Khasta Moong Dal Kachori Recipe is a keeper if you love flaky and crisp Indian snacks. This favorite Indian snack recipe is made with all-purpose flour and stuffed with spiced moong dal stuffing. A staple party snack, these Dal ki Kachoris are best enjoyed with some piping hot masala chai anytime of the year.
Who doesn’t like flaky, crisp khasta moong dal ki kachoris as their snacks? In Northern India, especially Delhi, dal kachoris are served with a spicy potato curry One of my all-time favorite combinations. Crispy moong dal kachoris dipped into a hot and spicy tomatoes curry is like a party in your mouth. In this Khasta Moong Dal Kachori Recipe post, I’m going to share tricks and tips on making the best dal kachoris ever! The recipe has step-by-step pics preparing the kachori dough as well as the frying part.
WHAT IS DAL KACHORI
Kachori is like savory hand pies. They are also very similar to samosas. Both samosas and kachoris are made with similar ingredients and they both are enjoyed with mint chutney and dates and tamarind chutney. The only difference between a samosa and a kachori is, the shape. As for the filling goes, kachoris are usually filled with some sort of dry fillings like yellow moong dal, besan flour, pepper, chili powder, cumin seeds, and other spices, while samosa is filled with either spiced potatoes or even spiced minced chicken or lamb keema.
Coming to the taste of Dal Kachori, they taste a bit of spicy, flaky and very savory.
In this kachori recipe, I have used a yellow moong dal stuffing which is incredibly easy to prepare.
WHAT DO I NEED TO MAKE MOONG DAL KACHORI
- All Purpose Flour
- Ajwain
- Salt
- Oil
- Moong Dal
- Cumin seeds
- Coriander seeds
- Black Pepper
- Besan or chick pea flour
- Chaat Powder
- Dried Kasoori Methi
WHAT ARE THE STEPS TO MAKE KHASTA MOONG KI KACHORI AT HOME
It may seem like a complex procedure to make kachoris at home and make them khasta, but trust me it’s not complicated at all. If you follow the steps accurately, you will be able to make the moong dal kachoris effortlessly at home and wow your guests. Here are the step-by-step method –
STEP 1 – PREPARE THE MOONG DAL FOR STUFFING
- firstly, rinse and soak moong dal for 2 hours.
- Drain the water, boil the dal for 5 minutes till they soften.
- Add the boiled dal to the blender and pulse a few times to make a coarse powder without adding any water
STEP 2 – SEASON THE MOONG DAL STUFFING
- Dry roast jeera (cumin seeds), whole dhania (coriander seeds), black peppercorn, ajwain (carrom seeds), and saunf (fennel seeds) for 2 minutes on very low flame
- Pulse the spice blend with sea salt a few times in your mixer grinder
- 3. Heat oil in a non-stick pan
- 4. Add the coarse spice mix, turmeric, salt, chili powder
- 5. Keeping the heat very low, sauté the kachori spice mix for about 2 to 3 minutes
- 6. Turn off the heat and let the spice blend cool.
- 7. Add the cooled down spice blend to the coarsely powdered moong dal
- 8. Mix some dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) and besan.
- 9. Now the moong dal stuffing for the kachoris is ready. Keep it aside.
STEP 3 – PREPARING KHASTA KACHORI DOUGH
- Mix all purpose flour and salt
- Add oil and ajwain to the flour
- Mix the oil thoroughly with the flour and make sure when you take some flour into your hands, you should be able to hold shape
- Add water in parts and knead the dough for about 15 minutes.
- Cover the dough with a cloth and let the dough rest for about an hour
The dough shouldn’t be very soft. It should be semi-soft. Kneading the dough for 12/15 minutes is very important.
Also the proportion of fat to flour is important along with getting the correct thickness of the kachori.
STEP 4 – ASSEMBLE, STUFF AND SHAPE THE MOONG DAL KACHORI
- After the dough is rested for more than hour, knead again softly.
- Apply some oil on your palms and take a portion of the dough. Using your fingers, flatten the dough keeping the edges thin while flattening.
3. Now place some of the moong dal stuffing on the dough.
4. Bring the edges of the dough together and join them at the center. You can pinch the excess dough.
5. Press and then flatten the top.
6. Now gently roll the kachori with a rolling pin to get a medium thickness kachori. Stuff and prepare all kachoris this way. Keep them covered under a moist muslin or cotton cloth, so that they do not dry up.
The thickness should be medium and not thin or thick. Thin kachori will become too crisp and get hard. Whereas thick kachori may have undercooked dough from inside.
STEP 5- FRY THE KACHORI
- Heat oil on low. When the oil is just hot enough, drop the kachoris slowly into the oil.
- Take care not to overcrowd the kadai while frying the kachoris.
To check the right oil temperature for making the kachoris khasta flaky, add a small piece of dough to the oil. If the dough comes slowly and steadily to the surface, then the kachoris are ready to be fried. If the dough comes quickly, the oil is too hot. So lower the flame. If it does not come on the surface, then the oil is cold. To increase the flame.
3. After a few minutes, the kachoris will puff up. Apply very gentle pressure on the top with a spoon, so that they puff up well.
4. When the bottom side becomes light golden, then gently turn them over. The frying takes about 7 to 8 minutes.
5. Continue to fry the rest of the moong kachoris till you get that beautiful golden color. While frying you can turn them often to get an even color. Fry the kachoris till they become golden and nicely crisp from outside.
