Fuchka

Name: Fuchka
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Ingredients: 80 g semolina; 50 g all-purpose flour; ¼ tsp salt; 65 ml water; 750 ml neutral vegetable oil; 3 potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed; 60 g dried white peas (safed matar), soaked overnight; 1 red onion, finely chopped; 2 green chilli, finely chopped; 15 g coriander leaves, chopped; 1 tsp cumin, dry-roasted and ground; ½ tsp cayenne / chilli powder; ¾ tsp salt; 2 eggs, hard-boiled and finely grated (optional); 3 tbsp tamarind paste; 400 ml water; 1 tbsp sugar; ¾ tsp salt; ½ tsp red chilli flakes

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

ফুচকা · fuchka

Dhaka's favourite street snack: crisp shells filled with spiced mashed potato and peas, topped with grated egg and onion, and eaten with sharp tamarind water.

Fuchka is a Bangladeshi street food, ready in about 2 hours 10 minutes and made with potato and tamarind paste. It serves 4 and is rated advanced to cook.

Start cooking

A serving of Fuchka — Photo: dsStudio4u / Pixabay · Pixabay Content License

Prep: 40 min
Cook: 1 h 10 min
Rest: 20 min
Total: 2 h 10 min
Serves: 4
Level: Advanced
Calories: 401

Plus overnight soaking for the peas.

About this dish

Origin: Not attributed to one place · Commonly attributedPart of the pani puri family generally traced to North India; fuchka is the Bangladeshi and Bengali style.Also popular in Bangladesh, India
Dish: Snack · Street food · Appetizers & starters
Cooking method: Deep-fried, Boiled, No-cook
Taste: tangy, spicy (chilli heat), savoury, sour
Diet: Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-fat
Without the optional extras: Vegan, Plant-based, Lacto-vegetarian, Egg-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Street food
Cook more with: Potato · Tamarind paste · Semolina · All-purpose flour · Red onion · Green chilli
Techniques: Deep-frying · Boiling · Knife skills · Kneading

Allergens

Contains, can be adapted: Eggsfrom egg
Contains: Wheatfrom semolina, all-purpose flour
Contains: Glutenfrom semolina, all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

401 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 374 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

Protein 11%
Carbohydrate 72%
Fat 17%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	401 kcal	107 kcal
Protein	11.3 g	3 g
Carbohydrate	74 g	19.8 g
Net carbohydrate	65.2 g	17.4 g
Sugars	—	—
Added sugars	3.1 g	0.8 g
Fibre	8.9 g	2.4 g
Fat	7.6 g	2 g
Saturated fat	—	—
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	0 mg	0 mg
Sodium	1041 mg	278 mg
Salt equivalent	2.6 g	0.7 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 981 mg
Calcium: 66 mg
Iron: 4.3 mg
Magnesium: 78 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 26 µg
Vitamin C: 40 mg
Vitamin D: 0 µg
Vitamin B12: —
Folate (DFE): —

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
Optional ingredients are not included: egg.
Dried white peas (safed matar): Dried green split peas used as a stand-in; whole dried white (yellow) peas have essentially the same composition.
Tamarind paste: Raw tamarind pulp (FDC 167763). Commercial concentrates vary in water content.
Red chilli flakes: Ground cayenne (FDC 170932) used as a stand-in for dried chilli flakes such as pul biber or Aleppo pepper.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

Dhaka fuchka is stuffed more generously and eaten with less water than pani puri — the tok is spooned in rather than dunked.

Common mistakes

Filling the shells too early — they go soggy within minutes.

Serve with

Serve with extra chopped onion, green chilli and grated egg so everyone can customise.

Food safety

Hard-boil the eggs fully (10 minutes) before grating, and refrigerate the filling if not eating within 2 hours.

Storage

Shells keep in an airtight tin for a week; filling for 1 day refrigerated.

Variations

Doi fuchka: Topped with sweetened yogurt and tamarind chutney instead of tamarind water.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 27 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Compare with

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What goes inside

Filling

Potato, boiled, peeled and mashed3 piece · 600 g
Dried white peas (safed matar), soaked overnight60 g
Red onion, finely chopped1 piece · 110 g
Green chilli, finely chopped2 piece · 12 g
Coriander leaves, chopped15 g
Cumin, dry-roasted and ground1 tsp · 2.1 g
Cayenne / chilli powder0.5 tsp · 0.9 g
Salt0.75 tsp · 4.5 g
Egg, hard-boiled and finely grated (optional)2 piece · 100 g

Used in steps 1, 3, 4, 5, 6

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

Mix and knead · about 40 min
Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).
Rest · about 20 min
Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.
Bake · about 30 min
Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).
Cool · about 15 min
Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.
Start to finish: about 1 h 45 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

The dough

The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
Ingredient	Role	Weight	Baker’s %
Semolina	Flour	80 g	61.5%
All-purpose flour	Flour	50 g	38.5%
Water	Water	65 g	50%
Salt	Salt	2 g	1.2%

Total flour: 130 g
Hydration: 50%
With milk, eggs…: 50%
Wholegrain: 0%

Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

Stiff dough (under 55% hydration) — firm, easy to roll; typical of bagels, pretzels and many flatbreads.
Salt 1.2% — on the low side (1.8–2.2% is typical for bread).

If something goes wrong

Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Tough or chewy flatbread
Likely causes
- Dough too stiff
- Not rested
- Cooked too slowly on too cool a pan
What to do
- Add water until the dough is soft and slightly tacky
- Rest 20–30 minutes covered so the gluten relaxes
- Cook on a very hot tawa or pan — quickly

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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Fuchka

Ingredients

Shells

Filling

Tok (tamarind water)

Equipment

Method

About this dish

Allergens

Nutrition

Good to know