Urad Dal Kachori

It is a traditional recipe of making awesome urad dal kachoris also called as 'Bedmi'. These are eaten with ‘Aloo ki sabji’ and U.P style ‘Aam ka achar’ (mango pickle).

Ingredients:

For dough

• 1 cup refined flour (maida)
• ¼ cup whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup fine semolina
• Salt
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

For Filling:

• 1 cup split skinned black gram (Dhuli Urad ki dal)
• 1 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 tsp coriander seeds crushed coarsely
• 1 tsp fennel (saunf) seeds crushed coarsely
• 1 tsp dry mango (amchur) powder
• ½ tsp dry ginger powder
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• pinch of asafetida
• Salt to taste

For Frying: Cooking oil to deep fry

Method:

• Mix the maida, wheat flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add oil, rub until fully incorporated and the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add warm water; knead to make smooth and pliable dough. Cover with moist napkin and keep aside for one hour.
• Soak dal in water for two hours. Put soaked moistened Dal in a blender, or a processor with minimum possible water. Grind it coarsely. It should be grainy not a fine paste.
• Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan. Add asafetida. Add the coarsely ground dal and sauté over medium heat to get rid of moisture. When the mixture starts drying out add all other ingredients to be added in the stuffing. The stuffing should be damp and not wet. Switch off the gas and keep aside to cool.
• Make almost equal sized small balls of dough. Roll out the balls to approximately three to four inches in diameter. Put about 1 tbsp of stuffing in the center. Seal the edges together using a little water and roll into a round ball. Make sure most of the air escapes before the edges are sealed and ball is made. Press down the ball making it flatter. Roll it lightly, slightly thicker than puri with the help of oil or dry flour.
• Heat the oil in a wok (kadhai); deep-fry the stuffed kachoris, a few at a time, on medium heat till they puff up and become crisp and golden.
• Remove and drain the excess oil on absorbent kitchen paper towels.
• Serve hot with Aloo Ki Sabji and pickle.

Tips:

• Replace water in part or whole with Dahi, or Buttermilk to make dough for ‘khasta kachori’. Lactic acid and fat in the Yogurt tenderize gluten.
• Allow the dough to rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature, to permit the starches and glutens enough time to work through.
• If you have stored dough in the refrigerator, let it come to room-temperature before rolling, otherwise the gluten will remain stiff resulting in hard dough.