Urad dal ki kachori/ Black gram lentil pastry

 This recipe is famous in northern part of India and can be kept in air tight container for 3-4 days.
I still remember how my mom and nani used to prepare this for every occasion in our house. I never liked it much as I was a big fan of Aloo kachori but now I crave for this and keep on trying to get the same flavor which they used to get. Difficult but not impossible.

Ingredients:
For covering:
1 cup      Maida or All Purpose flour                                      
2 tablespoons   Refined/vegetable Oil                                                    
  1/4 teaspoon     salt                                                          

For filling:
 1/4 cup   dhuli Urad dal (Split skinless black gram)                      
1/2 teaspoon     Cumin seeds                                                  
1/2 teaspoon     Garam masala                                                   

1 teaspoon        coarsely grounded fennel seeds /saunf                          

 1 teaspoon       coarsely grounded coriander powder                  

 1 teaspoon       red chilli powder                                               

 1/2 teaspoon    dry mango powder                                

pinch  of Asafoetida/hing                                                  

salt to taste

Oil to deep fry

Method:

Wash and soak the urad dal for 3-4 hours. Drain and grind coarsely on pulse mode.
Seive maida and suji in a bowl and add oil for moin( to make it crispy). Now knead well with luke warm water and keep the soft dough aside for 1/2 an hour.

Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds and asafoetida till it splutter then add all the ingredients of filling. Saute it for some few seconds and add lentil to it.

Divide the dough in equal parts in shape of balls.
Fill each ball with the a teaspoon of filling (pitthi) and close it to make a potli .
Then gently press and expand the kachori with the help of palms instead of rolling it out using rolling pin  avoiding it to open or to crack otherwise it can spoil the oil and even kachori while frying.Thsi will come by practice but if you feel you can roll it a lightly with pin.
Repeat the same with remaining dough and filling.Heat sufficient oil in a kadai and deep fry the kachoris on high heat for first few seconds and then flip it upside down and let it  fry on low heat for 3-4 mins till golden brown and crisp . 

Drain onto an absorbent paper napkin.
Serve hot with tamarind[Image] or green chili chutney.  

Note:
-You can use Wheat flour too instead of maida as healthier option.
- Keep an eye on kachories while deep frying them on high heat it tends to get overcooked on cover but remains uncooked inside.So it is very important to switch the heat to low or medium for further cooking.Whenever you slide in the kachori in oil, try to do it gently and on high heat so that it can float on the surface after few seconds and then flip it over and switch heat to low.

-You can fry number of kachori in one go depending on the size of your pan.There should be enough space for each kachori to float.
-Cover the dough with clean damp cloth to avoid getting it dry while making kachori.