Matar Ghughra: A Tasty Green Pea Stuffed Snack From Gujarat

Matar Ghughra is a traditional, vegetarian Gujarati snack that's similar to an empanada. It is a spiced green peas filling wrapped in dough and deep-fried to golden perfection. In Gujarat there are two types of gujiyas, one being the mawa gujiya which is the sweet one, and the matar ghughra which is the savoury one. Being deep-fried, it becomes a perfect accompaniment to your evening tea. Jamnagar, one of the cities in Gujarat is popular because of its ghughras. 

This delicious, filling and nutritious parcel of green pea goodness, is served with mint chutney and spicy red chutney. The filling can sometimes comprise of mashed potatoes, beans and carrots too, but generally a ghughra is always made with green peas. One can even use freezer peas or frozen vegetable mix to make the ghughra, and it comes out perfectly. Cumin seeds, asafoetida, green chillies, freshly chopped coriander, and grated coconut make for a lovely spice combination for the green peas, that are cooked in advance to form the filling base for the ghughra. Just to note, while pleating and sealing the ghughra, make sure there are no gaps or tear in between the pleats. Otherwise, oil will keep spluttering and we don't want that at our deep-frying station on the stovetop. So now that you know, here you go with a classic recipe for matar ghughra.

Ingredients: 

For the dough wrapper 

• 2 cup maida, or all purpose flour 
• 5 tbsp melted ghee 
• ½ cup water or, as required 
• 2 cups of neutral oil, for deep frying

For the filling 

• 2 cups of green peas 
• 2 tbsp neutral oil 
• 1 tsp cumin seeds 
• 1 tsp asafoetida or hing 
• 2-inch ginger, halved 
• 3-4 green chillies 
• 50 gms cashewnuts 
• 1 tsp garam masala 
• 2 tbsp sugar 
• 2 tbsp ghee 
• 120 gms coconut, grated 
• 2 tbsp lemon juice 
• 2 tsp salt

Method: 

Making the dough wrappers 

1. In a large mixing bowl, add maida, salt, and 4 tablespoons of ghee. 
2. Mix it gently with your hands so that it achieves a crumbling consistency. This will make the dough flakier, like a piecrust. 
3. Now add water into the mixture and knead to form a dough. Incorporate the water bit by bit until it just comes together. 
4. Wrap it with cling wrap or a damp kitchen towel and refrigerate the dough for minimum an hour.

Making the stuffing 

1. Make a smooth paste of both ginger and green chilies. Use a mortar and pestle or, a grinder. Set it aside. 
2. Put fresh green peas into a chopper or a grinder. Grind it halfway through so that the texture is still a bit grainy. 
3. Heat a pan with two tablespoons of refined oil, and add the cashewnuts. Once the nuts obtain a golden brown colour, remove it from the oil and set aside. 
4. To the oil, add cumin seeds and asafoetida powder and mix them well. Let the seeds crackle before adding the green chilies and ginger paste. 
5. Mix the paste with the spices and cook on medium flame, until the rawness of the paste subsides. 
6. Add the coarsely ground green pea paste. Cook it with the spice mix stirring continuously for about 4 minutes. 
7. Add the water and cook it covered on low heat until all the water evaporates. 
8. Add the chopped coriander leaves, coconut, cashewnuts and lemon juice to the filling and mix well. Add the sugar and salt to the mix as well as set aside.

Assembling the ghughra

1. Take the dough out of the fridge. Allow the dough and the filling to come up to room temperature. 
2. Make 6-7 dough balls out of the dough. 
3. Roll out the dough balls in a round shape and fill them with 3 tbsp worth of green pea stuffing. 
4. Seal them in a semicircle by pulling two ends of the dough and joining them. 
5. Pleat the joined side of the ghughra so that it stays sealed even when frying. 
6. Once all the ghughras are made ready, head onto the deep frying station in the kitchen. 
7. In a stockpot, add the 2 cups worth of vegetable oil and let it come upto 300 degrees Celsius. 
8. Drop in the ghughras one by one, making sure to not overcrowd the pot. 
9. Once they're golden brown all over, take them off the oil and onto a wire rack. 

Serve with mint and spicy red chutney, or simply tomato ketchup, and enjoy alongside your evening tea with your friends and family.