Servings: 10 pieces
Difficulty: Hard

Ingredients

Dry masala

• 1 tsp coriander seeds (dhania sabut)
• 1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
• 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (zeera)

For the filling

• 2 tbsp oil
• Pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• 5-6 cloves garlic
• 3 tbsp gram flour (besan)
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp dried mango pweder (amchoor)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp Himalayan black salt (kala namak)
• ½ tsp garam masala
• 2 medium onions, chopped fine
• 2 medium onions, sliced lengthwise
• Green chillies, as per taste
• 2-3 potatoes, boiled and mashed

For the dough

• 250g (or 2 cups) all purpose flour (maida)
• 60g (or 4 tbsp) oil
• ¼ tsp caraway (ajwain)
• Salt, as per taste
• Water for kneading
• Oil for frying

Directions

Grind dry masalas into to a coarse powder

Heat a kadhai and add oil. Once hot, add the dry masalas and roast on medium flame for 30 secs or so. Add hing, cloves and sauté for a min. Add besan, red chillies, amchoor, kala namak, garam masala and roast till it’s done and releases aromatic smell.

Add in the chopped onion and green chillies. Cook while stirring until the onion is soft and well cooked.

Add in mashed potatoes and mix well. Then add in the sugar. Mix well and cook for 3-4 minutes till everything is well mixed and the sugar is dissolved.

Switch off flame and then add the sliced onion. Mix well into the mixture. This does not need cooking. The onion will cook because of heat of the mixture and thereafter on frying.

When cool, divide mixture into small lemon sized round balls — should makes about 10-12.

Add salt and ajwain to maida and mix well. Add oil and rub it into the flour mix. Add water slowly to make a soft dough. The dough will tend to be sticky. Pick it up and slap it down on surface, fold in layers and keep kneading. Keep adding small quantities of water until it is very silky and not rough. Cover the dough with wet muslin cloth and keep it aside for 30 mins.

Make 10-12 (same number as our filling balls) round balls from the dough. Use your hands to roll out each ball into a circle. The shape doesn’t have to be perfect, it should just be big enough to hold one of the filling balls.

Take a dough circle and place a filling balls in the center. Bring all the edges together on top. Cut the extra dough. Repeat process for all balls. Once done let the balls rest in wet muslin cloth for another 15 minutes.

Take a ball, press it between your palms and use fingers to roll it into a kachori. Do not use a rolling pin (belan), just use your hands. Try to keep the shape a little concave. This helps kachori rise while frying.

Once all kachoris are rolled, heat oil in kadhai on high. You may want to keep quantity of oil less in the kadhai. Place one kachori in kadhai and remove it after 10-15 secs. Kachori should have just turned white with little bubbles. Do not overdo this step. Repeat for all.

Cool down oil or add more oil into your kadhai (we started with little oil first) to instantly cool down the oil. Kachoris need to be fried on low flame and oil should not be very hot. Put in a batch of kachoris and let them cook on slow flame for about 15 mins. Keep turning every 5 minutes till nicely brown. Do not increase flame otherwise they won’t be crisp.

Take the done kachoris out on a jaali or any plate with holes (not on paper towels). This ensures oil is drained without making the base soggy.

Serve with imli chutney and green chutney.