Green Pea and Nut Pakoras

This savory is light, flavorful, and quite easy to make. With a hint of cardamom and sweetness, it is a departure from the usual vegetable pakora. Both the taste and texture and wonderful.

Ingredients:

For the pea stuffing:

2 lbs. frozen green peas
1-1/2 tsp. crushed black cardamom
Dry red chilis, to taste
2 tsp. asofoetida
2 tsp. dry ginger
1 tsp. cloves
2 tsp. dry coriander

For the nut stuffing:


1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup pecans
2 tblsp. cream cheese


For the chenna:


1 gal. milk
1 pint heavy cream
1/2 cup lemon juice
Pinch saffron
2 Tblsp. hot milk
1 tsp. jaggery


For the batter:


1 cup besan
1 cup white flour
2 Tblsp. baking powder
2 tsp. turmeric
2 tsp. ginger
1 cup buttermilk


Preparation:

Steam cook the peas and drain well. Mash them fine and set aside. In a little ghee, fry the cardamom, chilis, asofoetida, ginger, cloves, and coriander. Darken a few shades, then mix in the peas. Cook thoroughly.

Roast the nuts to darken a few shades, then let cool. Grind them to a coarse butter. Mix in the cream cheese and blend well.

Make chenna in the usual way, from milk and heavy cream. Leave the curds soft, only pressing for 5 to 8 minutes under medium weight. Soak the saffron in a little hot milk, then add the jaggery. Mix into the chenna thoroughly. Combine the pea and chenna mixes.

Make marble sized balls of the nut mixture and set aside. Make lime-sized balls of the pea/chenna mixture. One by one, push your thumb into a pea ball to make a little nest, and put a nut ball in it. Cover the nut completely with the pea mixture to seal it into the ball.

Mix the batter with buttermilk and water until the consistency is like a usual pakora batter. You won't want it too thick, as the balls will come apart under the weight of the batter when you coat them.

I like to coat the balls by placing them two at time on my fingers, then hand-spooning batter of them, gently rolling in my hand until they're well coated. Once coated, drop them immediately into hot ghee, about 8 at a time in a wok. Fry well, until golden brown.

Makes 40 pakoras.












Previous Recipes Stuffed Bitter Melon Sweet Fruit Ladoos Mango Pecan Raita Damayanti's Sweetmeats Kurukshetra Sweetballs Stuffed Baby Eggplant












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