Daal Kachori

The MR is a big fan of daal (lentil) kachoris with aloo (potato) tarkari. The MRS tried to recreate this super snack at home. We were pleasantly surprised to learn how easy it is to make these light and flaky Kachoris at home. While the best complement to these Kachoris is aloo tarkari, you can also enjoy them with some mint sauce or any other flavored sauce.

Ingredients:

For kachori dough

1. Flour – 2 cups
2. Oil – 1/4 cup
3. Salt – 1 tsp
4. Cold water as needed

For daal (lentil) stuffing

1. Moong daal (soaked in water for 4 hours)- 1/2 cup
2. Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
3. Green chillies (chopped) – 1 tsp
4. Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tsp
5. Coriander powder – 1 tsp
6. Crushed fennel seeds/ saunf – a pinch
7. Salt – to taste
8. Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
9. Garam masala powder – 1/4 tsp
10. Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
11. Fresh coriander leaves – 1 tbsp

Method:

Kachori dough

• Sift flour into a large bowl. Add oil and salt.
• Add cold water, little at a time, and knead until you have a soft dough. Don’t over knead!

Daal (lentil) filling

• Soak Moong daal in water for 4 hours.
• After 4 hours, drain the water completely from the daal (lentil). Pulse in a food processor or grinder until it is coarsely ground.
• Now in a non-stick frying pan, add 1 tbsp oil and heat it.
• Add cumin seeds and when they begin to splutter, add chopped green chillies, ginger-garlic paste, and coriander powder. Saute for 1 minute.
• Now add ground daal (lentil). Over it, sprinkle a pinch of crushed fennel seeds. Give a mix.
• Add salt, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, and turmeric powder. Mix again!
• Lastly, add fresh coriander leaves and give a final mix.

Assemble

• Divide the dough in six equal parts. Shape into small balls.
• Flatten each ball with your fingers and then make a shallow indent so that it looks like a basket.
• In each indent, drop 1 tsp of daal (lentil) mixture.
• Now pinch the dough over the stuffing to cover it completely (the stuffed dough balls should look like dumplings).
• Flatten each stuffed ball on a clean (non-floured) surface with your fingers to a 1/2cm thickness.

Deep fry each kachori over medium-low heat. While cooking, continue to splash hot oil over each kachori (be careful!). Golden each side before taking the kachori out.