Khasta Kachori

Festival time traditional snack had in the central and northern parts of India. It tastes best with potato curry, sweet tamarind sauce and yogurt or with mint chutney and why not with just  a hot cup of tea.  

I remember helping my mom make these during the festivals Diwali and Holi, while I was a kid.

Ingredients

Filling
White Urad Dal	250gm (1 ¼ cup)
Water	125ml
Spices
Red chilly pd	2 Tsp
Coriander pd	1 Tsp
Dry Mango pd	1 Tsp
Garam Masala pd	½ Tsp
Fennel Seeds	1 Tbsp (coarse ground)
Salt	To taste
Oil	2 Tbsp
Kachori
All purpose Flour (Maida)	650 gm
Oil	160 ml
Salt	1 ½ Tsp or to taste
Water	240 ml (1 Cup)
Oil	For frying

Method

1. Pick, wash and soak urad dal overnight
2. Drain all water, grind to a coarse paste using very little water, I used 125 ml
3. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a heavy bottom non stick pan and fry this paste on medium low heat. Will need more oil, if not using a non stick pan.
4. It should take about 30 to 40 minutes, keep breaking the lumps formed while stirring this mixture so that it dries up completely.
5. Let it cool, meanwhile make a soft and pliable dough using maida, oil, salt and water, add water slowly, will need approximately 240 ml of water. Knead it well, cover and keep it to rest.
6. Once the urad dal mixture has cooled down, grind it to break any remaining lumps to create a coarse powder mixture. If the mixture seems a little wet, dry roast it for a couple of minutes in a pan.
7. Now add all the spices to this mixture and your stuffing is ready.

1. Divide the dough into 34 equal pieces, make a ball of each
2. Take one ball and  roll out into 2 inch diameter and place 1 Tbsp of stuffing on it, carefully lift the sides of the dough and seal it properly to form a ball.
3. With very light hands, using a rolling pin, roll it out into a small disc
4. Repeat the process with the remaining balls, keep all these covered with a wet muslin cloth.

1. Heat oil in a wok and fry few at a time on a medium to low heat till golden on both sides. Place on kitchen towel to drain excess oil.
2. One completely cooled, keep it in an air tight container.
3. Can be stored for upto 2 weeks.