Khasta (in Hindi) means crisp, flaky or brittle. Kachori is a puffed-up fried snack – the dough usually made with either all-purpose or wheat flour, is rolled out like little pooris, filled with spicy filling and deep fried till golden.
Kachoris take different forms depending on the region of origin… some are flat, some are puffed… some are soft, some are hard….some eaten plain and some eaten with a curry.
Today’s post is all about Moong Dal (split skinned yellow lentil) Khasta Kachori- our kachoris get spicy yellow moong dal filling and they go dancing in hot oil to walk out as a crispy snack. No matter what they are made of or with what they are eaten- its just one super snack not to be missed!
| For the outer covering | |
| Maida / All-purpose flour | 1 cup |
| Salt | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Ajwain seeds | 2 pinch (optional) |
| Ghee | 2 Tablespoon |
| Cold water | 1/4 cup approx (or less ) |
| Oil (for deep frying) | 3 cups |
| For the Filling | |
| Split skinned yellow Moong dal | 1/4 cup |
| Cumin seeds | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Fennel seeds | 1 teaspoon |
| Asafoetida | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Turmeric powder | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Red Chili powder | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Dhania powder | 1 teaspoon |
| Mango powder | a pinch |
| Garam masala powder | a pinch |
| Salt | 1/2 teaspoon (adjust to taste) |
| Bengal Gram flour | 1 teaspoon |
| Water | 1 tablespoon (optional) |
| Cumin seeds (for tempering) | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Green Chili (minced) | 2 small |
| Ginger (minced) | 1 teaspoon |
| Oil (for sauteing) | 1 tablespoon |
How to make Moong Dal Khasta Kachori
1. Making the filling
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Rinse split skinned yellow moong/ mung dal in water and soak. This step is a must, give it atleast 3 – 4 hours of soaking in water. Drian all the water using a strainer like the one shown above to get off all the water. In a mixer, pulse cumin and fennel seeds. Now add the soaked moong dal to it.
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Grind to a coarse texture. Just run the pulse mode in the mixer for few seconds. In a kadai or pan, heat oil and splutter little cumin seeds… sprinkle asafoetida, minced green chili & ginger. Fry them for few seconds. Add in the ground dal and saute along with turmeric powder, red chili powder, dhania(coriander powder), amchur(dry mango) powder, garam masala powder,bengal gram flour and salt. Keep sauteing till the mixture becomes dry. You may add few teaspoons of water if it gets too dry. Once done let it cool completely. While that is working… lets start on the dough side by side.
2. Making the dough, assembly & frying
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In a bowl combine maida, salt and little crushed ajwain seeds. Add in melted ghee and mix the flour mixture to form a crumbly texture. Add cold water little by little to make a soft but firm dough. Let the dough rest for atleast 20 minutes, covered in a moist cloth or kitchen towel.
Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Roll them into little golf balls. (1 cup of maida should yield roughly 8-9 kachoris) Take one at a time, roll them out using a rolling pin to make small pruri/poori OR just press with your thumb to shape like a cup as shown.
Both ways work, make sure the center is slightly thick than the sides. Stuff with a spoon of dal mixture and fold to cover as shown. Gather the edges of the dough to form a small pocket. Press gently to seal. Make sure you seal completely.
Repeat the process for the rest of the dough balls. Keep them all covered with cloth through out the making process. Do not let them dry out!
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Heat oil in a wide vessel / kadai and startt eh deep frying. For this, first we have to test the oil temperature…. oil should not be piping hot- it has to be hot to the extent it doesn’t burn the kachoris… as they like to bathe in medium hot oil.
Pinch a little dough and add it to the oil- if it puff up to the top immediately then your oil is too hot. If they go settle inthe bottom and slowly climb up the oil then that’s the right oil temperature to start frying.
Add few kachoris at a time and fry over medium flame till golden on both sides. Make sure you turn then carefully to ensure even cooking and browning. Transfer the fried kachori onto a paper towel to drain excess oil.
When completely cool, store them in a dry container for few days.
Some appetizers to try from our page…
Kachori is best when served warm with a cup of tea or serve it as a Chaat like the one shown above…. poke a small hole in the center of the kachori, fill it with some whipped plain yogurt, mint chutney, tamarind chutney, minced onion & cilantro. Top it with thin sev/omapudi…that’s a bonus!
Notes
- This measure yields about 8-9 medium size kachoris with 2-3 days of shelf life at room temperature or about 5 days in refrigerator.
- To warm it up, I personally prefer a regular oven or toaster oven at lowest heat setting for 30 minutes. Microwave re-heating is ok… warm it up for few seconds but this makes the outer covering go soft like regular poori.
- You can make the filling and the dough beforehand too, especially if you want to prepare these for parties. Refrigerate the filling and dough and bring it room temperature and proceed with the recipe.
- Kachori dough can made wither with Maida or Whole wheat flour or combination of both. The one made with maida stays crispy for couple of days. Wheat flour yeilds slightly softer outer covering but equally good in taste.
- Adding ajwain seeds is optional but gives nice flavor and aids digestion.
- To make the outer covering extra crispy you may add a pinch of baking soda.
- Make a filling of your choice… make it plain Moong dal, Urad dal, Channa dal or with combination.
- If you don’t have amchur powder then substitute with few drops of lemon juice to give that taste.
- Always make sure you fry the kachori at low medium flame to get crispy outer layer.
- Throw in some freshly crushed dhania seeds to the filling which gives nice flavor and crunch.
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