Peas Kochuri for Rakhi

What better way to celebrate Raksha Bandhan (Rakhi) than to make something which is daunting for many of us- Peas Kochuri. This is actually a winter favourite in my hometown of Kolkata. But since I am in Stamford and the weather is turning a bit chillier, it’s not a bad idea.

My friend here told me that she makes very good stuffing for the peas kochuri which is actually the more arduous task. After that, the making of kochuri is slightly trickier for novices like us. Helps to have another helping hand or two.

So, it’s a good time to do this in tandem to celebrate Raksha Bandhan (popularly called Rakhi). That’s when sisters tie a thread on brother’s hands. Now, this is expanded to all kinds of siblings, cousins and friends. In fact, you can tie this to anybody- much like a friendship band. The significance of it is that you appoint the other as someone who will be on your watch list. 🙂 I got my eyes on you, bro/sis.

I remember we could tie it to grandparents, nephews or nieces as well. Few of them celebrate their birthdays this week as well. I know most of them like fish, chicken or mutton. But they also love peas kochuri I think.

Peas Kochuri in memory

Earlier this week, I visited my ex-colleague, friend and part mentor from Bangalore turned Bengaluru days and his wife. Let’s call him Wax now.

I was greeted warmly by Wax and his wife – let’s call her Cracks. She cracks up into a lovely smile when I compliment her. I was meeting her after perhaps 19 or 20 years and she still looks the same! No, actually she looks better. But, don’t tell Wax that. He’s already lost his hair and is losing sleep over other things on his plate.

They live near Princeton, New Jersey so I was curious about visiting the university campus of course. But most importantly, I just wanted to meet them and their two sons who have grown up to be such lovely young men now.

The brain freeze I had of a mental image of them as young golu kids got an update jolt when I met them. I saw how much they had grown up. I was informed that the elder one is now working. And the younger one is preparing to leave for college!

Promises to keep for Peas Kochuri

I was throwing in the towel as an elderly addled aunt when I remembered my real hidden motivation for coming all the way there. It was to eat home cooked food prepared by Cracks and catch her in action in her own kitchen. 😀

I have very fond memories of enjoying what she had prepared once for all of us bhukkads from work at some party. I can’t remember now what the occasion was then, but I clearly recalled that she was a very good cook. Among other things.

This is not to take away from her other sterling qualities. But you understand how important this is when you are a single working man/woman in your 20s in a city far away from home. Especially, when you have no pretensions to being a good cook yourself. (Psst- I practiced a lot more and picked up a little bit later. But nothing compared to her level of expertise in this matter).

Each household has its own style and for Cracks- I realised, her style was simple, spicy, healthy, good balance of flavours and very reminiscent of some Pahadi cuisine I have had in Northern India.

A Meal to remember

The first meal I had was a huge thali of freshly made soft hot phulka chapati, rice, fresh salad, dal, patal Bhaji (a traditional Maharashtrian dish), some paneer bhurji and a fried eggplant raita dish. I savored every bite of it. And was so busy chatting and gobbling it up that I forgot to click a pic. Anyways, doesn’t matter. Some of the usual suspects of our common friends and colleagues from Bengaluru days also featured in our nostalgia trip.

Wax said something which stuck in my mind- “Nostalgia is memory minus the bad bits”.

(Aside: Anthony Gonzalves, so let it be with Caeser)

After an hour or so, I was fast asleep. A planned 45 min nap turned out to be deep sleep for almost 4.30 hours or so. That should tell you something.

So, Wax and I ended up being a little late for our little exploration around town. We saw a disturbing incident of a young guy throwing a watermelon on a window display of a store in the main town high street. We walked past that quickly, but I think that incident remained in my mind- especially remembering the broken windows metaphor.

I recalled that my friend in Stamford and I had earlier planned a trip to Boston but that didn’t happen. Unrelated but somewhere it lingered in my mind.

A Walk to Remember Peas Kochuri

Perhaps I was a bit disturbed, so I said a little prayer at night. I am sending them my best wishes as I prepare for a simple meal with my other friends here in Stamford. I wish I could have cooked for them and shared this meal.

Wax did ask me if I wanted to cook something from Bengali cuisine that evening. But then, I wouldn’t dare to cook in Cracks’ kitchen! I mean, I could be a helper/sous chef but I’m still not that deluded to wear the apron there in her kitchen. 😀

Wax maybe a good singer, I suspect. But I never ask him to sing. He loves music and plays a beautiful song in his car radio from a new tv series, Metro in Dino, (a sequel to Life in a Metro) which I am yet to catch. Perhaps I will do that later next month.

