Moong Daal kachori

Moong Daal kachori is a very famous mouthwatering spicy snack food of India. With a flavorful moong dal stuffing, kachori is deep-fried on a slow flame to achieve that deliciously crisp crust outside and hollow, well-cooked inside. A perfect kachori is one that is puffed up crispy and flaky outside but hollow inside as the filling sticks to the crust. Let’s get started with kachori recipe right in your own kitchen with very basic ingredients.

Cuisine: Indian | Recipe Category: Appetizer & Snacks | Serving: 8-10 pc

Soaking Time: 2 hours | Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 30 Minutes 

Ingredients:

For The Dough:

1.	All-purpose flour	1 cup
2.	Clarified butter/Ghee	2 Tbsp.
3.	Salt	To taste
4.	Water for kneading	1 pc

For the Moong Daal Stuffing:

1.	Yellow Moong dal (Soaked for 2 hours and drained)	½ cup
2.	Besan (Bengal gram flour)	½ cup
3.	Coriander seeds, roughly crushed	1 Tsp
4.	Cumin seeds	1 Tsp
5.	Cloves, roughly crushed	4-5 pc
6. 7.	Black peppercorn, roughly crushed Fennel seeds, roughly crushed	4-5 pc 1 Tsp
8.	Asafoetida (Hing)	1 Tsp
9.	Garam masala	1 Tsp
10.	Red chili powder	1 Tsp
11.	Dried mango powder	1 Tsp
12.	Dried Fenugreek leaves	1 Tsp.
13.	Turmeric powder	½ Tsp
14.	Salt	To taste
15.	Oil	2 Tbsp.

Other Ingredients:

Oil - For deep frying

Step by Step Instructions:

For the Dough: 

1. Combine all the ingredients in a deep bowl and knead into semi-soft dough using enough water.


2. Cover the dough with a wet muslin cloth and keep aside for 15 minutes. 
3. Knead the dough one more time after 15 minutes and divide into 8-10 equal parts. cover and keep aside.

For the Stuffing:

1. Soak moong dal for at least 2 hour and drain. 
2. In a mortar or with rolling pin lightly crush coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cloves and black pepper corn.
3. Heat the oil in a broad non-stick pan; add the cumin seeds with crushed spices.
4. When the cumin seeds start sizzling add asafetida and the moong dal and saute on a medium flame for 3-5 minute. Sprinkle few drop of water, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes while stirring occasionally.
5. Add besan and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
6. Add chili powder, turmeric powder, salt, garam masala, dried fenugreek leaves and dried mango powder and mix well. Adjust the spices in the filling as per your preference.
7. Add 2-3 Tbsp. of water, cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes while stirring occasionally.
8. Divide the filling into 8-10 equal portions and keep aside.

For the Kachories:

1. Roll out each portion of the dough into a 2-3 “diameter circle.
2. Place one portion of the moong dal filling in the centre.
3. Bring together all the sides, seal it tightly and remove any excess dough.
4. Roll or press with hands the filled kachories to 3" diameter circle, while ensuring that the filling does not spill out.
5. Gently press the center of the kachori with your thumb.
6. Repeat same steps to make more kachories.
7. Heat the oil in a deep pan and fry kachories on a medium-slow flame till golden, crisp and flaky from both sides.
8. Drain on an absorbent paper.
9. Serve hot with Tamarind Chutney or Mint Coriander Chutney

Quick Tips:

For the Dough: 

1. To make any flaky pastry, the proportion of flour to oil/ghee is very important.
2. The amount of water required to knead the dough is another important factor as too much water will make the dough crisp but not flaky and too little can dry out the dough 
3. Keep the dough covered with a moist cloth at all times.

For Frying:

• Frying kachories is easy if fried at proper temperature of oil. 

          1. Frying in too hot oil results in a crisp exterior but not flaky and uncooked interior and filling.

          2. Frying in too cold oil end up the dough soaking a lot of oil and a greasy pastry. 

• To know the temperature while frying, add a small piece of dough to the oil.

          1. If the dough comes up quickly, the oil is hot, need to lower the flame. 

          2. If the dough takes a lot of time to come, the oil is cold, increase the flame.

          3. If it comes steadily to the surface, then the kachories are ready to be fried.

• When you add the kachoreis to the hot oil, the temperature of the oil does get lowered naturally, so accordingly increase the flame. 

Others:

1. Adjust the spices in the filling as per your preference. 
2. The Moong Dal Kachori can be kept fresh and stored in air-tight containers for a weak. Warm up in microwave, or fill them with curds and chutneys and serve as kachori chaat or just eat like that. Enjoy!!

Recipe Notes

1. Click here for Mint Coriander Chutney Recipe
2. Click here for Khajur Imli Chutney Recipe