Years ago , I remember indulging in this famous street snack in a food fair. After that I never attempted to make this or taste this elsewhere. So when Srivalli chose this Raj Kachori for Indian Cooking Challenge , I was so tempted to make it.
For the uninitiated, Raj Kachori is a crispy round ball made out of flour and is filled with all sort of ingredients like potato, sprouts, chutney and garnished with Sev.It is a famous street food from the beautiful state of Rajastan.
Though there are several ingredients that go into making this snack, many of them can be made ahead and assembled just before serving. Also the excess chutney can be stored in the refrigerator and frozen for use on a later date.
Unlike the other months, where I mostly make this either a day before or on the day when I am supposed to post the recipe,I made this way ahead!!
First a glance of the dish....
Here is what you need to assemble this chaat. I prepared everything at home. Though it was time consuming, it was totally worth the effort....
I used:
Adapted from: Mharo Rajastan's Recipes
For the kachoris:
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Sooji / Semolina- 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying.
- Mix together all purpose flour, Sooji and salt in a bowl .Add warm water little by little and knead to a stiff dough. Cover with a wet cloth and keep aside for 15 minutes.
- Take a golf sized ball of the dough and roll out into disc. Using a round cookie cutter / bottle lid, punch out circles.[Use a little flour for dusting if required]
- Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the disc one by one. As soon as you drop them into oil, they will puff up.Cook on both sides till golden brown. Drain well and keep aside.
- Once cool they can be stored in an air tight container till ready to use.
For the potato filling
Generally potato is boiled ,peeled and cubed and used as such in this recipe. I sauteed the boiled potato cubes in oil along with a little salt and chili powder.
To assemble [Refer notes]
Kachori
Pappdi
Blanched Moong Sprouts
Corinader mint chutney / Green chutney
Dates - Tamarind chutney / Sweet Chutney
Sev
Dahi Vada
Curd / Yogurt
Potato cubes
Chaat Masala
Red Chilli powder
Coriander leaves- to garnish
Now to assemble the Chaat.
1.Gently tap the kachori and break open the top part[1] Add the broken pappadi[2], a piece of the dahi vada[3].
2.Next in goes the potato filling, sprouts and the green chutney.
3.Top it up with lots of fresh curd. Drizzle the sweet chutney and top it up with sev
4.Sprinkle Red chili power, chaat masala and garnish with coriander leaves. You can serve it with some extra crushed pappdi around the sides.....
A very tasty Chaat prepared at home and can be enjoyed when ever you want if you have all the ingredients at hand.....
Note :
- The Kachori if stored in air tight container keeps good for atleast a week.So it can be made in advance.
- Same holds good for the pappdi
- The sweet and mint chutney can be made ahead and stored in the fridge / freezer
- You can use store brought Sev too.
- The dahi wada can be prepared as the smaller versions[smaller in size] so that it can fit into the kachori. Else break the regualr sized dahi vada into bits and use.
- You need a lot of curd so have extra at hand.
- I just put a handful of sprouted moong in hot water for five minutes, drained and used it here. I did not cook it.
- You can also add, boiled channa / chickpea, boondi soaked in water and squeezed ,garlic chutney in addition to the ones mentioned above.
- The order of filling the kachori and the quantity of each ingredient is totally up to your taste.
- As with any recipe, this one too has a lot of variations. What you see here is my version :)
Bon Appetit...
Labels: * Indian Cooking Challenge, Chaats, KJ, Rajastani Cuisine, Snack Bar
