Baked Moong Daal Kachori / Baked Mung lentil Stuffed Bread

Kachoris are all time favourite item in my house. We can eat them in ay meal time, be it breakfast, lunch, brunch, teatime or dinner. We eat them with tea, shakes, make like chaat or as and how we want to eat them. At the same time I need to keep an eye on everyone's oil intake and health. Afterall healthy family is a happy family.

This time when everyone demanded for Kachori I baked them. To my surprise family loved them and ate them until only 2 left for me. I'm ok with that, just because they enjoyed it. How satisfy you feel, when you see your family smiling while eating.

I also made one batch to take them with us on our Caravan Holiday. Very handy snack, when you do not have extended kitchen gadgets just like your own kitchen. Made some muffins and cookies as well for that holiday. Will post the muffin recipe soon.

The recipe is also not very complicated, I would not say very easy but still easy to make. Baking will also reduce the work of frying and less heating of you kitchen in these hot summer days. So try this recipe and this time bake the Kachoris instead of frying. I'm sure you will love them. Let me know your feedback on these baked kachoris by commenting below........Until Next Time, Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

This recipe will also represent the blog at this Month's Monthly Masala Party at WhitBit's Indian Kitchen. Visit the link and see more Indian recipes and spread the love.

Ingredients:

For the Dough:
Whole Wheat Flour                     - 1 cup
Plain Flour                                   - 1/2 cup
Semolina                                      - 1/2 cup
Cornflour                                     - 1 tblspoon
Amchoor                                     - 1/2 tspoon
Red Chili Powder                       - 1/2 tspoon
Salt                                             - to taste - 1 tspoon
Butter/Oil                                   - 2 tblspoon
Yogurt                                        - 1 tblspoon
Water                                         - as required

For The Stuffing:
Moon Daal/Mung Lentil          - 1 cup washed and soaked overnight
Carom Seeds/Ajwain               - 1 tspoon
Turmeric                                  - 1/4 tspoon
Coriander Powder                    - 2 tspoon
Amchoor                                  - 1/2 tspoon
Red Chilli Powder                   - 1/2 tspoon
Garam Masala                         - 1/2 tspoon
Salt                                          - to taste
Oil                                           - 2 tblspoon


Method:

Wash and soak the Moong Dal overnight.
Pressure cook the daal with just 1/2 cup of water for 2 whistles, just to soften it.
Take it out from the pressure cooker and keep aside.
Meanwhile lets prepare the dough for the Kachori.
Mix all the dry ingredients listed under "For the Dough" except water, in a deep mixing bowl/stand mixer.

Add Butter and Yogurt and Knead it to a stiff dough with the help of water.

Keep the dough aside, covered with a damp cloth.

Now in a pan/karahi, heat 1 tblspoon of oil, when warm ass carom seeds into it.
When seeds start to crackle, add the Cooked daal and all the dry spices, Turmeric, Coriander powder, Amchoor, Garam Masala, Red Chili powder and salt.

Start mixing the daal in the pan with spices and oil.

Keep mixing and pressing the Daal to make it in to the mushy texture. Keep mixing and roasting until it becomes dry and starts to leave the pan from all sides.

You can roast the Daal as much as you like to make it crispy or keep it soft.
Once roasted and mixed, take the daal out on a plate and let it cool down.
Pre heat the oven to 200c. Prepare a baking tray with nonstick paper/mat.
Divide the Dough into equal portion of 18-20 balls, and shape them into balls, depending on the size you like.
I made 18 dough balls out of this quantity.
Spread balls into round discs, place a portion of cooked daal mixture, pinch the edges together and seal into a round.
Brush the kachoris with oil and place them on the lined baking tray.
Put tray in the preheated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
Do not over cook the Kachoris if the don't look very dark brown, as they will keep cooking with the heat inside them, just like other baking items.
Take the Kachoris out from oven once golden and keep them on cooling rack to let them cool a bit.
Serve the Kachoris with choice of Chutneys and Dips.

This recipe will also represent the blog at this Month's Monthly Masala Party at WhitBit's Indian Kitchen. Visit the link and see more Indian recipes and spread the love.

Amritsari Kulcha / Stuffed Flat Bread

Kulche & Chole is a very popular breakfast, brunch or street food in the North of India. Be it Delhi, Punjab or now even UP, whole of north India loves this one plate food. I have never been to Punjab, but I'm always fascinated to go there and visit famous cities and their monuments, specially Golden temple. Punjabi food, as we all know is THE most delicious food in the world, spicy, tangy, full of ghee!! Yummy!!!!  This is a very famous street food around North India.

