Mutter-ing Peas-fully

Mutter Ke Kabab

■ 4 medium-sized potatoes, boiled

■ ¾ cup green peas

■ ½ bunch English spinach

■ Green chillies to taste, chopped finely

■ Coriander leaves, chopped

■ 1 tbsp grated ginger

■ 1 tsp chaat masala

■ Salt to taste

■ 2 tbsp cornflour

■ Oil for deep frying.

Give the peas a whirl in the microwave briefly to soften. Mash. Peel and grate potatoes. Blanch spinach leaves in boiling salted water, refresh in cold water and drain well, then chop. Mix together potatoes, peas and spinach. Add green chillies, coriander leaves, ginger, chaat masala and salt. Mix well; add cornflour and bind to a dough.

Make balls out of the dough; flatten each slightly to form a tikki. Deep fry, or shallow fry, in hot oil. Serve with tomato sauce.

(You could also use arbi, boiled and mashed, in this recipe. And an interesting variation to the traditional round-shaped tikki is a tear-drop shape).

Cheesy Pe Asy Ball S

■ 2 cups green peas

■ 1 cup plain flour

■ 1 cup tasty cheese, grated

■ 1 large onion, chopped

■ 1 tsp crushed garlic

■ 1 tsp grated ginger

■ Green chillies to taste, chopped finely

■ 2 tsp cumin seeds

■ ½ tsp garam masala

■ 1 medium-sized tomato

■ 1 tsp oil

■ Pinch baking powder

■ A few strands saffron, soaked in a little warm milk

■ Salt to taste

■ Oil for deep frying. Grind peas, chillies and tomatoes together in the mixer.

Heat oil in pan and add cumin seeds. When they splutter, add onions and saute. Add ginger and garlic and fry some more. The add the peas mixture, garam masala, salt, a little water and a tsp of the plain flour. Mix well and cook some more till it all comes together. Remove from heat and add grated cheese. Make small balls out of the peas mixture.

Make a thick batter with the remaining flour, salt, saffron solution and water as required. Dip the cheese-and-peas balls in the batter and deep fry in hot oil till golden brown. Serve with tomato sauce.

Mutter Ke Par Anthe

(Padma Baweja of New Delhi provided this recipe).

For stuffing:

■ 2 cups green peas

■ 3 tsp oil

■ Pinch asafoetida

■ Salt to taste

■ Freshly ground black pepper

■ Red chilli powder to taste.

For rotis:

■ 2 cups atta

■ 1 tsp salt

■ Water to make dough

■ Oil for frying.

Coarsely grind peas in the mixer, without adding any water. Heat oil in a pan and add asafoetida and the ground peas. Keep stirring. Add salt, red chilli powder and pepper. Mix well and continue to stir till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.

Cool.

To make rotis, prepare a dough with the atta and knead well. Use the peas mixture to stuff rotis like you would other stuffed paranthas.

Khoya Mutter

(This recipe comes from Usha Sarin of New Delhi).

■ 500 gms peas

■ 150 gms khoya

■ 2 medium onions, grated

■ 2-3 large tomatoes, pureed

■ 1 tsp crushed garlic

■ 1 tsp grated ginger

■ 3 tsp oil

■ 1 tsp cumin seeds

■ 3-4 numbers cloves

■ 1-inch piece cinnamon

■ 4-5 numbers green cardamom

■ Salt, red chilli powder and garam masala to taste

■ 1 tsp turmeric

■ Green coriander for garnish. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. After about a minute or so, add onions and saute. Add garlic and ginger and fry till onion is browned. Then add tomatoes and mix well. Cook till a sauce-like consistency is reached. (Add water to make a gravy if you wish). Then put in the peas. Add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and garam masala. Mix well.

Meanwhile, crumble khoya and fry gently in a little oil over a medium flame. Then add it to the peas. Mix to combine well. Garnish with coriander leaves before serving. Goes well with both rotis and rice.