft like a stuffed poori,hence I had done few changes like adding less baking powder and also used regular water in the recipe.It is your wish to adapt the recipe how you want.

Alu Sabzi | Thin Potato Gravy Recipe:

(Serves 3-4)

Ingredients:

3-4 large Potatoes

1 tsp Coriander powder

3/4 tsp Red chili powder

1 tbsp Aam ke Achar ka masala

1 green chilli,finely chopped

2 tbsp chopped Coriander leaves

1 tsp grated Ginger

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds(Methi)

1 tsp Fennel seeds(Saunf)

3/4 tsp Cumin seeds

a fat pinch of Asafoetida

1 1/2 tsp Salt,approx

3 tbsp Ghee/Oil

Method:

• Pressure cook potatoes for 3 whistles and peel the skin and cut each potato into 8-10 chunks and mash pieces roughly.
• Heat ghee in a kadai and keep the flame on LOW and add asafoetida, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds.
• When the fenugreek seeds starts turning brown add turmeric powder,coriander powder and red chili powder and fry for 1 minute on low heat.
• Add aam ke achar ka masala and fry again for a minute.
• Add cooked potatoes and chopped green chilli,coriander and grated ginger.Stir fry on medium heat for 3-4 mins.
• Add 2- 21/2 cups of water and bring to a boil.Reduce heat and cook for another 10 mins.This gravy would be slightly watery than the regular gravies,so adjust the consistency accordingly.

Serve it hot with Matar Kachori /Poori.

Try this Matar Kachori with the aloo sabzi for this weekend brunch or breakfast.i would say it is the perfect way to start the weekend.One more look of this delicious Matar kachori with alu sabzi and mirch ka achar..I am hungry again seeing this pic!!