Moong Dal Kachori

For kachori dough:

Combine all purpose flour/ maida, salt and ghee in a large bowl. Mix ghee and flour very well till it resembles breadcrumbs. When you press the dough in fist it must hold shape. That's a good indication for khasta kachoris. Add water little by little and knead a stiff dough. Cover with kitchen towel and set aside.

For the filling:

Heat a heavy bottom vessel, dry roast moong dal till light golden brown and fragrant. Do not burn the dal. Fry on low to medium low flame till aromatic. Set this aside till it cools down. Grind to coarse texture.

In the same vessel add one tspn of oil. Reduce flame to low. Combine all dry spices and moong dal mixture. Fry for a minute. Sprinkle 8 to 10 tspns of water. Mix well. Set aside for 10 minutes. The water gets soaked.

To make Kachori:

Lets get back to the dough, divide them to around 15 portions lemon size dough (approximately). Keep them covered. Roll dough to small thick puris. Place 1tbspn heaped mixture in centre and get the corners of puri together making small frills.

Press them together to seal the corners well. Place between palms and flatten and press gently to spread. I would recommend not to use rolling pin. Place them on greased surface/ butter paper and keep them covered to avoid drying out. Repeat for the rest.

Heat oil. When oil is just hot enough add kachoris in batches. Fry in low to medium flane for crisp kachoris. Do not over crowd. When the kachoris start to puff with help of ladle give it a gentle press in centre. This will ensure kachori puff up well. Fry till golden brown on one side and then turn the kachori. Fry till both sides are evenly fried and crisp. Transfer on kitchen towel to absorb excess oil. Repeat for the rest.

Serve with chutneys like tamarind, green chilly or tomato ketchup and fried green chilly.

Note: Spices and ingredients can be adjusted according to your preference.