Recipe | Kachori: Pea Pastries

Recipe | Kachori: Pea Pastries

Another Biting Biting staple for weddings and family functions, kachori come in spheres or disc shapes depending on who is making them. Two types are made in my family. One is stuffed with a sweet- and-sour dhal filling and the other with peas. This recipe is for the latter because I always have peas in the freezer. It looks like a lot of steps but once you get the hang of making the balls you’ll whip these up in no time! 

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Serves 4–6

Ingredients

For the dough

250g plain flour 

2 tsp sunflower oil or ghee plus more for kneading 

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp lemon juice 

For the filling

250g frozen peas 

2 tsp finely grated ginger 

3 tbsp lemon juice 

2 tsp cumin seeds 

2 tsp finely chopped green chillies 

½ tsp salt 

3 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander 

vegetable oil for frying

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Method

o make the dough, mix the flour, oil or ghee, salt and lemon juice together with a fork and then slowly add boiled water little by little ’til it all clumps together into a firm dough. Pop the dough out onto your worktop and, with lightly oiled hands, knead until it is soft and smooth. It should not be sticky. Cover with a damp tea towel and set aside. 

To make the filling, put the peas, ginger, lemon juice, cumin, green chillies and salt into a frying pan and cook for about five minutes until the frozen peas are softened. You shouldn’t need any oil as the peas will release a little water as they defrost. Scrape this mixture into a food processor with the chopped coriander and blitz into a coarse purée. 

Roll the dough into a sausage shape and divide into 12–15 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and then on a floured surface roll out into a circle about ten centimetres in diameter. 

Lightly oil your hands and then scoop a heaped tablespoon of the pea mixture into one hand and squeeze it into a tightish ball. Place the ball on a circle of dough, then gather the edges of the dough up around the pea mixture and pinch them together to seal at the top, twisting off any spare dough. Fill the rest of the dough circles in the same way. You can keep them as balls or you can flatten then into a disc shape. 

Fill your deep fat fryer to the maximum line (or use a large pan filled with 20cm of oil) and heat the oil to 180°C.Take a plate and line it with two sheets of kitchen paper. In batches, gently place the uncooked kachori into the hot oil and fry for eight to ten minutes, turning if you need to, until they  are golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper. You can serve these hot or cooled. 

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Tips

If you prefer, you can just roll the dough out into a sheet and use a biscuit cutter to cut the circles. You may find it hard to make a neat ball. It can be a bit fiddly but don’t lose sleep over it. Lightly score the circle in half, put the pea mixture into one half, leaving space at the edges. Then fold the other half over the mixture and squish the edges down to seal. It’ll look more like a pasty but will taste just as delicious! I have kept the filling spicing very simple but you can add a teaspoon or two of garam masala for a deeper flavour, or perhaps two teaspoons of crushed garlic and some chopped spring onions.

Serving suggestions

My aunties always serve these with Amli ni Chutney (page 151 [in the book]) but it’s entirely up to you. I like them dipped in plain yoghurt. If you have leftovers, kachori make a good base for chaat. Break each one into halves or thirds and lay them out onto a flat plate, then spoon over plain yoghurt and scatter with sev, pomegranate seeds, finely chopped fresh coriander, toasted peanuts and sesame seeds. Sprinkle with chilli powder, amchur and garam masala.

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Urvashi Roe is a freelance food writer and blogger based in London, UK. She was a Great British Bake Off quarter-finalist.