Holi without gujiyas feels incomplete. Different types of gujiyas are prepared on this festival . Some make it sweet and some savory. .Festivities is the time I miss home the most. The get together’s , the energy and enthusiasm in the air ,the variety of food , . And what I miss the most is my mom made kachori’s . Today I am sharing a droolworthy savory gujiya recipe with you .When I made them yesterday I thought this would be the perfect time to share it too . Actually holi is just an excuse to make these . You tell me , do we need a reason to make kachori’s and samosas . No right . It’s always welcomed on our plate. Be it over tea , for dinner’s , potluck , get-together these flaky spicy dumplings are a crowd pleaser.
As it’s the occasion of holi , I have turned my mom’s kachori’s into cute gujiyas . Hence it’s dal ki kachori – gujiya style .
Given below are various step by step pictorial , tips and tricks so sit back with a cup of coffee and enjoy the post.
What are these lentil gujiyas made of ?
The filling is extremely healthy , protein packed and versatile . It is split green gram dal with various spices and herbs tucked in flattened dough , shaped as a gujiya and deep fried until golden brown .
If you do not wanna go fancy feel free to make it like the classic kachoris.These lentil gujiyas are so easy to make and assemble that you need to try them soon .
If you are having a sweet overload and do not want to make the sweeter version , you can still enjoy gujiyas by making this one.
And if you feel like taking it to the next level , make a chatpata dahi kachori/ gujiya chat. Now who can say no to this!!
Still not convinced??????????
If you do not like deep-fried or avoid it , you can still enjoy this healthy protein packed filling in your stuffed parathas and toast sandwiches . I do this all the time with leftover masala 🙂
This dal masala stays good upto 3 days in the fridge and upto 2 months in the freezer . Do not re freeze after thawing .
Highlights
Healthy and versatile filling
vegan
protein packed
delicious
So let’s get started .
The lentil / dal used is split green gram dal and flour used is all purpose flour.
Here is a before and after of both .
In the above picture you will notice that the cooked dal is soft but not liquidy or very mushy . It needs to be dry that way for kachori/ gujiya filling.
In the second picture you will see the dough – (before pic) – is right after kneading not very smooth, do not bother . After 20-30 minutes give a final knead just before rolling , see the (after pic) it’s smooth with just 20 seconds of kneading.
Making of kachoris
If you wish to make kachoris the traditional way follow the given below pictorial.
Take a lemon size dough ball , roll it approx 4″ wide , fill in with a tablespoon of prepared filling. Now slowly start pleating/ gathering the outside edges to form a potli. Hold the base of roti with one hand and with another hand twist off the excess top and remove. Seal the kachori and gently press it flat. Make sure it doesn’t have any holes or broken center or sides or else it will open up while frying.
Making of gujiyas
If making gujiyas follow the pictorial below .
Take a lemon size dough ball , roll it approx 5 ” diameter . Now you can eyeball and make freehand rotis or invert a bowl and get perfect round and consistent gujiyas. Now place the filling off center . Fold over to form a semi circle . Seal the edges by gently pressing them . Now the fun part begins, pinch and fold over one corner of the gujiya as shown in the picture . Repeat it till you reach the other end. Remember – pinch then fold over , pinch then fold over and so on.
Below is the step by step pictorial of the delicious dal/ lentil masala .
Always cover your dough as well as gujiyas/kachoris during the process of making to prevent them from drying.
They are all set to fry. Always fry on low to medium heat for perfect crunchy exterior. Do not overcrowd the frying pan with many. Fry 3 -4 at one time .
Enjoy with a side of imli khajoor / meethi chutney and cilantro chutney / teekhi chutney or even simple ketchup.
easy dal ki kachori - gujiya style
Ingredients
- For the dough
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoon semolina flour / bareek rava*
- 5 tablespoons oil
- ½ teaspoon or salt to taste
- enough luke warm water I have used little more than½ cup
- For filling
- 1 and¼ cups green gram split lentils / chilka dal
- 1 cup water to soak and later pressure cook the dal
- 2 tablespoon ghee/oil
- 1 green chilly finely chopped*
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds / jeera
- ¼ teapoon asafoetida / hing
- 2 teaspoon red chilly powder / lal mirch
- ½ teaspoon ajwain seeds
- ½ teaspoon turmeric / haldi
- 1 teaspoon dhaniya powder
- 2 teaspoon garam masala*
- 2 teaspoon amchoor powder*
- salt to taste
- fistful of fresh mint leaves finely chopped *
Instructions
- For the dough
- In a wide bowl , mix in flour , salt .
