Crispy crunchy kachoris…
Last weekend, I watched a few episodes of Masterchef India, I’m awed by the creativity and talent of the contestants. In some episodes, I’ve seen some of the contestants making kachori. By looking at it I got an idea that it was more like stuffed poori. Kachori is a North Indian snack that is popular in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, etc. I haven’t tasted kachoris before, however, in my family, we make a similar snack beef stuffed poori. These beef stuffed poori’s are so delicious and is one of my favorite snacks.
Making kachori was on my top to-do list. Yesterday, I read a lot about kachoris and their preparation. Even though the outer part remains the same, which is a dough made of flour, it’s the stuffing that changes from one state to another. The stuffing can be made out of urad dal, chana dal, or moong dal, it’s mostly a savory snack. In Rajasthan, onion kachori is a very famous one. People with sweet tooth don’t be disappointed as the stuffing can also be made sweet and the kachoris can be dipped in sugar syrup as well, they are called Mawa kachori.
I made the stuffing with moong dal, the dal can be either cooked or made into powder and then mixed with other ingredients. I found grinding the moong dal was much easier and so my stuffing was made with ground moong dal or moong dal flour.
Step-by-Step Pictures
Kneaded Dough
Roasting Moong dal
Roasted Moong dal before adding oil and water
Moong dal stuffing
Stuffing dough
Wrapping the dough
Flattened stuffed dough
Frying Kachori
Frying Kachori
Kachori
- All purpose flour or Maida- 2 cups
- Ghee or Oil- 2 tbsp
- Cold water- ¼ cup and 2 tbsp
- Salt- ½ tsp
- Moong dal, without skin- ¼ cup
- Fennel powder- ¾ tsp
- Coriander powder- 1 tsp
- Red chili flakes- 1 tsp
- Ginger powder- ¼ tsp
- Mango powder or Amchoor powder- ½ tsp
- Asafetida- 2 pinches
- Salt- 1½ tsp
- Oil- 1 tbsp
- Water- 3 tbsp
- Oil- for deep frying
- Cilantro- ½ cup
- Mint leaves- 10 leaves
- Green chili, chopped- 1
- Mango powder or Amchoor- ¼ tsp
- Salt- ½ tsp
- Water- a few tablespoons to make a paste
- Grind the moong dal in a blender to a coarse powder.
- In a bowl, combine ground moong dal with fennel powder, coriander powder, red chili flakes, ginger powder, mango powder and salt.
- Heat a non-stick pan, add the moong dal mix into the pan and roast till the dal turns deep yellow in color and aromatic.
- Transfer the roasted moong dal into a bowl, add 1 tbsp oil, combine well.
- Add 3 tbsp water and combine well. The moong dal will absorb water and will bind well. The mix should be dry so don't make it mushy by adding too much water.
- Keep the stuffing aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour and oil or ghee, combine till the flour turns into crumbs.
- Add water little by little till a soft dough is formed, knead well, keep aside for 5 minutes.
- Make small balls out of the dough.
- Flatten the small balls between the palm of your hands.
- Place ½ tbsp of stuffing into the center of the flattened dough.
- Wrap it into a round shape and seal the ends.
- Place the stuffed dough on your palm and flatten using your fingers into a thin round poori shape. Do not roll the stuffed dough, use your hands to flatten it.
- Heat oil for deep frying in a frying pan over medium heat.
- The oil shouldn't be too hot, if the oil is too hot kachori won't puff up.
- Drop the stuffed dough into the oil and fry till golden brown in color.
- Transfer to a kitchen paper towel.
- Serve these crispy and crunchy kachoris with mint-cilantro chutney or tamarind chutney.
- In a blender, grind the above-mentioned ingredients for making the chutney along with a few tablespoons of water & grind to a smooth paste.
