Lilva kachori

making dough for lilva kachori

1. Take 1.5 cup all purpose flour (maida) and ½ teaspoon salt or add as required. Instead of taking only maida, you can also take half-half portion of both atta (whole wheat flour) and maida.
2. Add 3 tablespoons oil.
3. With your fingertips mix the oil with the flour for a few minutes till you get a breadcrumb like texture in the flour.
4. When this mixture is pressed, it should not break.
5. Add 6 tablespoons water in parts. Mix and begin to knead the dough.
6. Knead to a a semi soft dough. The dough should not be soft like a chapati dough but slightly hard and slightly soft. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.

grinding lilva beans

1. Rinse 1.33 cup lilva beans in water.
2. Add the lilva beans in a grinder jar or food processor.
3. Without adding any water grind to a semi coarse paste. 
4. Do not make a fine paste. While grinding, you can use the pulse option in your mixer-grinder. Grind in short intervals of some seconds. Stop mixie, scrape the sides and then grind again.

making green chili+ginger+garlic paste:

1. In a mortar-pestle take 1 or 2 green chilies (chopped), 1 inch ginger (chopped) and 2 medium garlic cloves (chopped). Note that garlic can be skipped. Instead of garlic, you can also use green garlic chives.
2. Crush to a paste. Keep aside. The paste can also be made in a small chutney grinder with the addition of 1 to 2 tablespoons water.

making stuffing for lilva kachori

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a frying pan. Add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds.
2. Let the cumin seeds sizzle and splutter. Keep the flame to a low.
3. Now add the crushed green chili+ginger+garlic paste and 1 pinch asafoetida.
4. Sauté on a low flame for some seconds till the raw aroma of garlic and ginger goes away.
5. Add the coarsely ground lilva beans. Mix well. Sauté for 3 minutes on a low flame.
6. Now add ½ teaspoon cumin powder, ½ teaspoon coriander powder (optional), ½ teaspoon garam masala powder and salt as per taste.
7. Mix very well and continue to sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir often so that the mixture does not stick to the pan.
8. Switch off the flame and add 2 tablespoons chopped cashews, ½ tablespoons chopped raisins and 2 teaspoons sugar or add as per taste.
9. Stir and mix everything very well.
10. Add ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves. Some steamed and crushed green peas and mashed potatoes can be also added in the stuffing. Grated coconut or crushed roasted peanuts can also be added.
11. Next add 3 teaspoons lemon juice or add as required. Mix very well. 
12. Check the taste and add more salt, sugar or lemon juice if required. Let this mixture cool completely. Do note that both sugar and lemon juice can be added less or more as per your taste preferences.
13. Then make small balls from the mixture. You will get 12 to 13 balls. Cover and keep aside.

shaping and making lilva kachori

1. Knead the dough again and pinch 12 to 13 balls. With your palms roll in neat balls and keep covered aside.
2. Take each dough ball and roll in to a circle having 5 to 6 inches diameter. Keep the edges thin while rolling.
3. Place the stuffing ball in the center of the rolled dough and lightly flatten it.
4. Take the edges of the dough and begin pleating it as you do for stuffed parathas.
5. Pleat all the way through and bring the pleated edges on top at the center. press all the pleated edges.
6. Now gently flatten the pressed part. Flattening the top part makes it easier while frying. If you want you can just press the edges on top and remove excess dough without flattening the top.
7. Make all kachori this way. Cover them with a cotton napkin or kitchen towel.

frying lilva kachori

1. Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai. Keep the flame to a medium-low. 
2. To check the temperature while frying, add a small piece of dough to the oil. If it comes slowly and steadily to the surface, then the kachoris are ready to be fried. Gently slid the kachori in the hot oil.
3. Fry 4 to 5 kachori or more depending on the size of the kadai. Fry on medium-low flame.
4. When one side is light golden, turn over the kachori with a slotted spoon.
5. Turn again and continue to fry. While frying turn them often to get an even color.
6. Fry till the crust is crisp and golden.
7. Remove crispy fried lilva kachori with a slotted spoon.
8. Keep on kitchen paper towels for extra oil to be absorbed. This way fry all lilva kachori on a medium-low flame.
9. Serve lilva ni kachori hot or warm with green chutney or coriander chutney or tamarind dates chutney.