Sharu's Fundas: Khasta Kachori

               Do you like kachoris ?? How about making them fresh at home yourself ?? Maybe this Diwali ?? The recipe which I am sharing below contains stuffing of moong dal. As the name suggests khasta means flaky. The outer layer is crispy, flaky just like veg puffs made from wheat flour & all purpose flour. Check the recipe below with step by step picture presentation.

Ingredients:

Stuffing

1 cup Moong dal - soaked for 3 hours & drained

1/3 inch Ginger

1 or 2 Green chilies

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 /2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp kalonji

1/2 tsp ajwain

Salt to taste

1 tbsp. aamchur powder

1 tsp Red Chili Powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

Fried onions 3 tbsp

Outer Layer

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

Salt to taste

Ghee 2 tbsp.

Water

Paste

1 tbsp All purpose flour

1 tbsp Ghee

Method:

Stuffing

Dry roast fennel seeds & coriander seeds for 2 - 3 minutes on low flame. Crush it with a rolling pin. Set aside.

Grind soaked & drained moong dal along with ginger & green chilies to a coarse paste without any water. Set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a pan.

Add mustard seeds. When they crackle add cumin seeds, kalonji, ajwain & coarse powder of fennel seeds & coriander seeds. Saute for 30 seconds or so.

Add red chili powder, garam masala, aamchur powder & salt to taste. Saute for 20 seconds.

Add to it coarsely ground paste of moong dal, green chilies & ginger.

Do all this on very low flame.

Let the mixture dry completely. It may take around 10 minutes to go completely dry & powdery.

Now add to it fried onions. Mix.

Set aside.

Outer Layer

Mix all purpose flour, wheat flour, salt & ghee very well.

Now add to it little water at a time & make the dough.

Knead it for 2- 3 minutes & keep aside covered.

Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

Later knead the dough again for a minute or so & divide the dough in medium sized small balls.

Sticking Paste

Mix ghee & all purpose flour in a small bowl till well combined & set aside.

Making Kachoris:

Take 1 dough ball. Flatten it with your palms.

Now with the help of a rolling pin, roll it into a thin circle just like a roti.

Apply the prepared sticking paste on one side of the roti.

Now make a 3 fold of the roti to cover the sticking paste side. Repeat the 3 fold again to form a square. Keep this square dough ball aside. (See the step by step picture representation below to check the 3 fold method)

Do the same with rest of the dough balls. Make them into a square shape.

Now take one of the formed square dough ball. Try to roll it into square itself. Roll the edges thin compared to its centre.

Put 1 & 1/2 tsp of the moong mixture in the centre of the square roti. Apply the sticking mixture to the edges.

Now take any 2 of the corners together & seal it. Take the 3rd corner to the sealed 2 corners at the top. Now seal the edges. Do the same with the 4th corner. (See the step by step picture representation below to check this seal method)

Now you will have a square with a cross formed on the top with 4 corners.

Take all the 4 corners together & squeeze them.

Now flatten it a bit with your hands & just give a light roll with the rolling pin keeping the flat side facing you.

Do the same with the rest of the square dough balls.

Heat a pan with oil on medium flame. When the oil is hot enough, drop 3 - 4 formed kachoris in the oil.

Fry them on low heat till golden from all sides.

Once done, remove them on a paper napkin.

When you break these kachoris, you will hear that khasta sound... that is the flaky sound. You will see some flakes dropping from the kachori.

Serve them hot or cold with a chutney of your choice.

Or make a kachori chaat out of it.

The perfect KHASTA KACHORIS you ever had !!

Tips:

The filling should be very dry.

Fry the kachoris on low heat or else its inside will be raw.

Serve it immediately that day itself.

I have used a 50:50 ratio for wheat flour : all purpose flour. You can use only all purpose flour if you wish to. But don't use only wheat flour, it wont turn flaky then.

STEP BY STEP PICTURE REPRESENTATION:

Make this sticking paste using ghee & all purpose flour.

Make the filling for the kachori as specified above. It should be very dry.

For outer layer - Make a normal dough using wheat flour,
all purpose flour, salt, ghee & water.
Divide the dough in small equal sized balls.

Take one dough ball. Roll out into a flat chapatti.
Apply the sticking paste to it evenly.

Fold the chapatti as shown above.

Now fold its below part of the chapati also as shown above.

Again make a 3 fold by folding left side.

& then its right side to form a square.

Repeat the same with all other dough balls.

Take one of the square shaped ball. Roll it into a flat chapatti.
Try to roll it into a square shape itself.
Try to roll its edges thin & centre thick.

Put a generous amount of moong dal filling in the centre of it.
Apply the sticking paste to its edges.

pinch together two opposite corners together.

Pinch 3rd corner also together to the previous pinch 2 corners.

Now try to stick the edges as shown above.

Do the same with the last corner.
Squeeze the 4th corner with remaining pinched 3 corners.
& stick the edges together as shown above.

Now take all the the 4 corners & squeeze it together to form a round.

The final ball will look like this. Flatten it a bit with a rolling pin.
Fry it in a oil pan on low heat till golden from all sides.
Serve it immediately !!

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