Matar Karanji – Green Peas Gujiya
This flaky, crispy, and flavorful Matar Karanji is an amazing tea time snack recipe. Matar Karanjis are deep fried savory pastries filled with mildly spicy and absolutely delicious savory green peas stuffing. The small studded green peas filling looks so beautiful inside the flaky pastry.
Matar karanji is an authentic Maharashtrian recipe. It is usually prepared during the winter months in India, when fresh green peas (matar) is available in the market. Fresh green peas, onions, cilantro, lime juice, and some spices are stuffed in a pastry disc. Later on it is shaped into a half moon and deep fried in some hot oil until turned golden brown and crispy.
These gorgeous looking matar karanjis are very addictive and flavorful. Make this recipe as an appetizer for your next get together. You can shape these in bite sized karanjis and I am sure these will disappear very quickly. This amazing matar karanji tastes great on its own or with some green chutney/tomato ketchup.
My husband asked my mom in law to prepare her signature recipes during her visit here. She makes some of the best Matar Karanji ever! I planned to post this recipe before she leaves for India. We made these karanjis with frozen green peas but I would highly recommend using fresh ones if possible.
It is one of our family’s favorite snacks and I am sure it will become your family’s favorite soon. Sometimes I like to prepare these for lunch or dinner along with some dal rice on cold days on weekends.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
For The Dough:
- All purpose flour
- Semolina
- Salt
- Oil
- Water
For The Stuffing:
- Green peas
- Onions
- Green chillies
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Cilantro
- Lime juice
- Mustard seeds
- Cumin seeds
- Asafoetida
- Turmeric powder
- Salt
- Sugar
- Oil
For Frying:
- Oil
Matar Karanji Step By Step Recipe
For The Dough
In a large bowl, add all purpose flour, fine semolina, and salt.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan until it turns really hot.
Next, add the hot oil over the flour mixture and mix it well with the help of a spoon.
Rub the mixture with your fingers and the texture should become crumbly.
Now add a little water at a time and start kneading the dough – you may need more or less water depending on the stickiness of the flour.
Knead the dough so it becomes stiff and smooth. Drizzle some oil and cover the dough with a cloth. Keep the dough aside for 30 minutes.
For The Stuffing
In a chopper, add chillies, ginger, garlic, and crush them into small pieces.
In a pan, heat 2 tsp oil on medium heat. Add mustard seeds and let them crackle.
Now add cumin seeds, asafoetida, and turmeric powder.
Next, add crushed chillies, ginger, garlic, and fry them for 30 seconds.
Add green peas, mix them, and cover them with a lid.
Cook the peas for about 5-7 minutes, stirring in between until cooked soft.
Slightly mash them with a potato masher or with the back of a spoon.
Add some lime juice, salt, sugar, onions, cilantro, and mix everything well. Set aside.
Shaping The Karanji
Line a tray with a cloth and keep another damp cloth ready for covering the karanjis. This will keep them from drying out.
Knead the dough again until it turns soft and smooth. Divide the dough into 13 equal balls and cover them with a cloth.
Take one ball and flatten it. Roll it into a thin circle with a rolling pin.
Add approximately 1.5 tbsp stuffing in the center. Apply some water or milk on the edges if you feel the ends are dry.
Carefully lift the middle side edges of the circle and seal them tightly. Now move on to both ends of the circle and seal them secure.
Next, turn the seal side facing to you and press the edges to the work surface.
Use a pastry wheel cutter for cutting the extra edges of a karanji. After that use a fork to form a nice pattern by pressing the fork at the edges. Note: Don’t cut too close from the stuffing or it will come out while frying the karanjis. Keep the extra edges aside to make more karanjis later.
Place the karanji on a lined tray and cover with a damp cloth.
Shape the rest of the karanjis in the same manner. Use the extra edges of the dough to make a few more dough balls to form into karanjis.
Frying The Karanji
Line a plate or baking tray with a paper towel to remove excess oil from the fried matar karanji.
Heat some oil in a kadhai (pan) on medium heat. To check if the oil is hot enough, drop a small ball of dough in the hot oil. If it rises immediately that means the oil is ready for frying.
Once the oil is hot, lower the temperature to medium-low. Transfer 3-4 Karanjis to the hot oil depending on the size of your pan. Do not overcrowd the pan.
Flip the karanjis in 20 seconds, one at a time, and fry the other side for about 20 more seconds.
Turn them over again and fry for 10 more seconds or fry them until they turn golden brown in color from both sides.
Transfer the matar karanjis to a lined plate using a slotted spatula to drain off the oil.
Let them cool down completely for about 20-25 minutes and store them in an airtight container.
Tips For Making Matar Karanji
- The key for making the best matar karanjis is to form a stiff dough. The dough should be soft and smooth without adding too much water.
