Urad Dal Kachori: A Yummy North Indian Snack
Urad Dal Kachori is a yummy snack from Uttar Pradesh that is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It is made by stuffing lentils with spices inside a pastry and then drying it until it turns golden brown.
Ingredients
For Dough:
- 1 cup All-purpose flour
- 1 cup Whole wheat flour
- ¼ tsp Baking powder
- Salt
- 1 tbsp Ghee
- Water as needed
For Stuffing:
- 1 cup Urad dal
- ½ inch Ginger chopped
- 5-6 pcs Green chillies chopped
- 1 tbsp Ghee
- ½ tbsp Cumin seeds (jeera)
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder (haldi)
- 1 tsp Red chilli powder (lal mirch)
- tbsp Coriander Powder (Dhania)
- 1 tsp Fennel seeds (Saunf)
- 1 tsp Amchur powder
- ½ tsp Asafoetida (hing)
- Salt
Instructions
Kneading Dough
- Place the whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, and all-purpose flour in a pan or mixing bowl.
- Mix well using a wire whisk or spoon.
- Pour in 3 tablespoons of ghee. Or, you may use three tablespoons of oil.
- Using your fingertips, rub the fat into the flour and stir thoroughly.
- The flour should have a texture similar to that of bread crumbs.
- A bit of the mixture should retain itself when you hold it in your palm rather than crumble and break.
- Next, gradually add water and start kneading.
- To get a soft, smooth dough, add enough water. Add ⅓ cup of water, approx.
- The amount you add can vary based on the quality of the flour.
- To rest the dough, cover it with a damp cloth and let it aside for half an hour.
Make Urad Dal Stuffing
- After giving it a few quick rinses, soak the Urad dal in sufficient water for three to four hours or overnight.
- Transfer the Urad dal to a grinder or blender. Grind to a coarse or semi-fine paste, either completely dry or with very little water added.
- Heat a pan with ½ tbsp. of ghee. Stir in the cumin seeds and allow to sizzle.
- Add the chopped ginger and green chillies after that. Cook until the ginger's raw smell disappears. You can switch off the heat or maintain a low flame.
- Add a pinch of asafoetida (Hing), crushed fennel seeds or fennel powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, and coriander powder.
- Make sure the spices don't burn by thoroughly mixing. Add the Urad dal paste after that.
- The Urad dal past should first be mixed and then sautéed over low heat. It would help if you indeed mixed with some hand pressure.
- Season with salt to taste.
- Stir once more, and then simmer the Urad dal paste, stirring frequently, until it thickens and slightly dries.
- The paste should have a dry, dough-like consistency rather than a wet one. Let the paste cool.
Making the Urad Dal Kachori
- Then, little balls will be formed using the Urad dal mixture.
- Additionally, the same quantity of dough is formed into balls.
- After applying some oil to the dough ball, roll it into a circle that is between five and six inches wide.
- The lentil ball should be flattened before being placed on the dough circle.
- The rolled dough's edges should be pleated, joined, and brought to the middle.
- Tighten the cap. Ensure that the sides are tightly sealed.
- Once more, form a circle that is 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Make every Kachori in this manner.
- Store them in an oversized dish and cover with a damp dishtowel.
Urad Dal Kachori for frying
- Heatsome oil in a pan or Kadai for deep-frying.
- A small amount of dough can be used to test the oil's temperature. If the Kachori rises slowly and steadily on top, the oil is medium-hot and ready to fry.
- Drop them into the boiling oil gently. Cook over a medium or low-medium burner.
- Use a slotted spoon to prod them until they begin to puff up gently.
- Flip it over and fry the other side until the first side is golden and the oil stops spluttering.
- Cook until the other side turns golden and the oil no longer sizzles. While some Kachori will puff up, some won't. Still, they taste delicious, so it's okay.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove and set on paper towels in the kitchen. Batch-fry all of the Kachori in this manner.
- Serve hot or warm Urad dal Kachori with your preferred radar aloo or potato curry.
- As a snack, it goes nicely with some curd (yoghurt) and would also go well with chai.