Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Matar Karanji (Indian Green Peas Empanada)

This is another one of my mom's specialty recipes. The green pea filling tastes divine in this karanji. I used to beg her to make this on almost all my birthdays and also when I was pregnant!

Even though the procedure looks elaborate, its really simple to make: For the cover, take 1.5 cups wheat flour, 1/2 cup fine rava/sooji/cream of wheat, 2 tsp hot oil, salt to taste in a bowl. Knead the dough with water and keep it under wet cloth for 1 hr. You have to keep on kneading it after every 20 mins to make it soft.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp roasted poppy seeds (khus khus), 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder (optional) and 1 tsp crushed garlic. Saute till the onions are soft. To this add about 1.5 cups crushed green peas. The green peas should be very coarsely crushed. Cover and cook for 5 mins on medium low heat. Add salt and lemon juice to taste and 1/2 cup freshly grated coconut along with a little chopped cilantro. Let it cool.

Then make lemon size balls of the dough and roll out little discs. Put about 3-4 tsp filling and fold it over to make a crescent shape  and cut off the edges with a karanji cutter or you can seal them with a fork, (the folding and sealing process is exactly like you would do for an empanada). Take care not to put excess filling or else you will not be able to seal the karanjis properly and they will break open while frying.

Deep fry them in hot oil and serve with green chutney or ketchup!!

47 comments:

Unknown said...

this is a good one...love the stuffing tooo....I too make with various stuffings!

Santosh Bangar said...

it is just like samosa crispy and spicy snack for tea

Sayali said...

Oh wow such a lovely snack

Panchpakwan said...

Wow looks delicious and crispy karanji..

Soumya said...

wow...very tempting filling...delicious snack....

Rachana said...

This looks yumm!!!

Priya Suresh said...

Karanji makes me hungry..

Unknown said...

nice karanji........first time on ur blog......following u........u have a nice space

aipi said...

That looks very refined and extremely enjoyable.. and there's nothing better than mom's recipes! I'll have to give it a try :)
Thanks a lot for linking this to bookmark event :)
US Masala

swapna said...

Love ur spice version....yummy!!

Tahemeem said...

Love the empanadas... just love them... its so cold and i would love to have some... but too lazy to do anything :)

Gayathri Kumar said...

Karanji stuffed with peas are so tempting..

Krishnaveni said...

delicious and tempting

Gayu said...

Lovely Karanji's..Looks utterly delicious!!


Gayu
http://ensamayalarangam.blogspot.com

Aruna Manikandan said...

looks delicious....

jayasree said...

I have been thinking of making these since fresh peas have flooded the market. Looks delicious and liked that u used wheat flour for the covering.

chef and her kitchen said...

Love that snack...looks yummy...perfect to bite in...:)

Gouri Guha said...

Nice snack...the green peas filling makes it more interesting.

Satya said...

these look so perfect ... lovely filling

Satya

Super Yummy Recipes

Satya said...

these look so perfect ... lovely filling

Satya

Super Yummy Recipes

anu said...

a yum and delicious Indian Snacks. i usually make the sweet version.

R said...

smitha, santosh bangar, sayali, panchpakwan,soumya, rachana, priya, savitha ramesh, aipi,swapna, My attempt...., gayathri's cookspot, krishnaveni, gayu.kitchen, aruna maniknandan, jayasree,pratibha, gouri guha, satya,anu: thanks so much for your words of appreciation, they certainly made my day :))

Hayley said...

Spanish dish with desi feeling..yummm:)

Jaisy James said...

delicious will try this deinitely

Bergamot said...

matar karanji look really tempting. I like the Maharashtrian cuisine on your blog.

Unknown said...

What a delicious snack!! Thanks for sharing..

R said...

jagruti,jaisy james, bergamot,yummy team: thanks so much for appreciating!

Oriyarasoi said...

Yummy!!! My mom made this today and i am really missing it being away from home!!

Rajani said...

Yummmmm,and yummmm again..

Shalmali said...

Wow...absolutely delicious looking! planning to make them baked with puff pastries...!quicker if not healthier!

HGourmet Foodie said...

These veg filling look really delicious!!! I do make these with fish filling..

Harika baratam said...

Nice yummy and crispy. An award is waiting 4 u in my blog

Ms.Chitchat said...

Enjoyed browsing through ur space and glad to follow u:):)You have interesting recipes and bookmarked some of them :):)

divya said...

Looks delicious and love the color you got there. First time here lovely blog,i love to follow u..

Padhu Sankar said...

Absolutely delicious!

Srivalli said...

Rupali, first time here awesome collection of traditional recipes. will be coming back to read more..no doubt Matar Karanji is very tempting!

Oriyarasoi said...

Long time since i smelt something cooking in one of my favorite kitchens!! Hope you are doing good...

Mary Bergfeld said...

This is a very interesting recipe. I hope you have a good day. Blessings...Mary

Neenu M N said...

100th follower....Im lovin ths recipe.

R said...

authenticoriyafood: what a coincidence! thnx!
also, thnx for ur enquiry, was busy w/ some personal work etc, so did not have time to blog :(( hopefully now i can be more regular!!
rajani: thnx!
shalmali: sure, nice idea, it will be quick and easy :)
HGGourmetfoodie: i am sure the fish filling would taste equally good.
Harika's kitchen: thanks for sharing an award w/me, will check it out soon!
ms.chitchat: thanks for taking the time to browse thru my space.
divya: thanks, so glad u found my space worth following!
padhu: thank u very much!
srivalli: thanks for appreciating everything!
mary: thanks for appreciating!
neenu praveen: thanks!! extremely delighted and honored to have u as my blog's 100th follower :))

Suganya said...

Nice and healthy little snack.... YUM!

Pinoy Kitchenette said...

Nice blog! Glad I'd be learning new recipes here!

Hari Chandana P said...

Wonderful recipe.. looks absolutely tempting.. First time here.. Lovely blog with amazing recipes.. Keep posting !!

Indian Cuisine

Preety said...

wanna grab them all..looks mouthwatering

R said...

Sukanya Ramkumar, Kitchenette, Hari Chandana, Preety: Thanks you all for your appreciation and support!!

Shobha said...

Delicious snack with matar filling

R said...

@Shobha: Yes, it is really yummy, Thanks!