- Adding fine semolina in the dough is very important to achieve a soft and smooth dough. If you don’t have fine semolina, you can grind some regular semolina and add it while making the dough.
- Seal the edges of the karanji tightly. The stuffing should not come out while frying the karanji.
Variations
- You can skip adding semolina in the dough and simply make the dough with all purpose flour.
- If you want to make the recipe with no garlic or onion karanji then simply skip it. Add another ½ cup green peas while making the filling.
- Fry ¼ cup fresh or desiccated coconut after adding crushed ginger, garlic, and chillies for 30 seconds.
- Adjust the spices and lime juice according to your taste in the recipe.
How To Store Matar Karanji?
Once the karanjis cool down completely, store them into an airtight container for 4-5 hours on a countertop.
You can store them in the refrigerator for 4 days in an airtight container.
Reheat them in the preheated oven for about 5-7 minutes.
Store the karanjis in an airtight container or freezer safe bag for 2 months.
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Matar Karanji – Green Peas Gujiya
Ingredients
For The Dough
- 1 cup All purpose flour
- 2 tbsp Semolina fine
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 3-4 tbsp Water
For The Stuffing
- 1.5 cup Green peas
- 1 medium Onions finely chopped
- 5-6 Green Chillies
- 1/4 inch Ginger
- 3 large Garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup Cilantro chopped
- 1 tsp Lime juice
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp Asafoetida
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Salt or as required
- 1/4 tsp Sugar
- 2 tsp Oil
For Frying
- 2 cup Oil
Instructions
For The Dough
- In a large bowl, add all purpose flour, fine semolina, and salt.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan until it turns really hot.
- Next, add the hot oil over the flour mixture and mix it well with the help of a spoon.
- Rub the mixture with your fingers and the texture should become crumbly.
- Now add a little water at a time and start kneading the dough – you may need more or less water depending on the stickiness of the flour.
- Knead the dough so it becomes stiff and smooth. Drizzle some oil and cover the dough with a cloth. Keep the dough aside for 30 minutes.
For The Stuffing
- In a chopper, add chillies, ginger, garlic, and crush them into small pieces.
- In a pan, heat 2 tsp oil on medium heat. Add mustard seeds and let them crackle.
- Now add cumin seeds, asafoetida, and turmeric powder.
- Next, add crushed chillies, ginger, garlic, and fry them for 30 seconds.
- Add green peas, mix them, and cover them with a lid.
- Cook the peas for about 5-7 minutes, stirring in between until cooked soft.
- Slightly mash them with a potato masher or with the back of a spoon.
- Add some lime juice, salt, sugar, onions, cilantro, and mix everything well. Set aside.
Shaping The Karanji
- Line a tray with a cloth and keep another damp cloth ready for covering the karanjis. This will keep them from drying out.
- Knead the dough again until it turns soft and smooth. Divide the dough into 13 equal balls and cover them with a cloth.
- Take one ball and flatten it. Roll it into a thin circle with a rolling pin.
- Add approximately 1.5 tbsp stuffing in the center. Apply some water or milk on the edges if you feel the ends are dry.
- Carefully lift the middle side edges of the circle and seal them tightly. Now move on to both ends of the circle and seal them secure.
- Next, turn the seal side facing to you and press the edges to the work surface.
- Use a pastry wheel cutter for cutting the extra edges of a karanji. After that use a fork to form a nice pattern by pressing the fork at the edges. Note: Don’t cut too close from the stuffing or it will come out while frying the karanjis. Keep the extra edges aside to make more karanjis later.
- Place the karanji on a lined tray and cover with a damp cloth.
- Shape the rest of the karanjis in the same manner. Use the extra edges of the dough to make a few more dough balls to form into karanjis.
Frying The Karanji
- Line a plate or baking tray with a paper towel to remove excess oil from the fried karanji.
- Heat some oil in a kadhai (pan) on medium heat. To check if the oil is hot enough, drop a small ball of dough in the hot oil. If it rises immediately that means the oil is ready for frying.
- Once the oil is hot, lower the temperature to medium-low. Transfer 3-4 Karanjis to the hot oil depending on the size of your pan. Do not overcrowd the pan.
- Flip the karanjis in 20 seconds, one at a time, and fry the other side for about 20 more seconds.
- Turn them over again and fry for 10 more seconds or fry them until they turn golden brown in color from both sides.
- Transfer the karanjis to a lined plate using a slotted spatula to drain off the oil.
- Let them cool down completely for about 20-25 minutes and store them in an airtight container.
Notes
- The key for making the best karanjis is to form a stiff dough. The dough should be soft and smooth without adding too much water.
- Adding fine semolina in the dough is very important to achieve a soft and smooth dough. If you don’t have fine semolina, you can grind some regular semolina and add it while making the dough.Â
- Seal the edges of the karanji tightly. The stuffing should not come out while frying the karanji.
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