Matar Bhari Aloo Ki Kachori

Kachoris are very popular in North India. Variations are always there. In general, kachori is a round or flattened ball made of fine flour filled with a stuffing and deep-fried.

Here I have made round balls of spiced potatoes, which are stuffed with peas masala and deep-fried.

Ingredients:

• 2 big potatoes
• 2 tbsp yellow corn meal
• Salt to taste
• ¼ tsp Black pepper powder
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Oil for deep-frying

Stuffing:

• 1 cup green peas
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• Pinch of asafetida
• 2 tbsp cilantro leaves chopped fine
• 1 tbsp ginger grated
• 2 green chilies chopped fine
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan on a medium flame. Add cumin seeds and asafetida. When cumin stops spluttering add peas, grated ginger, chopped green chilies, and salt. Fry till peas are half done. Take out peas in a bowl, add cilantro leaves and lemon juice, keep aside to be used later to stuff kachori.
• Boil and mash potatoes. Add cornmeal, black pepper powder, salt and lemon juice and mix well. Knead potato mix in the same way as you knead the wheat flour dough to make the roti (flat bread).
• Now apply some oil on your palms and put some of the potato mix in the cupped palm of your hand, and form it into a hollowed cup about size of half a lemon. Add some of the pea mixture in the potato cup, and cover with the potato mix around it to make a ball. Roll the ball between the palms to make a smooth ball.
• Heat oil in a deep pan or kadhai on medium heat and fry the potato kachoris until light brown.
• Serve with chutney or ketchup of your choice.

Do You Know?

Cornmeal is flour ground from dried corn, is a common staple food, and is ground to fine, medium, and course consistencies. In the United States, the finely ground cornmeal is also referred to as corn flour. However, the word corn flour denotes cornstarch in recipes from the United Kingdom.

Stone ground cornmeal retains some of the hull and germ, lending a little more flavor and nutrition to recipes. It is more perishable, but will store longer if refrigerated. Steel ground yellow cornmeal, commonly used in the United States, has the husk and germ of the maize kernel almost completely removed. It is conserved almost indefinitely if stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.