How to Make Delicious Matar Karanji

Easy Matar Karanji – Neories with Green Peas

Let me show you how to make this hugely popular seasonal favourite here in Maharashtra. It’s a green pea snack that’s amazingly delicious. A winter special snack, its outer covering is light and not too greasy, and it’s packed with a delicious green pea based savoury filling. However, my recipe for Maharashtrian matar karanji is a healthier version of the popular one.

These tasty matar karanjis would go really well with a hot cup of evening tea. But they would also be great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Today’s savoury delicacy from Maharashtra is worth trying out. So do give it a shot. The recipe is an easy one and doesn’t require too many ingredients either.

Maharashtrian matar karanjis are enjoyed with great relish at this time of year when you find heaps and heaps of fresh green peas in the markets, that too, at pocket-friendly prices.

Matar karanjis could be considered to be neories made with a savoury green peas filling. If you’re interested in something similar but with a non-vegetarian filling, you might like to check out my recipe for Goan prawn rissois. But here’s a recipe for another vegetarian snack that’s equally delicious, my easy recipe for Potato and Cheese Croquettes.

Ingredients

Outer covering

¾ cup (95g) maida (all-purpose flour)

¼ cup (35g) atta (whole wheat flour)

2 tbsp fine rava (semolina)

½ tsp ohwa (carom seeds)

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp very hot oil

 Filling

1¼ cup green peas

1 medium-size potato, peeled & chopped

¼ cup grated fresh coconut

¼ cup chopped coriander leaves

4 green chillies, chopped

½ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp coriander powder

1″ piece of ginger, sliced finely

¾ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp oil

¼ tsp hing (asafoetida)

1 tbsp raisins, chopped

1 tbsp cashew nuts, chopped

1 tsp lime juice

Oil for deep frying

Procedure

1. Boil the green peas and chopped potato in the microwave with ¼ cup water for around 5 minutes, or boil this directly on the stove top in sufficient water for 5 – 6 minutes.
2. Drain the green peas and potato in a colander. Let them cool.
3. To a grinder jar, transfer the grated coconut, coriander leaves, green chillies, sliced ginger, sugar, and salt. Grind coarsely without adding any water. Transfer the ground mix to a small bowl.
4. Grind the green peas and chopped potato coarsely in the grinder jar. Alternatively, you could crush these roughly with a potato masher.
5. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the hing and the ground coconut mix and fry this for 1-2 minutes. Add the crushed green peas and potato and stir again. Add the ground cumin, coriander powder, the raisins, and cashew nuts, and cook the filling with constant stirring till it becomes almost dry. Turn off the heat and then add the lime juice. Give the mix a stir and then adjust the taste if necessary. Spread the filling out in the pan and let it cool.
6. Sift the maida and wheat flour into a large bowl. Add the semolina, salt, carrom seeds, and the smoking hot oil. Mix with a wooden spoon first and then with your hand. Knead a stiff dough. Cover and keep it aside for around 15 minutes.
7. Divide the dough into small balls. Keep them covered while shaping the karanjis.
8. Roll each into a disc / puri around 3″ in diameter. Don’t roll it out too thin.
9. Add around 1 and 1/2  tsp of the filling on the lower half of the disk, and wet the curved edge with water. Fold the upper half of the disk over the filling and press down along the curved edge to seal it.
10. Make all the karanjis, keeping them covered with a napkin. Fry them on medium low heat, frying each batch for around 8 minutes.
11. Transfer the karanjis to a bowl lined with an absorbent kitchen towel.

Enjoy!