The walk around Princeton bar street was lovely with the lights on. The university campus looked quite dark and mysterious at night.

Somewhere Toni Morrison was looming large in the shadows as I looked up at the church bell tower on the left-hand corner. There was a message there for me- I had to leave a book for them.

I was carrying 2- so I gave one which a friend had gifted me in San Jose. That book seemed like something that might be of interest to their sons now.

Calling in the One- Peas Kochuri lovers

Wax told me a few things- some useful direction for the next leg of my journey. Most importantly, I saw the university campus again during the daytime. Now it looked completely different.

In fact, we shared our own take on what the university meant to us. Wax warned me that there is a superstition that if you enter through the main gate, you should exit from the side gate. Otherwise, it may bring you bad luck.

I decided to cross that hurdle immediately. I did a quick figure of eight/infinity across the main gate and the two side gates. That’s a trick we learnt as kids to do a hex on witches’ curses and brews. It’s a way to tell them, some of us were born unlucky. You don’t really need to work so hard to give us more hurdles to cross. We create them ourselves magically.

As we grabbed a cup at a coffee shop near the campus and continued to share, I realised there were many common themes in our lives which we had perhaps never spoken about before.

Peas Kochuri needs a mantra

For Raksha Bandhan I gifted him a mantra which I have chanted for many of my brothers for Bhai Phonta which is another similar festival we have in Bengal. That occurs during the Kali Pujo/Diwali week.

Wax wasn’t super pleased at first- he is still charming and debonair. He doesn’t like to be called bhai. 🙂 I told him not to worry- I am not talking about Salman bhai.

Magically, Wax became a superhero after that mantra. He managed to finish a work call, take me to a favourite park, run an errand at a wholesale market and stave off several runners/cyclists who were advertising many other useless pursuits. They had clearly lost the shirt off their backs running around in that heat.

Trainwreck Sister leaves at last

He even managed to be supremely calm and cheerful despite my constant nonsensical chattering. Any lesser man might have got me to the wrong platform with a splitting migraine given that I was neither looking right nor left for the correct signboards.

But our man knew his job well. When he told me I will get you to that train on time, he really meant it. (Psst: Nothing to do with a church order. He needed to get me out quickly to get some badly needed gym time and rest).

I was just so thrilled to see them all and their new home. It was quite revealing to understand their journey of migration over the last 10-12 years.

So much has transpired in their lives, I somehow didn’t get the full arc of that story when we met up a few times in Bengaluru in between. This was definitely a completion on its own to understand how little things can put bigger things in motion.

Spare a thought for the Peas Kochuri Lot

Cracks is very sporting. She shares the recipes for the egg curry she made for dinner and the avocado toast for breakfast. Both essentially bursting with the touch of that special goodness of home cooked food. I was really full and had to refuse a mango which was also part of the breakfast. I think I have had a lot of mango already this summer in India.

What she’s doing at her workplace now sounds right out of science fiction and crime thriller. I will let her share more of that with others rather than spoil that narrative.

She loves tending to her plants and I notice a few of her babies. I am reminded of my own struggles to grow a few in my apartment balcony in Bengaluru.

At some point I notice this lemon tree in their backyard. I guess it is lemon- not sure. She did give me some delicious homemade glutenfree lemon cake to try. Perfectly nutty, fragrant and not too sweet.

We are also greeted by their yard rabbit and deer. I was informed there’s also a groundhog (named Jonathan) with an entire family which has a burrow somewhere. That one did not appear, and I am told is too shy.

I left a package for that ground hog and its family. Perhaps, Wax will help me deliver it to them. I hope they have a bountiful harvest of wild berries soon. Strawberry mint lime mojito will be good next summer when Mr Jonathan may appear to give them a nod.

Peaceful negotiations for Peas Kochuri

Upon returning to Stamford, I visited the Public Library. While browsing through the books, I found this old copy of Animal Farm. Very cliched line- but it stood out to me.

“All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.“

Harks back to a conversation I had with my cousins in Virginia. It comes back to me somehow. I wish they have double servings of ice-cream for my nephew’s (father’s side) and niece’s (mother’s side) birthdays this week.