Amritsari Kulcha is the stuffed variety of regular Kulchas. Authentically these kulchas are rolled and stretched between your palms and fingers not with rolling pins. These are cooked in Clay ovens not in electronic ovens or griddles. They are accompanied by Spicy thick Chole, Yogurt Dip, runny onion chutney, Salad and Pickle.

I've had Chole Kulche, so so so many times in my life. I've tried them in many places, in my native, It's surrounding cities, Delhi, UK and so on....But everywhere the taste is different. But I love this combo a lot. I often make this combo and we go for seaside picnic. Warm sunny day, cold breeze from sea, lots of seaside water play and when you are hungry, you eat Chole Kulche. Thats is called day well spend. My hubby is also a big big fan of Punjabi food, He is a foodie basically, he loves tasty food, be it North Indian, South Indian or from anywhere else. The food should be awesomely tasty.

As it is Father's Day today, I thought to treat my hubby, who is an AMAZING father, with Chole Kulche in breakfast. He just loved when me and kids present this combo on breakfast. We all enjoyed the Kulchas together and now we are off to have some outside fun.........You also try making this combo and I'm sure everyone in your family will love it. Let me know your feedback on this recipe by dropping a comment............. Until next time, Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

For Kulcha:
Whole Wheat Flour               - 1 cup
Plain Flour                             - 2 cups
Sugar                                      - 1/2 tblspoon
Baking Soda                           - 1/4 tspoon
Oil                                           - 2 tspoon
Yogurt/Curd                            - 3/4 cup
Salt                                          - 1 tspoon / to taste
Water                                       - 1/4 to 1/3 cup for kneading of the dough

For Stuffing:
Potatoes                            - 4 medium size boiled and Mashed
Onion                                - 1 medium chopped finely (will give you around 4 tblspoon )
Paneer                               - 1/2 cup crumbled
Grated Cheese                  - 1/2 cup grated Mozzarella
Green Chillies                  - 3 finely chopped (gives you 1 full tspoon)
Red Chili Powder             - 1/4 tspoon + 1/4 tspoon
Amchoor                           - 1/4 tspoon + 1/4 tspoon
Coriander Powder             - 1/4 tspoon + 1/4 tspoon + 1/4 tspoon
Garam Masala                   - 1/4 tspoon + 1/4 tspoon + 1/4 tspoon
Salt                                    - to taste for all 3 stuffings
Coriander                          - 3 tblspoon freshly chopped ( 1 for each stuffing)


Method:

Making Kulcha Dough:
Take a deep mixing bowl, add whole wheat flour, plain flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Whisk well.

Now add yogurt and oil into it.
Start mixing your hands lightly.
With the help of little water at a time start to knead the dough. Adding water depends on the quality of flour as well, so add little at a time.

Take it out on lightly floured surface and knead with hands for few minutes.

Knead it to a smooth soft dough. cover the dough and keep aside for atleast 2 hours.

I used my stand mixer so threw everything together and mixed for 2 minute in low and 5 minutes in high speed with the dough hook on.

Making the Stuffing:
While the dough is resting we will make the stuffings. I made 3 types of stuffing for everyone's taste.

Potato Stuffing:
Mix Mashed Potato, 3/4 tspoon chopped green chillies, 2 tblspoon chopped onion, 1/4 tspoon Red chili powder, 1/4 Amchoor, 1/4 Coriander powder, 1/4 Garam masala, Salt and 1 tblspoon chopped coriander.
Mix everything well to make stuffing like a dough.

Paneer Stuffing:
Mix Crumbled Paneer, 1/4 tspoon chopped green chillies, 2 tblspoon chopped onion, 1/4 tspoon Red chili powder, 1/4 Amchoor, 1/4 Coriander powder, 1/4 Garam masala, Salt and 1 tblspoon chopped coriander.
Mix well with hands to incorporate everything together.

Cheese stuffing:
Mix Grated Cheese,  2 tblspoon chopped onion, 1/4 Amchoor, 1/4 Coriander powder, 1/4 Garam masala, Salt and 1 tblspoon chopped coriander.
Mix very well to combine everything.

Preparing Kulchas:
After 2 hours, or when you are ready to make, knead the dough again to smooth it out.
Make medium size balls out of it, like a cricket ball. I made 11 kulchas out of this quantity.
Lightly flour the work surface/rolling board.
Place the dough ball of it and roll a 4 inch circle.

