Monday, December 13, 2010

Koraishutir Kochuri na Koraishutir Parota

Koraishutir Kochuri | Motorshutir Kochuri

Today I will not talk much and we will have a peas-ful time.


Koraishuti|Motorshuti| Sweet peas, whatever you call ya, has sweet, nostalgic ties to our Indian childhood. It was a coveted vegetable that made its appearance in our childhood sabji markets only during winter. Since it stayed around for only a couple of months, it was much adored and cherished, just like anything else that is not routine or regular in our life.

Almost all of us have fond memories of shelling sweet peas with the winter sun on our back, our feet stretched out on the colorful madur on the terrace. Grandmothers, aunts, mothers, cousins, all sitting together and shelling sweet peas, amidst gossips and tales of joys and sorrow. Sweet Pea was not just a vegetable, it was something that brought families together. And if all the shelling was toward Koraishutir Kochuri for dinner, our joys doubled and triple until it spilled over in the winter sun

But today there will be no nostalgia about shelling green peas by the mounds on winter evenings watching Chitrahar on DD1. No fond remembrance of the waxy pea pods and their sweet pea smell.Not a word about how the pea pods would taste in a jhol Ma would make. I could have lapsed into sweet memories of my Dida making koraishuti'r kochuri and us huddled in the pantry below the stairs, shelling peas, popping a couple of peas from each pod, laughing and the mound of peas growing much smaller than the mound of gathering pods.

But I will not speak thus because I did not shell a single this Friday night. I used my pack of frozen Birds Eye peas in the freezer. I lost out on the bonding over peas but on a Friday night when all I wanted to do is fix dinner and conk off, the shelled sweet peas worked more than fine.

And also let me clarify, I did not make Koraishuti'r kochuri. No, I made Koraishutir Parota. Not much difference except for a gallon of oil here and there. Not that a gallon more matters when it's the season to be merry. But I had just consumed pounds of butter a week back and did not think following up with a gallon of oil would be judicious.So Koraishuti'r Parota it was.

Updated on Dec 30th 2017: This post has been updated with the Koraishutir Kochuri recipe which I made again today. I have realized a gallon of oil does not a difference make when serious stuff like Kochuri is around. So if you scroll down you will get the Kochuri recipe!!!


Read more...






So towards this venture let's first make the Pur or the stuffing made with peas only. It is easy and quick if you have a freezer and peas in them.



The stuffing remains same if you make Kochuri or Parota.

This makes stuffing just enough for 8 Parotas or 12-14 Kochuris. Take into consideration that if you are like me, you will eat the stuffing just like that too.

Defrost 2 cup of frozen sweet peas. I usually prefer the Microwave for such purpose.

Put in a blender
the peas
1 tbsp of peeled and chopped ginger
2 green chili(optional)
very little water, a tsp to start with
Make a fine paste

Heat Vegetable Oil in a frying Pan

Add a pinch of Hing/Asafoetida. I will insist on this as it lends an awesome fragrance. Many Bengali homes will add a little whole cumin instead of Hing, but I will steadfastly stand by Hing. I sometimes do the tadka with cumin + Hing.

Add the pea paste that you just made. Sprinkle 1 tsp of Dry Roasted Cumin + Red Chilli Powder(Bhaja Moshla). Add salt to taste. If your peas are not sweet enough add a little sugar. If you like it hot add some Red Chili Powder. Improvise.

Now keep stirring till the water from the pea mix totally evaporates and the mixture becomes dry, thicker and congeals like in 4th picture anti-clockwise. This takes a good 15-20 minutes or more. Basically it should come to a stage where you can make a small ball for the stuffing.


The Koraishutir Parota

Now let us first work on the dough for the Parota. I am not really a flour girl and flour intimidates me. So though I have tried to bring it all down to numbers the merit of your dough is in your kneading

The following measure makes more Parathas than the stuffing I made. Since I make smaller sized Parathas this measure gave me about 14 small parotas.

AP Flour/Maida ~ 1 cup
Whole Wheat Flour ~ 1 cup
White Oil for shortening ~ 1&1/2 tbsp. many people use ghee as shortening too.
Salt ~ a pinch or say 1/4tsp
Warm Water ~ 1 cup(added gradually). Some people add warm milk to make a softer dough, I haven't, you can try.
Dry Flour ~ in a plate for rolling the Paratha.

