Baked Kachori with split mung beans and fresh peas (Lentil and fresh peas filled savoury pastry)

I made these hot and spicy baked Kachoris using split  mung  and fresh green peas .

I love kachoris and love making them with different fillings.   For a healthy option,

Ingredients : for 15 -20 kachoris

• 1 cup of split mung beans
• 2 cups of fresh peas
• 1 onion
• Fresh green coriander
• A tablespoon of ginger paste
• 1 tsps cumin seeds
• 2 or 3  small sticks of cinnamon
• 3 or 4 cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chilli powder or pepper if you like mild food.
• 1-2 fresh green chillies (optional)
• 1 -2 tsp sugar (optional)
• 1 -2 tsp lemon juice – can adjust this after tasting the kachori mixture.
• 1-2 tsps of ground cinnamon and cloves mixture
• 2 tbls oil for brushing on the kachori pastry

For the pastry:

• 3 cups of plain flour for making the kachori’s outer pastry
• 3-4 tbls oil
• salt to taste

Method

1. Wash the mung dalls and allow to soak for 15 minutes. Wash the fresh peas too.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil and add in the dry cumin, cloves and cinnamon. Strain the lentils and peas and add them to the oil.  Add the salt, sugar, chili powder and ginger paste and half a cup of water. Stir and allow to cook gently until the lentils and peas soften.

3. Once the mixture is cooked, add the lemon juice and the ground cinnamon and cloves mixture to it. Switch off the heat and cover the mixture for 10 minutes. Then transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl. Chop the coriander and onions finely and add to the cooked mixture. If you are fresh green chilies then chop them finely and add them to the mixture. Stir and allow this to cool by spreading it on a large bowl or tray.

For the pastry:

5. Sieve the dough and add in 4 tablespoons of oil and 1 teaspoon of salt. Adding the bit of extra oil to the dough helps to make the outer pastry crispy and flaky. Using warm water, prepare the dough. The dough should be quite loose but not soggy and wet. Cover and allow the dough to rest.

For the assembling of the kachoris:

6. Divide the lentil filling into small balls (golf ball size) and the dough into very small balls (large marble size).

7. To make the kachoris, take one small ball of dough and form it out in a small circle by pressing the dough with your fingers. Put the kachori filling in the middle of the circle. Picking the edge of the circle, try and join all the edges together to form a ball. Roll the pastry filled ball between your hands so that the lentil filling is sealed from all sides. Finish preparing all the kachoris in this way.

8. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F or gas mark 4). Brush the kachoris lightly with oil and put them in the oven for 20 minutes checking them once at 10 minutes and turning them over to allow for even cooking.

9. Enjoy the kachoris with hot chutney or  ketchup.

Here are more Mung beans recipes for you to try out:

• Sprouted Mung beans (Green mung beans) curry
• Kachoris with sprouted mug
• Mung Dall and Basmati Rice in Instant Pot
• Baked Kachori with split mung beans and fresh peas
• Mung bean soup