Indian festivals become even more special because of the food traditions that accompany them. On Diwali, deep fried flatbreads like poori or kachori are a must! These urad dal kachoris, also known as pitthi vali kachoris are a festival staple in our home. In my grandmother’s house, my family used to fry them in shorterning (aka Dalda) and the taste was just mind-blowing. We lived in a joint family and countless kachoris were made on Diwali night and we always had leftovers. Which next day, formed a terrific breakfast with masala chai. Most of the time, kachoris are considred a snack, but these urad dal kachories are different. They were served as part of main meal, paired with a potato curry- either aloo jhol or dum aloo, a paneer dish, kaddu ki sabzi, boondi raita, and a tangy pickle.
What are Urad Dal Kachori
Kachori = Deep fried stuffed flatbread. These kachoris are stuffed with spicy urad lentils filling and then fried until golden brown. The texture is way softer as compared to the khasta kachori but they aren’t as soft as pooris. If you have been following me for a while, you would remember the bedmi poori recipe I shared a few years ago. Even though the ingredients of both these flatbreads are exactly the same, bedmi pooris are not stuffed, rather the lentil paste is combined with flour to make a dough. If you do not want to use urad lentils, you could use yellow moong dal or chana dal, however the taste of kachori will differ depending on the lentils used. Urad lentils are really sticky and hence quite tricky to work with. The biggest struggle with these flatbreads is to make sure that they are rolled to optimum thickness, else either they will burst open in hot oil during deep frying process or remain raw from inside.
8 tips for making best dal kachoris
Ingredients
Atta (Whole Wheat Flour) - I use atta(stone milled whole wheat flour) for kachoris. If you wish, you could use half whole wheat and half all purpose flour (maida). Urad Dal - We need skinned split urad lentils (ivory colored dhuli urad) for this recipe. You can find the lentils on amazon or in indian grocery stores. Spices - fennel seeds, nigella seeds, red chilli powder and hing (asafoetida).You can add few black peppercorns if you wish. Other Ingredients - Ginger, green chilies, salt
Instructions
Preperation
Make Kachori Dough
Make The Lentil filling
Stuff, Roll and deep fry
Take small portions of the dough and place them on a rolling surface. Lightly grease the surface with a few drops of oil, then roll each dough ball into a 2.5-inch circle using a rolling pin. Don’t dust with dry flour, use little oil as needed. Add about 1 tablespoon of the dal filling to the center of the dough circle. Gently bring the edges of the dough together, folding them over the dal filling to seal it completely. If needed, apply a few more drops of oil and gently press the filled dough to flatten it into a round shape. Roll gently with the rolling pin to a 3 inch circle taking care not to apply too much pressure. Don’t try to roll very thin else dal will start coming out. Repeat this process for all the kachoris, keep the rolled ones covered with a cloth to prevent drying out.
Heat oil in a deep pot over low-medium heat for frying. Tip:- The oil should be hot but not smoking. To check, drop a small piece of dough into the oil; if it sizzles and rises to top without changing color, the oil is ready for frying. Carefully lower the rolled dal kachoris into the hot oil, one at a time. Fry them until they turn golden-brown and crispy, flipping and gently pressing them with a slotted spoon occasionally for even cooking. The heat might cause few kachoris to puff up.All of them will not puff up and that’s how they are meant to be.
Once done, use a slotted spoon to lift the kachoris from the oil and drain excess oil. Fry the remaining kachoris in the same way, then transfer them onto paper towels to absorb any extra oil. Serve warm with curry and raita.
