Khasta Kachori Recipe ( Moong Dal Kachouri, Peas and Pyaz Kachoudi)
This month's ICC-Challenge spoiled my precious 'never-to-end' diet. I mean I was all about following this diet, which I started just the previous day of making these, diligently! But Valli spoiled it! ;) So I am off my diet ..yet again! Before I go to the post, I have one important disclaimer - These photos were not taken by me. It was my split personality 'KD' and anyone who is familiar with the local Tamil slang and lingo will laugh at this! And I have a reason to call it that - I was literally - ooops not me - KD's attention was all on grabbing these and gobbling and not about taking photos! KD was on a diet the previous day and this was too much on her fragile soul tongue. So she caved in. And she completely took a lousy half hearted photo! Well Valli - you told me you wanted to see the beautiful photos, sorry KD screwed it up! I am not responsible!
Khasta Kachori Recipe ( Moong Dal Kachouri, Peas and Pyaz Kachoudi)
OK forget the photos - Where and how shall I start explaining the antics these play on your taste buds! These delicious snacks are enjoyed in Pakistan and northern India in places like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab etc. The extremely crunchy outer layer, the pastry, is a keeper! I suspect that is the reason for the addiction. Something about the pastry getting fried probably develops some heroin kinda chemical condition or even better -some witch from Hogwarts sneaks in few drops of pastry love potion or...or whatever!! The thing is it has this "Nobody can eat just one' tag attached to it. The crumbly spicy moong dal filling literally falls apart in your mouth making you reach out for more! Khasta Kachori Recipe ( Moong Dal Kachouri, Peas and Pyaz Kachoudi) If you think, I am just off my rockers, then I ask you to make these. And NO, no touching them. Instead sit and take photos for next few minutes!!!!!! We were given 3 fillings for this recipe - Moong dal filling which is the traditional filling for making khasta kachori, then peas filling and Onion (pyaz) filling. I made a little of all the fillings. Its hard to choose between them, they were all v good. But if you forced me with one, I would go with traditional one - Moong dal :) The pictorial below is with this only. Resting Time for the Dough is app 1/2 hr - 1 hr Frying time for the Kachoris - 20 mins for each batch app. Soaking Time for the Filling is app. 1 hr Cooking Time for the Filling is app 15 mins Yields - 15
  • Cook time:
  • Prep time:
  • Serves: 4 people
  • Yields: Makes around 12-15 kachoris
Ingredients
  • All purpose flour / Maida - 2 cups
  • Oil/ Ghee - 1/4 cup ,
  • Salt - 1/2 tsp
  • Water for kneading
  • For Khasta Kachori - Moong Dal Filling
  • Split Moong Dal (yellow) - 1/2 cup
  • Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
  • Hing / Asafoetida - a pinch
  • Curry Leaves - 2 tsp chopped fine (opt)
  • Green Chilli - Ginger paste - 1 tsp
  • Sauf / Fennel seeds powder - 1 tsp
  • Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
  • Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
  • Mango powder / Amchur - 1 tsp
  • Oil - 1 tsp
  • Salt to taste
  • For Muttar Ki Kachori - Peas Filling
  • 2 cups green peas
  • 1 teaspoon green chillies, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
  • 1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds (kalonji)
  • 2 teaspoons fennel seeds (saunf)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 4 tablespoons chopped coriander
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • salt
  • For Pyaz Ki Kachori - onion filling
  • 2 cups onions, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon nigella seeds (kalonji)
  • 2 teaspoons fennel seeds (saunf)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1½ teaspoons green chillies, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons Bengal gram flour (besan)
  • 2 teaspoons coriander (dhania) powder
  • 2 teaspoons chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 3 tablespoons chopped coriander
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • salt to taste
Method
1.

Method - For making the Pastry

Mix the flour and salt, Add the oil/ghee and mix till you get a bread crumbs texture.

2. Slowly add water and make a soft dough. Knead well for about 8 minutes.
3. Cover and keep aside to rest for at least half hour.
4.

Special Tips / Notes for the dough:

1. Keep the dough covered at all times, if not it will dry up and not puff up when frying. If the dough is made right wet cloth can be used if not just a towel.

2. The dough could spring back for many reasons:
-Dough is too cold (If wet cloth is used)
-Dough is not soft enough.
-Not kneaded for enough time.
-Oil is less.
-Not rested enough.

Method - to make the Moong dal filling

Wash and Soak dal in water for atleast 1 hour. You can go upto 4 hours not more. Drain the water well.

5. Grind the dal to a coarsely.
6.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the hing and cumin seeds. Once the seeds splutter add the curry leaves. Add the dal. Lower the heat and keep stirring for 5 minutes till the dal stops sticking to the pan.Cook for another 10 minutes on low till the dal turns slightly brown.Add all the masala. Cook for few minutes till the aroma of the spices hit you. Add Salt. Remove from heat and keep aside to cool.