In a wide mouthed bowl add the flour, the salt and the oil for shortening.
With your finger tips rub in the oil into the flour.
Now gradually add the warm water working the flour into a dough. If it becomes too watery don't panic and add a smattering of flour but it is smart to be cautious with the water.
Knead the dough till it does not stick to your fingers at all.
Keep on kneading till the dough becomes alabaster smooth, soft and pliable.

Cover with a damp cloth or damp kitchen towel and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

Once again pummel/knead the dough and make small ping-pong sized balls from it.

Now start rolling as follows



Roll a small disc



Make a small ball out of the stuffing and put in the center of the disc



Bunch up all sides to make a purse



Now pinch the dough to cover up the opening and flatten it out on the palm of your hand.



Roll out sprinkling a little dry flour as you go



Heat a skillet/tawa. Place the rolled paratha on the heated tawa and cook on one side until bubbles starts to appear.

Flip the other side and pour oil in drops around the edges of the paratha.


After half a minute or so flip again and again add oil around the edges. Keep doing this, every side half a minute or so until the paratha is cooked on bot sides. There will be little brown spots on the surface and then you know you are done.


Koraishutir Kochuri



For making Kochuri we use more Maida/AP Flour and more shortening


AP Flour/Maida ~ 2&1/2 Cup
Whole Wheat Flour ~ 1/2 cup
VegetableOil for shortening ~ 3 tbsp

Make the Dough like dough for Luchi

In a wide mouthed bowl add the flour, the salt and the oil for shortening.
With your finger tips rub in the oil into the flour.
Now gradually add the warm water working the flour into a dough. If it becomes too watery don't panic and add a smattering of flour but it is smart to be cautious with the water.
Knead the dough till it does not stick to your fingers at all.
Keep on kneading till the dough becomes alabaster smooth, soft and pliable.

Cover with a damp cloth or damp kitchen towel and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

Once again pummel/knead the dough and make small ping-pong sized balls from it. For Kochuri make smaller sized balls.

Roll Out

Now to roll out, follow same steps as the Parota.

Kachuri is deep fried and smaller in size so make smaller discs. Put stuffing and roll just like above only a bit thinner.

Fry

Now heat oil in a wok/kadhai and deep fry the kochuri till both sides puff up.

This process is more like making luchi which I have here and here.

Enjoy these with some Alur Dom or Cholar Dal or just by themselves.

39 comments:

  1. I am drooling all over the place ..... lol I wish I could grab some out of the screen.

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  2. Dear Sandeepa
    Darun hoechhe. winter is setting in so also the fresh peas.
    I take note of using Hing. As your Boudi is a flour girl , I mean flour woman..I wont have any problem. I like that word flour girl..I am going to use it everywhere ...like your famous words " Goat at your back yard" ha ha
    Bhalo theko
    Ushnishda

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  3. Amar o porota i beshi bhalo lage ... achar diye. Ami durokom flavour er kori ... ekta Bangali ar ekta Rajasthani. :-)
    Chaki belunir snapgulo khub shundor Sandeepa. :-)

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  4. I never made with peas stuffing, fresh peas are available right now. Got to try :)

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  5. I have failed "flour boy" (I will throw that around too, nice choice of words. :D ) question.
    I never seem to get my parathas right.
    Whenever I start rolling out the flour after putting in the stuffing, I always end up with the stuffing coming out of the paratha.
    (The other story of course is that they are rarely round).

    But how do I manage to keep the stuffing from coming out?

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    Replies
    1. 1. The pur has to be dry. On my first attempt, I had faced the same problem - the stuffing kept leaking out because my pur was watery.
      2. The aata has to be of the right consistency - too dry and hard and it will crack while rolling, and too soft - the stuffing will force itself out.
      Try again. Good luck! :)

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  6. Sandeepa : Kochuri to me has fond memories of winters and my dida. I used to dip them in hot chai :). I made it this winter but just like you I prefered the parota to the luchi exactly due to oil consumption problem that you mentioned.

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  7. I have some green peas and this recipe is bookmarked. Looks so yummy..