- Now make a well in the center and pour the oil.
- Rub the flour with oil to coat all the flour .
- Now slowly add water in intervals to form a stiff pliable dough like a poori dough.
- Cover with a cheesecloth or kitchen cloth and keep it aside for 30 minutes.
- Just before rolling, knead the the dough for 10 seconds until smooth.
- Now the dough is ready to work with.
- See pictorial above for the same.
- For filling
- Soak the green gram dal for atleast 2 hours .
- Pressure cook it upto 3 whistles on medium high heat.
- Let the cooker cool down for 15 -20 minutes and carefully release excess steam if any and open the pressure cooker .
- Add in some salt and amchoor powder to dal and mix well .
- Heat ghee/oil in a non stick pan on low medium heat
- Once warm add in cumin seeds .
- Once the seeds begin to splutter add in hing / asafoetida
- Now add in the dry masalas - turmeric , red mirch , ajwain , garam masala and sautee for 5 seconds.
- Now add in the boiled dal and mash it with the help of the spoon .
- Mix well until dal/ lentil is coated with masala about a minute and further cook until it's stiff enough for filling.
- It will stiffen more after cooling down.
- Refer to the pictorial above.
- Now fold in the chopped mint leaves .
- Switch off the flame and taste test.
- Adjust seasoning if needed.
- Cool the filling completely before making the gujiyas/kachoris .
- Follow pictorial for filling method .
- Do not overcrowd them while frying.
- Deep fry them on low heat flipping them mid way until golden brown on both sides.
Notes
Adjust spices according to your taste.
This recipe yields spicy gujiyas/ kachoris.
If you don't have amchoor powder substitute it with 1 tablespoon or more lemon juice . If adding lemon juice you need to cook the filling a bit longer for the liquid to evaporate.
Substitute fresh mint leaves with 1 tablespoon dry mint powder or add chopped cilantro / dhania leaves.
Fry gujiyas on low flame for crunchy / khasta result .
You can fill gujiyas/ kachoris before hand and cover it with moist and not wet kitchen cloth to prevent them from drying.
Wishing you all a colorful and safe holi . Eat , drink enjoy!!
Hope you like this recipe and do give it a try. I would love to hear from you. If you have tried any of my recipes do drop in a feedback in the comment section or on my Facebook page carveyourcraving in messages section and follow me on Pinterest .
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Thanks for stopping by.
Jessica
I know the texture would change but do u think these could be baked as well? I’ve been wondering the same thing about samosas with traditional dough. Anybody tried it… successfully?
Khushboo
Hello Jessica, yes you can bake them but the dough will have to be more stiff and with additional fat. A little bit of baking powder as well to give make it crisp and tender. Similar to an empanada dough.
chetana
Made them for guests . They loved it . Thank you
Khushboo
Glad to know that Chetana, thank you for a nice feedback!
Shraddha
What an amazing post , so easy to understand. I made it and everyone loved it. Thank you.
khushboo kothari
Glad to know that Shraddha, thank you for a lovely feedback.
Avni
Excellent recipe. Turned out too good . Thank you.
khushboo kothari
Happy to know it Avni!
Manasi
Hello khushbuji..awesome recipe.. as usual.. i never want to miss ur single recipe.. but on CAL so many posts..how can i follow ur blog..sorry I’m asking bcoz im new to this blog world..thanks
khushboo kothari
Thanks for reaching out Manasi . Please don’t be sorry. You can follow my fb page carveyourcraving for all updates . Link is mentioned after each post. You can subscribe to my blog by filling in your email address in the box .
ratna
Beautiful post and photographs. I need those katchoris now please..
khushboo kothari
Thank you Ratna , you are invited 🙂