Note:

Have to apologize! Just when I was drafting this post, did I realize that I have forgotten to take this step completely! I think in the heat of the moment, it completely slipped my mind. But the instructions are straight forward and you can see how it looks in the pictures below.

Special Tips / Notes for the filling:

1.The fillings have to be really dry if not when rolling they will ooze out when rolling.

2.Adjust the masalas according to your taste. What is given in this recipe is spicy to the extent one can still enjoy.

3.For idea on pressing the filled kachori, check out Manjula's method. If you try to press out using a rolling pin, the filling may come out and make holes in the kachori.

4.Fry the kachori's on medium low to get a crisp outer layer, that is the key. For people using electric stove, the numbers can be going from 6 to 4.

Method To Make Kachori's

Make a small ball from the dough.

7. Roll out into a 2 inch diameter circle. Or flatten the ball using your fingers having the center thick and sides little thin.
8. Place about 1.5 tsp of the filling in the center of the rolled dough.
9. Cover the filling with the dough by slowly stretching it over the filling.
10. Seal the ends and remove excess dough.
11. Repeat with all the balls and keep aside for 5 -7 mins.
12. Then using your palm, flatten the balls by lightly pressing it, as using the rolling pin will make the filling come out. (See notes below). Keep aside covered. Repeat with the remaining dough.
13. Meanwhile heat some oil for deep frying. The oil should not become smoking hot. Test to see if the temperature is right by dropping a tiny ball of dough and see if it is rising slowly to the top. 6. Drop the kachoris in batches of 3-4 gently into the oil.
14. It should rise up slowly.
15. If you don't want to use lot of oil, use just enough for two or three at a time and fry them.
16. After it rises up (about 2 minutes), turn it over.
17. Cook for about 6 to 10 minutes till the side down gets a golden brown color.
18.

Turn and cook the other side for another 6 minutes or till its golden brown in color.Remove when done, cool and store in airtight container.

Serve with coriander chutney and tamarind chutney
    Special Tips / Notes for making the Kachoris:
  • You can fry 3 kachori's at a time.
  • The oil should be at a heat when you drop some dough it should come up slowly, if the dough comes up too fast the oil is too hot, if it does not come up then the oil is cold.
  • It will not be crisp if the oil is too hot.
You can repeat the above pictorial for the other fillings too. The process is the same.
    Method - For the green pea filling
  • Coarsely grind the green peas,green chillies and ginger in a blender without using any water. Keep aside.
  • Heat the oil in a pan,add the nigella seeds,fennel seeds,bay leaves and ground green pea mixture and saute over a very slow flame for 8 to 10 minutes.
  • Add the chilli powder,garam masala,coriander and salt and saute for 2 more minutes. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Divide into 12 equal portions.
    Method - To make the onion filling
  • Heat the oil in a pan. Add the nigella seeds, fennel seeds, bay leaves, green chillies and onions and sauté till the onions turn light brown in colour.
  • Add the gram flour, coriander powder, chilli powder, garam masala and salt and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Add the chopped coriander and mix well. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Allow the mixture to cool completely.
  • Divide into 12 equal portions and keep aside.
Khasta Kachori Recipe ( Moong Dal Kachouri, Peas and Pyaz Kachoudi)

Recipe Reference

for kachori (recipe courtesy : medha and tarla dalal )

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4 Member Reviews

By Megha on May 19, 2012

Awesome kachoris :)

I added potato and garlic to the onion kachori masala.

Also added whole dhaniya seeds while grinding the dal for dal kachori. Turned out great!

Recipe Image

By Sunita on Oct 12, 2010

hi dk

i made the moong dal kachori and its a hit in my house we had in the saturday morning breakfast and my hubby wanted more so thank god i had left overs so again it was night dinner and it was simply yummy as i had added 2 tbsp of rice flour for the crunchyness but the dough tasted tasty only when i kept it for 5 hours thanks for the recipe dk SLURP??????????????

Read All 4 Reviews →

37 Comments

By Ritu on Feb 16, 2014

I made every one is happy it taste very good filling was very good

By Ritu on Feb 16, 2014

:good recipe but i make it is not crispy

By Ashrita on Jul 10, 2013

Made kachori today with the moong dal stuffing and WOW they were just yummy. Thanks for posting this recipe, will definitely try more of your recipes.

By Neha on Jan 30, 2013

Hi DK, Can we bake these instead? If yes, what temperature would you suggest? Thanks!

By Seema on Nov 11, 2012

I just love Kachoris and so does my family, we always go to indian shops and buy it from there, we are from fiji and living in new zealand but we just Absolutely love them :lol:

By priya on Jul 17, 2012

Hi DK, I have made this wonderful recipe, it came out well- my hubby loved it It reminds my childhood, I love kachoris. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.

By lillyrosemery on Jun 12, 2012

:-D so nice...my in laws they liked kachori very much. now a days i am master in cooking,even everybody asking how you are doing this and asking for receipe. now i tried for multigrain kachori,its tests so nice... tasty.

