Beans, lentils & pulses · Peas
Dried white peas (safed matar)
Whole dried white (yellow) peas, boiled for ragda, ghugni and the filling of Bengali fuchka.
Also called: safed matar, white peas, dried yellow peas, motor, motor dal, ragda peas, vatana
Around the world: মটর, motor (bn) · सफ़ेद मटर (hi) · वाटाणा (mr)
A kind of beans
What it is
Mature field peas dried whole, pale cream to yellow, sold as safed matar or vatana in India and motor in Bengal. They need soaking and long cooking, and turn soft and mealy. They are the base of street-food chaat in Kolkata, Dhaka and Mumbai.
How it’s used
- Boiled and mixed with potato for fuchka filling
- Cooked into ghugni and ragda
- Simmered into soups
Characteristics
- Taste
- Mild, earthy and sweet.
- Texture
- Soft and mealy when cooked.
- Sold as
- dried
- Cooking uses
- Commonly cooked, Suitable for boiling
- Common in
- Bengali, Bangladeshi, Indian
Storage
Cool, dry and dark. Keep airtight for up to a year. Refrigerate cooked peas for 3 days.
Diet, allergens and safety
No major allergens in typical versions.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Soy-free
- Caffeine-free
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 364 kcal
- Protein
- 23.12 g
- Carbohydrate
- 61.63 g
- Fat
- 3.89 g
- Fibre
- 22.2 g
- Sugars
- 3.14 g
USDA FoodData Central: Peas, green, split, mature seeds, raw (a close stand-in).
Substitutes
Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.
- Chickpeas — Canned chickpeas, lightly crushed.
Related ingredients
Recipes with dried white peas (safed matar)
Fuchka
Bangladeshi · 2 h 10 min · 401 kcal · Vegetarian