Chura matar is on the stalls for about ten weeks and then it is gone. It appears when the first sweet peas come off the fields around Banaras and disappears when they stop, which makes it one of the few street foods in India that genuinely cannot be had out of season. Flattened rice is soaked briefly, then cooked slowly in ghee with those peas until the grains swell and turn glossy, and the best versions finish with a spoonful of malai or khoya stirred through so the whole thing turns rich without turning wet. It is served warm, in a leaf bowl, with a little sugar and a lot of black pepper — a combination that sounds wrong until you eat it in January standing in the cold. Elsewhere in India the same flattened rice becomes poha, fried fast with mustard seed and turmeric. Banaras does the opposite: slow, pale, sweet-savoury, and only in winter.
INGREDIENTS
- 300 g thick chura (flattened rice)
- 4 tbsp ghee
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 green chillies (finely chopped)
- 3 cm ginger (finely grated)
- 300 g sweet green peas
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp coarsely cracked black pepper
- 100 ml double cream (reduced by half, or 60g khoya)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- a handful of coriander leaves (chopped)
- 1 tbsp ghee (to finish)
METHOD
- Put the chura in a colander and rinse briefly under cold water, no more than half a minute. Drain and leave to soften for 10 minutes.
- Heat the ghee in a wide pan over low heat and add the cumin seeds.
- Add the green chillies and ginger and cook gently without colouring them.
- Add the peas, turmeric, salt and a splash of water, cover, and cook on low for 8 minutes until the peas are soft and sweet. Crush about a third of them against the side of the pan.
- Fold in the softened chura, turning it gently so the grains stay whole.
- Cook on the lowest heat for 10 minutes, covered, stirring once or twice. It should steam rather than fry, and stay pale.
- Stir in the sugar, black pepper and the reduced cream or crumbled khoya.
- Cook two minutes more until everything is glossy and coated.
- Finish with lemon juice, coriander and the last spoonful of ghee, and serve warm.