By Fozia Irfan on May 31, 2012

:-D Absolutely tasty kachoris, no doubt I have enjoyed making these crispy kachori..i enjoyed a lot while & serving.. :!:

By Geeta on May 1, 2012

I'm glad I found your web-site while browsing on an Internet! Amazing recipes with beautiful pictures. Thank you.

By Shweta on Apr 30, 2012

definitely going to try this soon:)

By Shweta on Apr 30, 2012

vowww, looks delicious

By saima on Apr 29, 2012

hiya.. it seems yuummy.. I wanted to know how long these kachoris stay fresh.. like I am planning for a trip to swiz and so need to prepare some food for journey so how abt dal and pyaaz kachoris? is this a good idea to consume them on on 3-4th day? please help me with some more ideas.. Thanks. :wink:

By Monica Dunn on Apr 7, 2012

I was looking for the recipe and found this looks vary easy to make I will try for a friends party.thank you!! :wink:

By Smitha on Mar 25, 2012

Hi KD/Dk, tried out both kasta n peas Kachori.. They turned super crisp n yum.... Wow... Still can feel the taste on my buds. Fooled my hubby dear that its store brought n later revealed the truth.Guess wat he was really surprised to know that these super yum kachoris came out of my kitchen... Thx a lot again for sharing.. Keep posting more

By Veena on Mar 13, 2012

:) nice kachoris' even i've uploaded dishes like this my cookery website that is varshaaskitchen.blogspot.com if possible kindly visit it..

By Rachita Kamal on Mar 25, 2011

Hey KD, nice recipe & mouth watering photos. I wanted to know how long (how many days) can we store moong daal khastas? If we have to store it for long, should we skip soaking it in water. Alternatively, we can grind daal, mix masala & fry it then we can add some water & make it a dry mixture. Will that work?

By pankaj on Mar 23, 2011

:wink: tis kachoris was very nice

By Reshmy on Mar 16, 2011

Very nice! Was looking for kachori recipes for Holi and this looks perfect. Will be trying this very soon..

By Shveta's recipes on Mar 12, 2010

Wow, great pics, amazing recipe. I’ll try making them this weekend. Thanks!

By Shveta on Mar 12, 2010

Wow, great pics, amazing recipe. I'll try making them this weekend.Thanks!

By Mamata on Mar 1, 2010

Thanx for the lovely recipe ... tried it out today with the peas filling n it turned out superb :-o

By vanamala on Feb 17, 2010

Looks yum yumm!!! Nice pics

By Radhika Vasanth on Feb 16, 2010

Kachori's look YUMM...Yours have come out perfectly... Wasn't it so addictive.. we finished a dozen of kachori's in jiffy... :-) Now I am feeling guilty and following a fruit diet.. :-x

By AshaLAtha R K Prasad on Feb 15, 2010

Lovely khasta kachoriya........ Those step by step illustrations makes it even the more tempting....... PERFECT!!!!!! loved the filling too..... I'm sure u have enjoyed them till the last bite...... I wanted too... Ash.... (http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)

By Deepa G Joshi on Feb 15, 2010

great you made all the 3..I loved the clicks..they are very tempting..

By Preeti on Feb 15, 2010

Just perfect crisp! Love the chutney:)

By Medhaa on Feb 15, 2010

Well DK or KD the pictures always look good. We loved the onions, then moong and then finally the peas ones. Lovely job.

By Manali on Feb 15, 2010

hungry.. even after dinner im feelin hungry....

By sheba on Feb 15, 2010

gorgeous....really!

By Deesha on Feb 15, 2010

they look simply amazing. I'd never have the patience to try this much

By Soumya on Feb 15, 2010

Looks so yummy and i am drooling on those pic. Its making me break my diet too.But will wait for couple of months to make this and keep it in my to do list...but will keep coming back to this post whenever i crave for it.

By simplyfood on Feb 15, 2010

Katchoris look delicious and devine.

By PJ on Feb 15, 2010

Doesn't matter who[KD or DK] clicked the pics,they look sooo yum!I made peas and onion kachori but personally I liked the ones with onion fillings.Will make these again in a day or two .

By CurryLeaf on Feb 15, 2010

Good Job KD,Its ok,once in a while more than taking pics,I too feel like devouring.I always avoid kachoris bcoz of deep frying.How about baked ones,with puff pastry sheets we can make flaky ones.Ah,it seems my diet will also go haywire :P

By usha on Feb 15, 2010

Not a bad job by KD, DK... I made these too... This is was my first ICC recipe

By Srivalli on Feb 15, 2010

heheh..I like them still..beautiful. I can actually say I will be making these again..thanks for joining me Dhivi..next one will be another super killer for sure!. :twisted:

By Priya on Feb 15, 2010

Prefectly puffed kachoris, no doubt u would have enjoyed making these crispies..i did..