Moong Dal Khasta Kachori Chaat

I spent 28 years of my life in the rocking city, Ahmedabad!!! Don’t assume that I’m too old now… I have been here for a bit more than 2 years only ;) So what I was saying… My parents are still living at the same place. I absolutely loved that suburb of the city… And there was a small shop around the corner. It was big enough but not that big to manage heavy crowd all the time. I never got my turn at reception counter before 10 mins of waiting in a queue :( But always felt, it was worth waiting…

People usually decide what all to order while standing in queue… And as soon as I get my turn, the shop-owner will laugh! I could never decide what to get and what not!!! Tick tick 1, tick tick 2, tick tick 3… And there you go “Can you please pack 3 khasta kachori chaats for me?” Once I get a receipt, I never let them pack all that they have on trays. I always preferred to wait until the fresh batch comes out of kadai :P A small bag of Green Chutney, one that of Amchur/Imli Chutney, some Namkeen Sev, mixture of chopped onion-tomato and a sachet of chat masala!!! Blissssss…

I would drive back to home in a min and prepare 3 Moong Dal Khasta kachori chaats in different plates… And hand over one to mum, one to dad andddddd… for me!!! Those kachoris were one of the best I ever had… But then, I’m not going to get those here so I made a batch recently :P

Makes: 10

INGREDIENTS:

For Crust–

3/4 cup Plain Flour
3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ajwain Seeds
2 tbsp Oil
Water, as required

For Filling–

3/4 cup Moong Dal, skinned yellow
1 tbsp Besan
2 tsp Oil
1 tsp Ginger Paste (or grated ginger)
A pinch of hing
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Cumin-Coriander Powder
1/4 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Amchur Powder
1/2 tsp Red Chilly Powder (you can use finely chopped green chillies here)
Salt, to taste

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

For Crust–

1. First, mix all the dry ingredients in a big bowl.
2. Add oil into it and mix well. Rub the flour mix between the palms until you get crumbly texture.
3. Knead soft dough by adding water gradually as required.
4. Cover with a cling wrap and let it rest for 30 mins at least.

For Filling–

1. Wash and soak moong dal for a couple of hours and then drain excess water.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds.
3. Once it crackles, add hing and ginger-garlic paste into it. Saute it for a while.
4. Add besan and fennel seeds first and roast until it releases beautiful aroma.
5. Mix moong dal along with all the spices into it.
6. Stir quickly, sprinkle some water and cook it covered for a few mins.
7. Take it off the heat and let it cool down to room temp.

Combining–

1. Divide the dough in 10 equal balls and divide the filling into 10 portions too.
2. Roll out a dough ball into small thick poori and put a portion of filling in center.
3. Cover the edges from all the sides and seal it on top.
4. Roll out again to make it a big larger than poori.
5. Heat oil and deep-fry these kachoris on lowest flame until golden brown on both the sides.
6. Take it out to absorbent paper to drain excess water and serve once cooled down.

Serving–

1. Make a hole in center of puffed up kachoris.
2. I love adding either boiled chickpeas or boiled potato cubes in it. You can skip this part…
3. Add Green Chutney, Amchur Chutney, yogurt to your taste.
4. A tbsp of Namkeen Sev, chopped onion-tomatoes and sprinkle of chat masala.
5. It’s ready to serve… :)