Initial Preparation

Dal

• Rinse and clean the dal well.
  1/2 cup Moong dal
• Soak it in enough water for 30-60 minutes or more.

Fresh pounded Masala Mix

• Dry roast all the ingredients one by one in a heavy-bottom pan.
  1 tbsp Coriander seeds, 4-5 Cloves, 1 tbsp whole Black pepper, 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds, 1 teaspoon Fennel seeds
• Once roasted remove it in a bowl.
• Let it cool down completely.
• Grind it to a fine powder.

Dough

• In a large bowl sift in the flour.
  2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
• Add salt and carom seeds and mix them thoroughly.
  1 tsp Black salt, 1 teaspoon Carom seed
• Add ghee and rub it in the flour.
  ¼ Cup Ghee
• Now slowly add water and knead it to a semi-stiff dough.
  1 Cup Water
• The dough should not be too soft or too hard.
• Cover it with a muslin cloth and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.

Stuffing

• In a heavy bottom pan add oil.
  1 tbsp Oil
• Once hot, cumin seeds and fennel seeds.
  2 tsp Cumin seeds, 1 tsp Fennel seeds
• Saute for a few seconds.
• Now add chopped ginger, green chili, and asafoetida.
  1- inch 2 tbsp Chopped ginger, 3-4 Chopped green chilli, ½ tsp Asafoetida
• Add soaked moong dal, salt, and mix everything.
  1/2 cup Moong dal, 1 tsp Salt
• Add red chili powder, and pounded masala mix.
  1 tsp Red chilli powder
• Add a 2-3 tablespoons of water and let the dal get cooked a bit.
  ¼ cup water
• This will take around 4-5 minutes on slow.
• Once done add dry mango powder, cumin powder, fenugreek leaves, and fresh coriander and mix everything.
  1 tsp Roasted jeera powder, ½ tsp Dry mango powder, ½ tbsp Dry fenugreek leaves, ¼ cup Coriander - fresh Chopped, 2 tbsp Pounded masala mix
• Switch off and let it cool.
• Once cooled, pulse the mixture to a semi-coarse texture.

Making Kachoris

• Knead the dough once.
• Divide the dough into lemon-sized balls.
• Now with your hands flatten the dough to a 2-3 inch diameter. One can use a rolling pin too.
• Add a tablespoon of mixture in the center.
• Lift the sides and join them at the center. Pinch off any excess dough.
• Seal it properly so that the stuffing does not ooze out.
• Flatten the top and gently and evenly press the dough to flatten and make kachori.
• One can use a rolling pin too but be gentle, or else the filling will ooze out.
• Prepare the remaining kachori in similar way and keep it covered with a muslin cloth.

Air-frying the kachori

• Preheat the air-fryer to 180 degrees C / 350 Deg F for 4 minutes. (Air fryer settings are different. I use Cosori and it gets pre-heated in 4 minutes)
• Brush the kachori with a little oil, like one-fourth a teaspoon on both sides.
  1 tablespoon oil - Air Fryer
• Bake for 10 minutes.
• Turn the kachoris and bake again for 8-10 minutes until done.
• The kachoris will turn brown and flaky.
• Do check the kachoris after 15 minutes as depending on your air-fryer size they might take more or less time to bake.

Frying the Kachori

• Heat oil in a heavy bottom wok.
  3-4 Cups of Oil if Frying
• Heat the oil to medium.
• Once medium hot, dip the kachori one by one.
• Do not overcrowd the wok.
• Let the kachori cook on a medium stove.
• Do not put a spoon or disturb the kachori until they start coming up.
• Once they come up, you can gently press the kachori with the back of the spoon to help them puff up. This is optional, if they are rolled properly, they will puff up on their own.
• Once they are cooked almost 70-80 percent from the bottom flip and let it cook on the other side.
• Kachoris are done when they are golden brown on both sides.
• Once done, drain the excess oil and remove it in a colander or an absorbent paper.