Jodhpuri Pyaaz Kachori

Ingredients

• 300g plain flour
• 75g ghee, melted
• 1 tsp salt, for the dough
• 1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
• about 120ml cold water
• 4 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds, coarsely crushed
• 1/2 tsp nigella seeds
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida
• 4 large onions, very finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger and green chilli paste
• 3 tbsp gram flour (besan)
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1.5 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp amchur (dried mango powder)
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1.5 tsp salt, for the filling
• 3 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
• 1 litre sunflower oil, for deep frying
• tamarind chutney and green chutney, to serve

Before you cook

• Rub the melted ghee into the flour with the salt and carom seeds until a squeezed fistful holds its shape, which is what makes the shell flake.
• Add cold water a little at a time and bring the mixture together into a soft dough without kneading it.
• Cover the dough and rest it for 30 minutes.
• Chop the onions as finely as you can, since large pieces will tear the shells from the inside.

Steps

1. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a wide pan over medium heat.
2. Add the cumin, fennel, crushed coriander and nigella seeds with the asafoetida and fry for 30 seconds.
3. Add the chopped onions and cook for 12 minutes, stirring, until they are soft, dry and pale gold.
4. Stir in the ginger and chilli paste and cook for 1 minute.
5. Sprinkle in the gram flour and fry for 4 minutes until it smells toasted rather than raw.
6. Add the ground coriander, chilli powder, turmeric, amchur, garam masala and salt and cook for 2 minutes.
7. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the fresh coriander, and spread the filling on a plate to cool completely.
8. Divide the dough into 10 balls and the cooled filling into 10 portions.
9. Flatten one dough ball into a disc in your palm, sit a portion of filling in the middle, and gather the edges up over the top.
10. Pinch the seam shut, pull off any excess dough, and press the parcel gently into a 7cm round without letting the filling break through.
11. Shape the remaining kachoris the same way and keep them under a cloth.
12. Heat the frying oil in a deep pan to 130C, where a scrap of dough rises slowly and sits there bubbling gently.
13. Slide in four or five kachoris and let them fry undisturbed for 8 minutes, during which they will puff and float.
14. Turn them over and fry for another 10 minutes on low heat, until they are pale biscuit-coloured and covered in fine blisters.
15. Raise the heat and fry for a final 2 minutes to turn them deep golden and properly crisp.
16. Lift them onto kitchen paper and fry the rest the same way.
17. Serve hot, cracked open at the top, with tamarind and green chutneys spooned inside.