Stuffed Luci/Puri (Green peas)

Luci is a Bengali cousin of the "Indian Puri". Like puri it is fried flat-bread but unlike it, luci is made of refined flour and not whole wheat flour. So technically, puri is healthier that its cousin.

Now interesting things can be done with this luci. And such an interesting experiment led to the preparation of - stuffed puri. The stuffing used here is of green peas. It tasted quite well actually.

Ingredientsfor stuffed luci (green peas)

Green peas, green chilies, ginger, garlic, whole wheat flour, refined wheat flour, vegetable oil, water, Hing and Ajwain.

Method of preparation

First boil green peas with salt. Drain and make a fine paste of them (as shown in picture).

 

Then chop green chilies, giner, garlic and make a paste of them. Quantity used should be according to taste.

 

Now fry the green peas paste, paste of green chilies, ginger & garlic with hing and ajwain till a fine mixture is formed.

Time to make the dough. Making the dough is the most important step in making nice round luci, stuffed or otherwise. A typical luci is made of refined flour only. However here I have used whole wheat flour and refined flour in the ratio 1:2. 

For a simple luci- Mix the whole wheat and refined flour well. Start mixing the two by adding vegetable oil (about two tbls) slowly. Thereafter add water to make a uniform dough.

Now for this stuffed luci- 

After adding and mixing vegetable oil with the flour properly, we add the mixture of green peas (etc) prepared earlier. Add water slowly, as and when required and keep kneading till we get a uniform and soft dough. As mentioned earlier, the real secret of making nice lucis lies in making the dough, it should be smooth with the right consistency/smoothness.

 

Now, make small balls of the dough and roll them in the shape of circles (in my case, they aren't always circular! :-D )

 

Finally, deep fry them one at a time, pressing very gently in each side with a slotted spoon. This will help the luci to puff up. Take out of pan when golden brown.

Serve hot!