Bengali Mattar Kachori / Green Peas Poori

So far I limited myself on a high level of South and North Indian cuisine's most common recipes. Never I took time to dive deeper into regional specific food stuffs. But today I made an accidental discovery of a Bengali dish. I had piled up green peas at home and my daughter helped me peel half of it. As I was done peeling it all, wanted to check what to do with it. I wanted to try something new. I have attempted Peas Paratha before. But wanted to try out Peas Poori instead this time. I quickly browsed for verifying recipe for Peas Poori, and it led me unexpectedly to Bengali Matar Kachori and its better half side dish, Cholar Dal. I tried both for the first time and it came out Yummy. All at home liked it ( Except my lil one :( She always takes time to accept any new dish. So that is ok with me). So let me place the recipe below. 

Ingredients:

           Serving :Three adults and a kid :)

Stuffing:

           Green peas - 300 gms  ( Peel them off pods and keep handy the pearls)

           Ginger - half inch piece

           Green Chillies - 1 long

           Spices - Cumin seeds ( 1 spoon) , Corriander powder ( 1/2 spoon), Garam masala ( 1/2 spoon)

           Besan - 1 or 2 Spoonful

           Sugar - 2 spoonful

           Salt to taste

           Refined or Til oil - 1 or 2 spoon

 Poori:

            Wheat Flour - 3 Cups

            Salt to taste

            Oil - 1 or 2 Spoons

                            
 Way to go:

Stuffing:

• Grind Green peas, ginger and chilly in a grinder to make a coarse paste. Do not add water.
• Take a small bowl with very little water, and add corriander powder and Garam masala to make a liquid paste.
•  Heat oil in a kadai, and when hot add cumin seeds and crackle. And add the spices paste to it and fry for 3 to 4 seconds in low flame.
• Now add the grinded green peas to the kadai. Add Sugar and salt and mix/stir well so the paste doesn't stick to bottom and avoid burning. Cook in low flame stirring well for 3 to 4 mts. Turn off the heat. 
• Once cooled, roll the mixture to lemon sized balls and keep aside.

 Poori balls:

•  Take three cups of wheat flour and salt to your taste
•  Now add water and mix the flour well to make nice thick dough. Dough should not be loose, and it should be tough.
•  This can be best done using a food processor if not by hand.
•  Divide the dough into lemon sized balls.

Stuffed poori / Kachori:

• Pick the poori balls and flatten them with a rolling pin to thick round shape of about palm size.
• Place the stuffing in the middle of the flatted round poori and wrap the stuffing on all sides
• Dust them with wheat flour to avoid sticking.
• Now again roll them to make flat medium thin circle with the rolling pin. Do not make the circle too thin else the poori will not puff up. And it should not be too thick either. It should be medium thick and even through.
• In parallel heat enough refined oil in a Kadai ( Say Kadai should be half full with oil, or filled enough to immerse the poori thoroughly on all sides). 
• When the oil is hot enough, reduce the flame to medium low, and start frying your flattened stuffed pooris.
• Fry them well on both sides enough to cook them. Do not over heat them or make them brown.
• Once done, remove the pooris off oil, and drain any residual oil off Poori. 
• Repeat the process for other stuffed poori balls.
• And serve them hot with Bengali Cholar Dal or with any side dish of your choice.