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  8. The parota look healthy & delicious.

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  9. I have not thought about teh chithrhar programme for long, how we girls at home loved watching the songs.
    Parota looks so so good.

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  10. I love it! Kochuri when piping hot but parota when cold cos the kochuri gets too oily when cold. He he a gallon here or there eh! will make balloon here and there ;) and with delay.

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  11. Look what you did! I have to make these tomorrow now! :(

    (I blame my fondness for all Bengali food thanks to my Bong neighbour - who thought I was an impoverished vegetarian girl who must be fed every half hour.)

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  12. Love the recipe - makes it sound so easy. I am also not a flour-girl so the kneading gives me the jitters! Will try it soon.

    Nandini

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  13. Hi Sandeepa ...
    Asankhya dhanyabad janai apna ke eto sundor ekta idea deo-r janne .. Aapnar write up gulo amar byapok laage .. :D

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  14. There's a smattering of snow here and I want to have these peas parathas with a spicy pickle and hot chai! Yum!! On what are you cooking the parota? Chapatti maker or gas cooker? If I use the kneading set-up in my processor, how much water and oil will be required to get the right consistency of the dough? I'm not a flour girl either, so all advice helps ;)

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  15. Aah ki shundor porotha gulo. Though I lean mostly towards the kochuri. Kancha lonka diye kono din kori ni, red chili powder, hing and aada bata diye shikhechi Ma'r kaache. Aamaar pur ta ee eito bhalo lage, emni khe pheli. Eyi pur diye alur chop kore dekho, Sandeepa. Khub bhalo lage.

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  16. Love fresh, sweet peas! Too bad they're not here yet. don't think I've ever tasted hing in a paratha/roti.

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  17. oh I love koraishutir kochuri/porotta...dont they go so well with 'hing diye alur-dom'. Last winter I had tried making the kochuri but somehow the filling was spilling out of the putli/purse. Dont know if it has to do anything with the frozen peas..but yours look so perfect..oh you tease me to make them again!!!

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  18. this has to be tried this weekend :) bishon shundor !

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  19. THat looks and sounds so good, San!

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  20. v tempting pics...neva tried wth peas stuffing...this looks healthy n yummy!lov ur presentations

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  21. very impressive looking paratas. and love your humour even better.

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  22. tumi hing phoron aar ada mouri bata diye korechho ? brings out the awesome flavour

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  23. "alabaster smooth".... eh ?? Reminds me of Soptopodi and Othello...savory nostalgia and wonderful crisp winter morning-recipe :)

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  24. sheetkale eta akbara banate ichhe karei kare...tomar parota'r idea ta besh. amar ankekhani hing er kochuri'r pur benchechilo porshu amio tai korechi.

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  25. We like to have Porota over kachuri and koraishutir porota r garam cha, r ki chai ..delicious..hugs and smiles

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  26. Wow - haven't blog hopped in a while and look at all the goodies you have cooked up! Looks awesome - ki darun belte paro! Most of my attempts with stuffed rotis/parathas have been awful :-(

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  27. SJ

    Kemon acho ? Anekdin por dekha. Happy New Year.
    Ami ar belte pari ?????? Ha(n)sale. Arre jeita ektu thik thak hoyeche oitar i chobi tulechi ;-)

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  28. love your blog. my parents are originally from kolkata. i grew up in the midwest and my mom would cook a lot of the things you blog about. i miss my mom's cooking now that i'm an adult. your recipes help me make all my favorite bengali foods on my own. impresses my parents when they visit too :) thanks for doing this. look forward to more recipes!

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  29. Love this post - in fact used your filling as a inspiration to make my filling for koraishutir chop on my blog - www.samosajunkie.blogspot.com.
    My hubby is Bengali (I'm Punjabi) and I am always looking for fabulous Bong recipes on the web. So thanks for your blog and keep up the good work!

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  30. Making kochuri was not so easy ever. most of the i try your recipe after my mother's and never got failed. wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all these lovely recipes with your special touch. Thanks again.

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  31. God bless you. I am new to USA and had zero knowledge about cooking.. But loved good food. Have been trying out couple of your fabulous recipies. Keep them coming! :)

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  32. Great recipe... Just tried it out and turned out wow!

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