Lentil Kachori

Ingredients

• 2 cup Maida (all-purpose flour)
• 6 Tablespoons Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• Oil (as needed, for frying)
• 12 Tablespoons Moong dal
• 1/3 cup Whole urad dal (skinned)
• 2 Tablespoons Gram flour (besan)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 Tablespoon Coriander powder
• 1 pinch Asafoetida powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Fennel seeds (ground)
• 1 Teaspoon Chili powder
• 2 Teaspoons Ginger-green chili paste
• as needed Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Sugar
• 1 Lemon

Instructions

1. Prepare the outer dough: Mix the maida with salt and oil using your fingertips, rubbing it in until it resembles breadcrumbs. Sprinkle in water little by little and knead into a stiff dough. Beat and knead for several minutes until the dough becomes elastic. Cover with a thin damp cloth and weigh it down with a plate.
2. Prepare the filling: Soak the whole urad dal in water for 6 hours. Soak the moong dal in water for 2 hours. In a wide pan, cook the urad dal in water until submerged. Once half cooked, add the soaked moong dal, and cook both dals on low heat, stirring occasionally, until they're cooked and the water has dried up. Once the water has fully evaporated, remove from heat and let cool.
3. In another pan, heat a little oil, add the ground fennel, ginger-green chili paste, coriander powder, and chili powder, and mix. Finally add the gram flour. Stir for a minute on low heat, then add salt, turmeric powder, sugar, and the cooked dal. Mash and mix thoroughly, cooking until the filling turns dry and crumbly, then remove from heat. Squeeze in the lemon juice and scatter coriander leaves before taking it off the stove.
4. Kachori method: Make small balls from the kneaded maida dough. Press each out lightly, like a small poori. Place a lemon-sized ball of the lentil filling in the center and close it up. Wet the edges lightly with water and seal it well into a ball. Gently flatten each ball. Deep-fry in hot oil over low heat until golden brown. Serve with sweet chutney and coriander chutney.
5. Coriander chutney: Grind 1¼ cups coriander leaves, a 2-inch piece of ginger, a small lemon-sized ball of tamarind, 5 green chilies, and jaggery to taste into a chutney, and serve alongside the kachori.
6. Sweet chutney: see the Pani Puri recipe's notes. Alternative version -- Moong Dal Kachori: Soak moong dal in water for 2 hours. Heat a little oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, green chili paste, chili powder, and turmeric powder, then add the soaked dal with enough water to cover it, and cook. Once the water has dried up, add salt, sugar, coriander leaves, lemon juice, cinnamon, and clove powder, and remove from heat. Use this as the filling to make kachoris the same way.