Koraishutir Kochuri / Fresh Green Peas Kachori

Just like it is a must to have a huge variety of parathas with seasonal vegetables in winter for North Indians, for Bengalis it is the Koraishutir Kochuri ( Kachoris made from fresh green peas) that signals the onset and the settling of the winter season.

It is the sweetness of the green peas paste and of the fried maida that makes such a tasty combined flavour. Yes, it has to be maida.
Of course you can deviate and make it healthier by using atta and making parathas out of it.

Since in my house reside two cultures ... read two different kinds of food habits .... I make the stuffing for this kachori in two different kind of ways.

One is the usual Bengali way .... which uses less masala .... that gives the actual flavour of the fresh peas.
And the other is the Rajasthani way ... which is spicier .... and of course has some dominating flavours.

I'll give the recipes for both .... it is up to you to decide which one you'll relish ..... and take your pick. :-)

Need :

For the filling :

The Bengali version : Fresh green peas, shelled and ground into a coarse paste, grated ginger, a little sugar and salt, a little cooking oil.

The Rajasthani version : Fresh green peas, shelled and ground into a coarse paste, a pinch of hing, haldi/tumeric powder, red chilli powder, amchur powder, salt and a little cooking oil.

For the puris : Maida / refined flour, kneaded into a soft dough using water ..... with a little cooking oil, salt & sugar , cooking oil to deep fry.

How to :
The filling :
The Bengali version : Heat a little oil in a non-stick vessel. Add the peas paste and stir for some time.
Now add salt, sugar and grated ginger. Keep stirring and cook till it turns into a dryish paste.

The Rajasthani version : Heat a little oil in a non-stick vessel. When hot, add hing.
Then add the peas paste and keep stirring. Add the rest of the ingredients one by one and keep stirring. Cook till it turns dryish.

The Kachoris : Take small balls of the maida dough. Fill them with the cooked peas stuffing and seal well. Roll out small puris and deep fry them in hot oil.
They will puff up like so. Of course they'll fall flat later.


Traditionally, the Bengali kochuris would be served with Aloor Dom ( a dryish potato masala dish). And the Rajasthani ones would be had with any kind of achar/chutney.

But I love mine with a little chilli sauce/ketchup .... and a hot cuppa. :-)

What's your pick folks ? :-)

Ps: Forgot to mention .... I made the Bengali way ... hence the beautiful green colour is retained ... as appreciated by all of you. :-)

My last two posts were slightly hurried ... so am a little late in showing off this beautiful award by Yasmeen ... she has designed it herself.
Thanks Yasmeen ... you are a beautiful person .... and a sweetheart too. :-)

Bhapa Pithe / Coconut Stuffed Sweet Idlis

I remember the first time I made this, my ex-neighbour loved it so much she practically announced it to everybody she came across or knew.

I make this coconut mixture very frequently ... and use this to make laddoos or to stuff any kind of pithe ( cooked sweetmeat made of lentils & rice) .

So once while making idlis I thought of stuffing them with this filling .... a new sweet for my hubby. And the juicy, sweet filling was such a good foil to the usual bland idlis ... I have been making these regularly ever since .... whenever am making idlis .... sweet idlis are made too.
I have used jaggery for the filling ..... if you want you can use sugar too.

There is a Bengali pithe called the Bhapa ( steamed ) pithe that is made this way.

I don't know why the colour did not turn too dark ... the snaps would have looked even better. But the sweetness was perfect .... too much jaggery may have turned it slightly bitter.

Need :

For the idlis : Idli batter, a little cooking oil.

For the filling : Grated coconut, crushed elaichi / cardamom, jaggery.

How to : Heat a non stick kadhai/vessel. Put in the grated coconut with the jaggery and elaichi and cook well. Add a little water if you feel the need to melt the jaggery.
Take an idli stand. Apply a little cooking oil to the moulds.

Pour in a little batter. Place a spoonful of the filling on it. Now cover it with another spoonful of batter.

Steam like regular idlis.
Done ! :-)

Enjoy folks! And have a great Sunday! :-)

Phuchka / Golgappa / Panipuri

 Call it by any name .... everybody loves it.
India's most loved street food ... the panipuri needs no introduction. No matter which part of the country you belong to .... you will have to be somebody reaaaally different not to love this thing.
I believe there isn't one person , Bengali or otherwise, whose childhood memories do not hold a place for the Phuchka.
Known as the Pani puri in the west, Phuchka or Gup chup in the east and Pani ke Batashe in the north, our country has this street food ranking the highest in popularity. 

Back home, nobody made phuchkas like Panchu does.
This guy would stand outside our junior college from morning till late afternoon .... almost always surrounded by a bunch of giggling and jostling girls .... each one shouting out her preference through mouthfuls .... all demanding at the same time to make it a little more spicy / mild / more water etc. etc.
And my visits home were never complete till I have had Panchu's phuchkas at least a couple of times ... accompanied by a bemused B.

For that matter I have a hobby .... I always try out phuchkas at any new place I visit. :-)

After coming to live in this city I have almost given up eating phuchkas  from the vendors.
For the simple reason that I do not like the taste here.
And I hate mint.
So the pudina flavoured water is a big no no.
I miss that tangy freshness of tamarind , spiked with a good dose of black salt and chilli powder and other spices, in the water.
Here, the water is too plain. And the bland, half heartedly mashed potatoes with just a pinch of salt is a far cry from the beautifully smooth mash of potatoes and green chillies and other spices.
One piece in the mouth and it is enough to turn you off from Phuchkas for a long time.

So I settled on making them at home. Most times, I would buy a packet of the puris and make the potato filling and the water myself.But not this time.

I had been wanting to make the puris at home for sometime ... but somehow never got around to do it.
Finally did try my hand at them last weekend .... and found it surprisingly easy and not at all time taking.
I prefer to mashing the potatoes to cutting them .... this version soaks up the flavours better.

Chopped fresh coriander leaves give a beautiful flavour too .... but since I am raw leafy vegetables intolerant ... you won't find any in my recipe.
Do add them to get that perfect taste of phuchkas.

Need :

For the puris :

 Fine sooji/rawa - 1 cup
Maida / APF - 5 tbsp
Rice flour - 5 tbsp
Cooking oil - 4 tbsp
Water - just enough to make a tough dough

* If you use more maida your puris will fall flat.

For the filling :

Boiled potatoes - 2, medium
Boiled white peas - 1 cup
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Roasted jeera/cumin powder - 1 tbsp
Rock salt - to taste
Amchur powder - 1 tsp
Black pepper powder - 1 tsp
Green chillies , chopped or paste - 1 tsp
Fresh coriander leaves - chopped 

For the water :

Tamarind water - (soaked the tamarind in water and strain it )
Rock salt - to taste
Red chilli powder
Black pepper powder
Roasted jeera/cumin powder
Fresh coriander leaves - chopped (optional) 

How to :

The puris :

Knead everything  into a tough dough.
Take a medium sized ball from the dough and roll out a roti as thin as possible.
With a very small round cookie cutter cut out small puris.


Heat oil and deep fry the puris till golden brown on both sides.


The filling :

Mash the potatoes with everything else. 


The water :

Add enough water to the strained tamarind pulp.
Add the rest of the ingredients.

How to arrange : 

Do I need explain this too? ;-) 

Ok ... take a puri and carefully make a small hole in the centre.

Stuff in some filling.


Dip into the water and immediately put it into your mouth.

Enjoy the burst of spicy and sour water with the crispiness of the puri and the softness of the filling .... all in one mouthful. :-)