Dal Kachori ( Lentil puffs )
3/4th cup skinless dried black beans (urad)
4 cups Flour (atta)
1 green chili chopped
1/2tsp Salt
Oil for deep frying
1tbsp anise seeds (Saunf)
1tsp coriander seeds
1tsp white cumin seeds
1/2tsp red chili powder
1/4th tsp asafoetida powder

Preparation:

Soak the beans in water overnight then rinse and drain.Sift the flour and gradually add enough water to make soft dough. Cover the dough with damp cloth and leave for 30 minutes. Grind the drained beans with the chili powder, salt and spices to make stuffing. Mix well and divide it into 16 equal portions. Divide the dough into 16, using wet hands, and smear each portion with a little oil.Flatten and roll out into 2inch round.Wrap one portion of stuffing in each round and roll into a smooth ball, using greased hands. Flatten and roll into a 3-4 inch round.Heat plenty of oil in a deep frying pan or a kadhai.Now lift the rolled kachori and carefully slip it into the hot oil. Immediately start flickering hot oil over the top of it with a spatula so that it will swell up like a ball. This should take only a few seconds. Flip the kachori over and cook the other side until golden brown.Serve the dal kachori hot with chutney.

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Moong Dal Kachori

Ingredients

For The Dough (crust)

2 cups plain flour (maida)
1/4 cup melted ghee
1/2 tsp salt

For The Filling
1/2 cup yellow moong dal (split yellow gram) ,soaked for 4 hours
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing)
1 tsp ginger-green chilli paste
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp dried mango powder (amchur)
2 tbsp besan (bengal gram flour)
3 tbsp oil
salt to taste
oil for deep-frying

Method - For the dough (crust)

Combine all the ingredients and knead into a semi-soft dough using enough water. Knead very well for 5 to 7 minutes.Divide the dough into 12 equal parts and keep covered under a wet muslin cloth.

For the filling

Drain the soaked moong dal. Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds and asafoetida. When the seeds crackle, add the drained moong dal and sauté for a few seconds.Add the ginger-green chilli paste, chilli powder, garam masala, amchur powder, gram flour and salt and stir for 5 to 7 minutes till the masalas are cooked.  Cool and divide into 12 equal portions. Shape each portion into an even sized round and keep aside.

How to proceed

 Roll out each portion of the dough into a 50 mm. (2") diameter circle.Place one portion of the filling mixture in the centre of the rolled dough circle. Surround the filling mixture with the dough by slowly stretching it over the filling mixture.Seal the ends tightly and remove any excess dough. Roll each filled portion into a 62 mm. (2½") diameter circle taking care to ensure that the filling does not spill out.Gently press the centre of the kachori with your thumb.Repeat with the remaining dough and filling to make more kachoris.  Deep fry the kachoris in hot oil over a slow flame till golden brown on both sides. The kachoris should puff up like puris. These take a long time to fry as the crust is thick and needs to be cooked on the inside also. Cool and keep aside or store in an air-tight container.

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