Place 2 tblspoon of stuffing on it.

Pinch the end edges together to make it a ball again.

Roll it gently between your palms.

Sprinkle some more flour on work surface/rolling board.
Now roll the stuffed ball, slowly / gently with a rolling pin, into a 7-8 inch circle / or your choice of size.

Heat a heavy bottomed Tawa/Griddle.
Place the rolled Kulcha on the tawa. Sprinkle few drops of water on it.

Cover it and let it cook for 1 minute.

It will start to form some puffs on the Kulcha.

Now flip it over and cover again for it to puff fully.

Once cook from both side, which is turned golden brown evenly from both side, take it out of the griddle and put it on cooling rack.
Spread generous amount of ghee/butter/clarified butter on it.
After cooking each Kulcha, wipe clean the Tawa/Griddle.
Use the same process with Paneer and Cheese stuffing as well.

For Cheese and Paneer Kulchas, I made them by baking in the oven. Preheated the oven on max temperature. Place the rolled Cheese and Paneer kulcha on non-stick baking mat/greased baking tray.

Bake until both sides are golden brown.

Once baked take them out on a cooling rack and Spread generous amount of ghee/butter/clarified butter on them.
Serve the Kulchas with Chole, Raita, Salad and Chutney.

Karachi Bakery Style Tutti Frutti Biscuits

When I was a little girl, there used to be a bakery on the road where we lives, they sold world's best biscuits ever. I never bothered about how clean they are, how hygienic their method was but all I always focused was on the tasty treats they sold.

One of my favorite was tutti-frutti biscuit. candied fruits with dry nuts mixed with flour and baked to the perfection. Still droll by thinking of them. The shopkeeper, who I called Uncle, always told me these are one of best from their shop and they were called "Karachi Bakery Fruit Biscuits".

Who bothers, I thought always, I was interested in buying them enjoying them with a glass of milk or with some tea (Whenever I can have it).  Few days back I saw a fellow foodie posting her method of making those biscuits. It took me to my childhood days and I decided to try my hand on my childhood favorite biscuit.

Tried them 2-3 times but not best attempts and once I just threw them in bin. Felt frustrated and disappointed. But today for my daughter's request for cookies, I thought to make them again. Super excited they came out perfect just perfect. I still can do batter with them , so I'm gonna try them again. Next time i'll try to perfect them with wholewheat flour.

The perfect texture should be crunchy outside and once bitten soft crumbles inside. The fruits should come into your mouth with each bite of this biscuit. So lets go through the recipe and get you all going in the Kitchen and trying this biscuit recipe.

I 'm sure these will be a hit in your house, kids as well as adults will love them. Don't forget to comment below :) Until next time.......Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

APF/Plain Flour             - 1- 1/2 cup
Butter                             - 1/2 cup (Softened not melted on room temperature)
Powdered Sugar             - 1/3 cup
Tutti Frutti                     - 1/2 cup
Cardamom Powder        - 1/2 tspoon
Vanilla extract               - 1/2 tspoon
Yellow Color                 - 1/2 tspoon or 2 drops

Method:

First thing first in this recipe, we need softened butter, in which we can poke our finger but it should not be melted and runny.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add the cardamom powder, tutti frutti, and vanilla extract, Mix again.
Slowly add the flour in 4 parts.

Now start to mix the flour and butter mixture together. Do not knead just bring it together.
Shape the dough into a 2 inch thick in height like a square log shape. Wrap it into cling film and keep it in a long square box like foil box or cling film box.
Keep the dough in the fridge for at-least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180c and line baking tray with silicon baking mat/parchment paper/nonstick paper.
Take the dough log out of the fridge and cut 1/2 inch thick squares. If the shapes goes wrong in cutting, pat them with hand to make them square.

Place the cookies on the tray with 2 inch space in between each one, as they expand while baking.

Bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until the sides are starting to turn light golden. Do not brown them.
Cookies will come out with sides hard and center soft, which will get hard while cooling. so do not bake them again thinking they are uncooked.

Let them cool on tray for 5 minutes and then transfer them to cooling rack to cool completely.

Once cooled completely serve them with Milk, Coffee, Tea or Juice.
These cookies are good to store in an airtight container for 2 weeks.
My kids adored these cute colorful cookies, I'm sure yours will love them too.