Dal Kachori / Khasta Kachori / Moong Dal Kachori

As children , we were very occassionaly treated with chaats and sweets like bhel ,sev puri ,kachoris,gulab jamun,mithais, or for that matter evern chocolates…

We had to wait for some guests, rather some really generous guests ,who would get some chocolates or mithais when visiting us….

Treats like mithais,shrikhands,basundi’s were only meant for festivals and special occassions!!

We remembered just this when me and my husband were doing ganpati aarati and offering nevwedyam of shrikhand puris and modaks…and my little toddler was not really interested in feasting upon the sweet treat put up!! Reason , obvious…Shrikhands ..thanks ot Amul or Chitales and host of other Dairy products makers, is available around the year…and so is the case with mithais…that are available at the sweet shops at every nook and corner. With the increasing disposable income of average urban indian household , all the treats are now affordable to many. And one more reason is ofcourse the internet and a powerful medium, blogs…. Modern homemakers perfer making chaats and mithais at home , considering the hygiene and health for their loved ones ..and they can whip up anything, be it chinese,italian or any indian dish from any part of india thanks to various recipes and the step by step pictures made availabe on food blogs and websites!!

So when I decided to make Khasta Kachoris at home( they were my favourite when I was young, and only my Mama bought it for us ,whenever he visited us), I had the convinience of internet to search and research on the perfect recipe!! And when it comes to a rajasthani recipe, Tarala Dalal is the best….So this recipe is an adaptation from the recipe posted on her website, ofcourse with slight variations and twists. But the end result was fantastic….Me my husband and surprisingly my kiddo enjoyed it too!!

 

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup whole wheat flour

3/4 Cup Maida

1 tbsp Barik Suji rawa (Fine Rawa)

¼ Cup Ghee

1 tsp Namak Shamak

Water as required

Oil for deep frying

For the Stuffing:

1 Cup Split Moong dal ,soaked for 2-3 hours

2 tsp Oil

1 tbsp Green chilly and ginger paste(coarsely pounded together)

½ tsp Hing

1 tsp Cumin seeds /jeera

1 tsp Red Chilly powder

2 tsp Coriander powder

1 tsp Fennel /Saunf powder

1 tsp Cumin /Jeera Powder

1 tsp Namak Shamak

1 tsp jaggery

½ tsp Tamarind Pulp

 

Knead a stiff dough from wheat flour,maida,rawa,ghee ,salt and water. Keep covered for ½-1 hour.

 

Drain the soaked moong dal using a sieve. Coarsely grind the moong dal without using any water.

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and hing.

Add green chilly-ginger paste and saute for 1 min till the raw smell goes.

Add the ground dal and fry on a low flame till cooked and raw aroma disappears.

Add cumin powder, coriander powder,fennel powder,red chilly powder and salt and mix.

Add jaggery and tamarind pulp and mix till the mixture gets dry.

Cool on a flat plate.

Pinch small portions of the knead dough and roll out small round , slightly thick puris.

Place a small portion of the stuffing at the center and gather together the sided and pinch at the center.

Flatten it a bit using palms and roll it using a rolling pin , slightly ,to form a thick puri.

Heat oil in a kadhai . The oil should not be too hot , else the puris will not be flaky.

A small bit of dough once dropped in oil should come up only aftersome time , not immediately.

Drop the kachoris and fry them on a low flame , till brown and crisp.

Seve hot with tamarind Chutney.