Dry Kachori :
Dry Kachori is a deep-fried crispy and crunchy ball of maida flour stuffed with a spicy mix of gram flour and other spices. Unlike normal kachoris, it can be stored for a few weeks to a couple of months and you can enjoy its snacky taste anytime. This recipe uses coarse gathiya powder as a base ingredient for flavorful stuffing, however, you can also prepare spicy stuffing with besan (gram flour) as mentioned in the tips given below.
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 16 pieces
Ingredients:
| For Crisp Outer Layer: |
| 1/2 teaspoon Dry Mango Powder (amchur) |
| 3½ tablespoons Oil |
| Salt |
| For Dry Spicy Stuffing: |
| 1/2 cup Papdi Gathiya or Sev, crushed like coarse powder or Roasted Gram Flour |
| 1½ tablespoons Date Tamarind Chutney |
| 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder |
| 1½ teaspoons Red Chilli Powder |
| 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder |
| 1/4 teaspoon Black Peppercorns, crushed coarsely |
| 1/2 teaspoon Dry Mango Powder (aamchur) |
| 1 teaspoon Sesame Seeds (til) |
| 1 tablespoon Dry Coriander Seeds (dhaniye ki bij) |
| 1 tablespoon Fennel Seeds (saunf) |
| 1/2 teaspoon Poppy Seeds (khuskhus) |
| 1/4 cup Cashew nuts (roughly chopped) |
| 10-12 pieces Raisins (kismis) |
| 2 tablespoons Almonds, roughly chopped |
| 2 tablespoons Powdered Sugar |
| Salt |
| 1 tablespoon + for deep frying Oil |
Directions:
1. Crush gathiya or sev to medium coarse powder or roast the gram flour until light golden brown.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan or kadai over low flame. Add all stuffing ingredients except crushed gathiya, date tamarind chutney, sugar, and salt; sauté over low flame for 30 seconds.
3. Add crushed gathiya, date tamarind chutney, sugar, and salt. Mix properly and roast for a minute. Turn off the flame and let it cool for 4-5 minutes. Dry and spicy stuffing for kachori is ready.
4. Take maida, salt, and 3½ tablespoons oil in a large bowl and mix well. Add warm water as needed and knead a smooth dough (like paratha dough).
5. Divide dough into 16 small lemon-sized portions and give them the shape of a ball. Roll out each ball into thick circular puri having approx. 4-inch diameter.
6. Put 1-2 teaspoons of stuffing mixture in the center of puri. Wrap stuffing with puri seal its edges and again give it the shape of a ball.
7. Heat oil over medium flame to deep fry kachoris. When oil is medium hot, carefully slide or drop 5-6 raw balls in oil and deep fry over low flame until they turn light brown. Deep fry the remaining balls in the same way.
8. Crispy and spicy dry kachori is ready. Enjoy it on its own or serve it with green chutney. You can store it in an air-tight container for 15 days at room temperature.
Tips and Variations:
- If gathiya is not available, use 1/2 cup roasted gram flour (roast gram flour (coarse) using 1 teaspoon oil over low flame until light brown, stir constantly to avoid burning). However, its taste will be a bit different.
- To make the outer layer crisp and cook evenly, deep fry it over low flame. Deep frying it over medium or high flame will make small bubbles on its outer surface leaving the inner surface uncooked.
- Please remember that gathiya’s are already salted. Hence, do not add too much salt in step 2 mentioned above.
- Use 3 tablespoons of jaggery dissolved in hot water instead of powdered sugar for variation in taste.
Taste: Crispy and spicy with the mild sweet touch
Serving Ideas: Dry Kachori or Suki kachori is a delicious snack capable of satisfying your taste buds on its own. However, it can also be served with mouth-watering green chutney or tamarind chutney or khajoor (dates) chutney. It can be served with tea/coffee as well.