7. Remove the kachoris and line them on a paper towel lined plate to absorb the excess oil.
To get a flaky and khasta kachori crust, fry the moong kachoris on low heat. Regulate the heat up or down to get the golden color.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do I make my dal kachoris crispy and flaky?
Careful while rolling the kachoris with a rolling pin. If the kachoris have small holes, then too much oil will seep into the kachoris, making them greasy.
How long can I store the khasta kachoris?
These Kachoris freeze well. When you are ready to enjoy them again, thaw the frozen kachoris for 30 minutes and then re-heat them in a preheated oven at 350 F for 5 to 7 minutes. Do not microwave them. You can also air fry the thawed kachoris for a few minutes.
What tastes best with dal ki kachori?
Serve moong dal kachori hot or warm with tamarind chutney, tomato chutney or red chili garlic chutney. You can also have these kachori with tomato-potato curry!
What other stuffing can be used for kachoris?
Instead of moong dal, you can also use urad dal or channa dal for the stuffing. Follow the same procedure
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Serve some piping hot kachoris with
Chole Masala | Chana Masala Recipe (Instant Pot) and top them with
Tomato Chutney Recipe (4 Ingredients)
Peanut Chutney Recipe (Quick & Easy)
Tamarind Date Chutney Recipe (Imli ki Chutney)
Or, dip the moong dal kachoris with some spicy and tangy Aloo Tamatar ki Sabzi | Potato Tomato Curry for a hearty weekend brunch
Khasta Moong Dal Kachori Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Asian Strainer Ladle Stainless Steel Wire Skimmer Spoon with Handle See link on the equipment tab
- 1 Kadhai See link on the equipment tab. I have used a cast iron deep frying pan
- 1 Rolling Pin See link on the equipment tab. I have used a wooden rolling pin
Ingredients
FOR DAL KACHORI DOUGH
- 2 cups All purpose flour or maida 250g
- 1/4 cup Oil Ghee can be used in place of oil
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Ajwain
- 1/2 cup Water more if needed
FOR KACHORI STUFFING
- 1/2 cup yellow moong dal split
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds jeera
- 1 tbsp whole coriander seeds sabut dhania
- 1/2 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1/2 tbsp ajwain seeds carom seeds
- 1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves methi
- 1/4 cup besan chickpea flour
- salt per taste
- 1 tsp chaat powder
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
FOR DEEP FRYING THE KACHORI
- Oil
Instructions
MAKE MOONG DAL STUFFING FOR KACHORI
- Wash and rinse moong dal in a bowl. Soak moong dal with enough water for 2 hours.
- Drain all the water very well and boil the soaked moong lentils for 5 to 6 minutes.
- Cool the boiled moong dal. Add the cooled moong beans to a mixer grinder. Pulse it a few times without adding any water to make a coarse paste.
- Dry roast jeera (cumin seeds), whole dhania (coriander seeds), black peppercorn, ajwain (carrom seeds), and saunf (fennel seeds) for 2 minutes on very low flame
- Pulse the spice blend with sea salt a few times in your mixer grinder
- Heat oil in a non-stick pan
- Add the coarse spice mix, turmeric, salt, and chili powder
- Keeping the heat very low, sauté the kachori spice mix for about 2 to 3 minutes
- Turn off the heat and let the spice blend cool down
- Add the cooled-down spice blend to the coarsely powdered moong dal and mix some dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) and besan.
- Now the moong dal stuffing for the kachoris is ready. Keep it aside.
MAKE THE DOUGH FOR KACHORI
- Mix maida (all-purpose flour) and salt well in a big bowl.
- Add oil to the flour and using your fingertips mix the ghee with the flour for a few minutes till you get a breadcrumb-like texture. Make sure that when you take some of the flour in your hands, you should be able to hold the shape.
- Now add water in parts and knead the dough for about 10 minutes.
- Cover the dough with a moist muslin or kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
STUFF AND ROLL THE KACHORI
- After 30 minutes, lightly knead the dough.
- Divide the into equal portions.
- Take a portion of the dough and flatten it with your fingers. Keep the edges thin while flattening. Now place the moong dal stuffing ball on the dough. Flatten the moong dal stuffing ball. Bring the edges of the dough together and join them at the center. Pinch off the excess dough.
- Flatten the top and then gently roll the kachori with a rolling pin to get a medium-thickness kachori. Stuff and prepare all kachori this way. Keep them covered under a moist cloth, so that they do not dry up.
FRY THE KACHORI
- Heat oil in the kadhai and keep the flame low.
- Make sure that the oil should not be medium hot or hot.
- To test if the oil is ready for frying kachoris, take a small pinch of dough and drop it in the oil. If the dough comes to the surface slowly, then you know that the oil is of the right temperature. If the dough comes up quickly, this means, the oil is very hot and if the dough doesn't come up to the surface, it means the oil isn't hot enough.When the oil is just hot enough, add the kachoris.
- When the kachori starts puffing up, then gently press the top of each kachori with a spoon, so that they puff up well. When the base becomes lightly golden, then gently turn them over. The frying takes about 7 to 8 minutes.
- Continue to fry on a low to low-medium flame till they become golden. While frying you can turn them often to get an even color. You can increase the temperature from low to low-medium to get the golden color on the kachori. But make sure to lower it again, when you are ready to start frying the second batch of kachoris.
- Fry all the kachoris till they become golden and nicely crisp from the outside. Place khasta kachori on kitchen paper towels so that excess oil is absorbed. Fry all kachori this way.
Notes
