Raj Kachori - popular Indian chaat which crispy fried shells (kachori) filled with potatoes, boiled moong dal, yogurts, spices, chutneys and topped with various garnishes!
It's a good idea to make all the fillings in advance- boil the potatoes and dice them, boil the moong dal, boil the chickpeas or use canned chickpeas, prepare the cilantro chutney and sweet tamarind chutney (you can also use store bought).And in a large bowl whisk together 4 cups of yogurt with 4 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon kala namak. Set it aside.
To a bowl add fine sooji, maida, besan, salt and baking powder. Mix using a whisk. Add 2 teaspoons oil.
And then start adding water and knead to form a soft and smooth dough (should not be hard at all as semolina absorbs water as it sits so make the dough a little more on the softer side). Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile heat oil (around 1-2 inches of oil) in a kadai on medium heat (not too hot and not too cold), medium is what you want.
Then pinch take portion out of the dough (around 45-50 grams ) and roll it between your palms to make a round, then press to flatten it.
Dip pressed dough in little oil (this helps if dough has become little dry and also helps in rolling) and start rolling the kachoris now.Roll into a circle and then use a bowl/cookie cutter to trim the edges so that you have clean edges. You should have a circle of around 4 to 5 inches diameter. Now, I like to roll it a little again, just one stroke length wise and one width wise to make sure it's not very thick and all even.You can roll all kachoris at one time and then fry (keep all rolled kachoris covered else dough will dry out).
Add one rolled kachoris into the oil.As soon as you drop it, push oil over the top of the kachori which is not dipped in oil with a spatula and also keep pressing the top of the kachori, this will help it in puffing it up.
Keep pressing the top with a spatula and it will puff up if rolled evenly.Turn few times to get it evenly golden from both sides. Then remove fried kachori on a plate and fry all kachoris similarly. Now wait for kachoris to cool.
Now once it has cooled down, arrange the kachori on a serving plate. Then tap and break the top of the kachoris to make space for the filling.Add around 1/2 tablespoon diced potatoes (4-5 small pieces of diced potatoes) and 1 tablespoon boiled chickpeas. Also crush a papdi and add. Sprinkle chaat masala and cumin powder.
Then add around 1 tablespoon whisked yogurt, followed by 1 tablespoon boiled moong dal.
Top with teaspoon of cilantro chutney and teaspoon of sweet tamarind chutney.Again top with 2-3 tablespoons yogurt, followed by more cilantro and sweet chutney. Sprinkle cumin powder, chaat masala, red chili powder on top.
And finally garnish with cilantro, sev and pomegranate. Make all kachoris similarly. You will get around 10 kachoris from this.Serve raj kachori immediately, as soon as you make them with extra yogurt drizzled on the side.
Notes
Read all the tips before making the kachoris, using the right ingredients and method of cooking is key.
If your kachori is breaking while rolling, it means you added less water while kneading the dough. Make this a moist and soft dough, semolina absorbs water so it becomes dry as it sits, so start with a moister dough.
If your kachoris are not puffing- it's either of the two things- either the temperature of oil is not correct or the kachoris are not rolled evenly.
You can add various toppings like namkeens, dahi bhalla etc.