They probably have a lot more in mind than this- but I had these musings as I sipped homemade masala tea with a little sugar. One cup made by Wax and another made by Cracks. Don’t ask me to compare the two. I loved them both and I will get killed if I take sides now. I can only give a hint.

Wax made it slightly sweeter, and Cracks made it slightly spicier. I didn’t even ask what tea leaves they used. Not important- that’s their family secret.

I suddenly remembered how I had worked on artificial sweeteners at one point of my life. I don’t use them now. I’m turning old school and ancient. Trying not to use artificial intelligence in today’s world is becoming next to impossible.

Wax recently showed Piku to his younger one and perhaps it was very enlightening for him.

Cemetry Walk asking for forgiveness

I sang a little made-up tune to the giant trees in the woods at Stamford. They heard the pain and the sorrows you shared.

There was a little instrument in the children’s playground- reminded me of a xylophone and that little enclosure felt like a place I knew from far far away. I came back blessed by the children who came in with their joyful paper planes in the playgrounds.

Maine tujh se faryaad kiya

Kabhi kuchh na insaaf kiya

Gila shikwa sab saaf kiya

Tune mujhe bas maaf kiya

After my little forest bathing cleansing routine, I have a problem with this false hallucinating AI. You see it suggests this plant is a mushroom. Unfortunately, I saw the plant where that bud grew, and I do not believe it completely.

Questioning that child further revealed it is perhaps Japanese or Korean Stewartia pseudo-Camillia. I don’t know enough about it but the little I know makes me wary.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So, I don’t drink from the Pierian Spring. (I drink from my water bottle instead).

As we go shopping for the ingredients to make this Rakhi special dish, I am remembering all my brothers in different places now. I can’t be with them or share this meal with them. But I have found a few new ones. Siblings I should say. Nothing fishy about this honest attempt.

Some ties are forged not through bloodlines. And I wish I could name all of them but that’s next to impossible. I feel the weight of so much of gratitude now- I hope this too shall pass. 🙂

Warm hugs to Foodie fam missing Peas Kochuri

We say a little prayer before making the peas kochuri. If you are making it for the first time, you may find that while frying the kochuri there are a few disasters initially.

The kochuri (stuffed puri) may start to crack/burst in the middle. That will lead to the stuffing coming out into the oil. Then the oil will enter inside the kochuri making it very greasy – not so soft, crispy and fluffy. I have faced this in the past- so nothing to worry about that.

Getting the temperature right with the oil is also important. I am reminded of my samosa learning session here. Definitely trickier than frying pakodas.

Getting this right is our challenge on hand. This is not an easy recipe so I am happy we have some time to practice this to get at least a few which are worth sharing with others.

Peas Kochuri Final Countdown

We tried to do some of the prepwork the night before but we were tired after a week of hectic work. So it was an early and busy day for us making the stuffing, the dough and then trying our hand at the final product. My friend does most of the hard work with a few encouraging words and testing here and there.

What is perhaps easier is doing this quietly on your own without many people and distractions around. But sometimes it is more fun and festive to have a few kids around. Definitely adds to the challenges and takes the task a few notches up in the teamwork department. I gave up since my friend decided to take charge of this with the help of her own experiences.

Her husband willingly helps with taking care of the refreshments and entertainment while we worked and bantered along.

This dish goes well with some aloo dum (spicy potato curry) and sweet chutney. So of course we had to make those as well! And a few other Indian sweets made the meal complete and festive.

Perfect meal to have a simple celebration of Raksha Bandhan. We tied rakhis to our brothers/sisters. We didn’t do any of the other traditional things which go with the occasion but the good wishes, the company and the sharing of this meal is what counts.

She tied a Rakhi to her pet (you can say child/sibling)- a handsome German shepherd as well. He’s the boss baby of the house and the protector- so I think that’s quite fitting.

Footnote

Achilles Heel- your Pride

Is your faith so weak that you got so easily offended

Is your symbol so flimsy that it got so swiftly tarnished

When there are ties which strangle your neck so much

That you thrash out with your tongue and lash out with your fingers

Dear lord, take this life in lieu of another that can help

Sprinkle a few more grains of salt

On those who really got such amazing burns

By just a simple act of some other person’s purported turns

You don’t deserve an award or reward

You simply crave for the attention of others

For your right to retention of a place on this universe.

Take mine- I have already asked for a right to leave

Several times from others and yet I never got that ticket

To freedom which gave you the whiplash to inflict

More pain upon others.

Melting Lemon Drop 10. 08. 2025