Happy New Year to all my friends !! I was meaning to post this recipe a little earlier but I had some priorities hence the delay.
Hoping this new year harbingers joy and happiness to all of us. On this positive note let’s get to the recipe that has long been pending. The classic North Indian dish khasta kachori or deep fried puffed bread filled with moong dal and spices.
Khasta or crispy kachori is a quintessential North Indian breakfast. People in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi for instance begin their day by eating this. It is a wholesome dish where all purpose flour or wheat flour dough is stuffed with dal/lentil and deep fried. Healthy? not really, tasty absolutely!!
Hubby’s Mamiji is an expert at making these puffed and stuffed puris. She has fed us with this delicacy innumerable times- whenever she visited us in California she boxed these delectable kachoris and brought it for us. When we visited Columbus for Hubby’s cousin’s wedding she made a huge batch to feed the ‘ baraatis’ or wedding guests.
Getting the recipe from her was inevitable for me. She was gracious and patient enough to tell me all her little secrets of making this popular snack. Usually before making the filling the dal is soaked and then ground, but Mamaiji has found an innovative way to shorten the cooking time. In other words if you fancy having kachodi in the morning you can make it in under an hour, no soaking required whatsoever. I have explained in detail in the directions.
Amma also made a besan kachodi which is not the crispy kind but still delectable. I will post the recipe soon on my blog. Khasta kachodi can be taken as a snack for road trips etc as it stays good for a week. It pairs very well with aloo ki sabzi and is a perfect brunch dish.
Servings
Makes 12 kachodis
Prep Time
30 minutes make and rest dough and filling
Cook Time
20-25 minutes
Total Time
About 1 hour
For the kachodi:
- 2 cup all purpose flour
- 4-5 tbsp oil
- ½ tsp salt
- About ¼ cup warm water to make dough
For the filling:
- ½ cup yellow moong dal
- 1 tsp fennel seeds or saunf
- 1 tsp whole black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp amchur or dry mango powder
- ½ tsp garam masala powder
- 1 tbsp oil
- ⅓ cup water or more if needed
- Oil to deep fry
Step 1
Make the dough by adding the flour, salt, oil and water. The dough must be soft. Cover and keep aside for 10-15 minutes.
Step 2
To make the filling dry grind moong dal, fennel and black pepper. Add all the filling ingredients except oil and the dal mixture to a bowl and mix well. The water level should be above the dal mixture. Add more or less as needed.
Step 3
Microwave the filling for 30 seconds at a time until the mixture is dry and can form soft balls and the water is almost evaporated. It took me 1 minute 30 seconds for the mixture to be ready.
Step 4
Cool the mixture. Heat oil to deep fry. To start making kachodis, make equal size portions out of the dough. Roll or shape the dough into small thick circles, fill a tbsp of filling, close and seal and roll again to make it into a thick flat puri.
Step 5
Deep fry on medium high heat until it puffs up golden brown on both sides. Serve hot with potato/aloo sabzi.
Notes:
Keep the dal filling covered while working. If you find it has dried up add a tsp or two of oil to moisten.
The famous proverb "you are what you eat” as quoted by the French author Anthelme Brillat-Savarin is very true. Food nourishes you from the inside out. Good health is of utmost importance to me. Vegetarianism and Veganism are gaining immense popularity these days. Natural, organic, healthy and homemade is my mantra.
ALL TAGS
© 2019 Fusion Kitchen Tales. All Rights Reserved.
0 Comments