Baked Green Pea Stuffed Kochuri

Kochuris are one of those snacks that show up at Bengali tea time and at breakfast on a lazy morning, usually fried until the outside blisters. This version swaps the frying pan for the oven, and the dough is a mix of whole wheat and jowar atta, so the wrapper has a nutty, slightly earthy taste that goes well with the sweet-savory pea filling.

The filling is the heart of it. Green peas blended into a paste with aniseed, black peppercorns and a pinch of sugar sounds odd on paper, but the sugar rounds off the sharpness of the peas and the aniseed brings a faint licorice warmth. Peas are a good food to keep in the freezer, and they work well here, so you can make these on a weekday when fresh pods are not in the market. Just thaw them fully and drain off any excess water before blending, since a wet paste is harder to pinch shut.

A few things I have learned from making these at home. Let the dough rest for the full ten minutes, because it relaxes and rolls out much more easily. When you flatten each ball, do not dust it with flour. The dough is soft enough to roll without it, and extra flour just makes the seams slip open in the oven. Pinch the edges really well, then press the filled ball down gently before you brush it. If a kochuri bursts while baking, it still tastes good, so do not worry too much about perfect shapes.

Kochuris are best eaten warm, within an hour or so of coming out of the oven. Once they cool, the crust softens. To bring one back, warm it for a few minutes in a dry pan or a low oven. You can also freeze them after baking, then reheat them from frozen in the oven until hot all the way through. That makes them handy for an easy breakfast.

They sit happily next to a bowl of lentils or a simple vegetable sabzi, and they are lovely with a glass of plain buttermilk. If you want something lighter for a crowd, serve a small plate of cut cucumber and tomato alongside. For a bigger brunch spread, a bowl of savory pancakes works well too. If you like the idea of a pea-based starter, try Silky Fresh Green Pea Soup on a cold day, and for something hearty to share at the table, Hearty Chunky Vegetable Soup is a good partner. If you enjoy the flavour of whole grain flatbreads, Savory Bengali Wheat Flour Pancakes make a natural companion to these.

Serve them hot with green chutney, and let people pull them apart at the table. That is part of the fun.