I am an Indian... and although I
don't believe in geographical boundaries, but a Rajasthani at that. I say that because we are a
blessed race. We have awesome things selling at every nook and corner of our
state, called by the name kachori. Most of my
food connoisseur friends will vouch for that and so will my aching stomach.
This amazing, mouth watering snack is supposed to have originated in the state
of Rajasthan and so we make it best! :D ... Yeah, I am bragging a little here
but who won't, when he has seen people almost fighting their lives away to get
hold of a piece at the halwaai stores.
These stores promote a healthy and unbiased environment where people getting
down from a Mercedes behave in the same way as the people on bicycles - it is
heart touching to see the cultural, social, economical biases going away in a
flash!
I just contributed towards our
economic growth by stuffing myself with 2 onion kachoris. I paid for them, and increased the money flow in our
nation.
Maybe someone never thought of it,
but this amazing snack is a solution to all the world problems, but sadly, only
if we could have kachoris made in
every street around the globe. The world would be such a better place. First
things first, it will promote vegetarianism, and thus solve many of
the equilibrium problems. Also, as soon as the fried kachori comes in
the hands of the achiever, they start gorging on it immediately. So, no
paper/plastic plates are used and thus it promotes a healthy environment, at
the most old newspaper cut outs are used which again encourage recycling.
Moreover, the white and black, rich and poor, wealthy and humble, everyone
stands in the same queue to get their hold on these gram flour/moong
daal manifestations. Thus, it helps solve the problem of racism,
discrimination and cultural biases.
Also, too much of deep fried food
causes impotency and thus more kachoris in the
world can help us curb the evil of population explosion. Instead of useless and
bulky schemes that government devises, it should work on distribution of kachoris across the
nation to each and every living soul. Maybe Anna Hazare should have opted to
send a packet of kachoris to 10
Janpath, and the magic of this enslaving snack could have helped passing Lokpal
Bill. Also, terrorists across the globe should be sent huge amounts of kachoris as a peace message and this
scrumptious meal would have helped us get rid of terror forever.
On advantages of kachori, I could write volumes... but it
is better to close it now. However, the need of the hour for the governments
around the world is definitely to open more and more halwai stores in every area, which will also solve the problem of
unemployment. May peace and kachoris prevail!
May we have a healthier world!
I close with the recipe of this
amazing snack – ... :)
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Makes 12 servings
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Makes 12 servings
Ingredients
For The Dough (crust)
2 cups plain flour (maida)
1/4 cup melted ghee
1/2 tsp salt
For The Filling
1/2 cup yellow moong dal (split yellow gram),
soaked for 4 hours
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing)
1 tsp ginger-green chilli paste
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp dried mango powder (amchur)
2 tbsp besan (bengal gram flour)
3 tbsp oil
salt to taste
Other Ingredients
oil for deep-frying
Method
For the dough (crust)
For the dough (crust)
1. Combine all the
ingredients and knead into a semi-soft dough using enough water. Knead very
well for 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Divide the dough into
12 equal parts and keep covered under a wet muslin cloth.
For the filling
1. Drain the soaked
moong dal. Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds and asafoetida.
2. When the seeds
crackle, add the drained moong dal and sauté for a few seconds.
3. Add the ginger-green
chilli paste, chilli powder, garam masala, amchur powder, gram flour and salt
and stir for 5 to 7 minutes till the masalas are cooked.
4. Cool and divide into
12 equal portions. Shape each portion into an even sized round and keep aside.
How to proceed
1. Roll out each portion
of the dough into a 50 mm. (2") diameter circle.
2. Place one portion of
the filling mixture in the centre of the rolled dough circle.
3. Surround the filling
mixture with the dough by slowly stretching it over the filling mixture.
4. Seal the ends tightly
and remove any excess dough.
5. Roll each filled
portion into a 62 mm. (2½") diameter circle taking care to ensure that the
filling does not spill out.
6. Gently press the
centre of the kachori with your thumb.
7. Repeat with the
remaining dough and filling to make 11 more kachoris.
8. Deep fry the kachoris
in hot oil over a slow flame till golden brown on both sides. The kachoris
should puff up like puris. These take a long time to fry as the crust is thick
and needs to be cooked on the inside also.
9. Cool and keep aside
or store in an air-tight container.
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