Kachoris have been a long-standing item on the menus for festive celebrations or Sunday morning breakfasts; but there’s more to the savoury pastry than meets the eye. The Marwari speciality of this deep-fried snack is enjoyed with an array of sweet and spicy chutneys, a spoon of creamy, fresh yoghurt and a sprinkle of chaat masala. This recipe for moong dal kachoris, originating from the ‘Hindi belt’ of India, has been a beloved snack to sink one’s teeth into as a popular street food offering.
To some, it might be justified to buy a kachori or two from your favourite farsan shop considering the amount of detailed prep that goes into making them. However, if the inspiration strikes to make your own for a large group of people congregating at home, this easy recipe is sure to make the laboriousness feel like cake walk. As one of the equally popular variations and contender for the ultimate type of kachori alongside the pyaaz ki kachoris, the moong dal one is sure to shine through and come out tops.
Recipe:
Ingredients [For Stuffing]
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- ½ cup moong dal
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon dry mango powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon dry ginger powder
- Salt to taste
Ingredients [For Dough]
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup ghee
- ½ cup water, as required
- Salt to taste
- Oil, for deep frying
Method
- Add the flour to a large mixing bowl followed by half the quantity of ghee, at first. Mix it in gently using your fingertips so that the fat is combined with the dough.
- Season with salt and add some water, bit by bit, to bind everything into a firm but soft dough. Coat the ball of dough in a thin layer of ghee and set aside to rest for 30-45 minutes.
- Rinse and soak the moong dal for at least two hours. Add the soaked dal to a grinder jar and blitz into a coarse, sand-like mixture, with a little bit of water.
- Heat the ghee in a kadhai and temper using all the spice powders, excluding the salt. Toss the coarsely ground moong dal in the tempered spices and season according to taste.
- Allow the mixture to cool slightly before rolling into lemon-sized balls. Divide the dough into small roundels and roll out into ½ an inch thick circle.
- Place the ball of filling in the centre of the rolled-out dough and flatten gently with your palm. Bring the edges of the dough together in the centre and seal the filling shut into the casing.
- Repeat the process with the remaining dough and filling and lay out the rolled kachoris on a large tray. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan and drop in one or two kachoris at a time and fry until they puff up lightly and turn golden-brown in colour.
- This should take about 7-9 minutes. Extract each kachori and place on absorbent kitchen napkins before serving warm, with a crater in the centre to pile on the chutneys, yoghurt, chopped onions and chaat masala.