Baked Crunchy Lentils Kachori- with a Secret Ingredient (Avocado)

Baked  Crunchy Lentils Kachori- with a Secret Ingredient (Avocado)

It’s a festival season and no one can resist the temptation of the yummy goodies like samosa, kachori, and what not.

But being a health-conscious baker I always try to substitute avocado for many traditional baking ingredients, such as butter for shortening. Simply replace these ingredients with an equal amount of avocado (e.g., replace one cup of butter, with one cup of mashed avocado). By substituting avocado, the nutritional value of the baked good is increased with the fruit’s contribution.  As per http://nutritioncheckup.com/

Two tablespoons of avocado have 50 calories, two tablespoons of butter total 204 calories.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

For The Dough

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 avocado (big cup pulp of  avocado or you may substitute with olive oil)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp carrom seeds
• Salt to taste
• Water to knead (preferably room temperature)

 Method

1. In a bowl, add whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, pinch of salt and few drops of oil, mashed avocado, baking powder and some cold water.
2. Rub the mixture with both the hand till the mixture resembles bread crumbs. This is called shortening.
3. Make a nice dough, it should not be very soft.
4. Divide the dough in small ping pong balls ball size portions
5. Keep it aside

For The Stuffing

• 1/2 cup split yellow gram, soaked 2-3 hours
• 2 teaspoon oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon carom seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dry ginger powder
• 1 green chilli finely chopped
• 2 teaspoon fennel powder
• Black pepper
• Salt to taste

Method

1. Drain the yellow gram (moong dal),  grind it coarsely.
2. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, add the cumin seeds, carom seeds, fennel seeds and sauté for a few seconds, while stirring continuously.
3. When the seeds crackle, add the moong dal, turmeric powder, chili powder, ginger powder, green chili, coarsely grinded fennel powder, and salt and mix well and cook on a medium flame for 30 to 45 minutes, while stirring continuously. As I added only few drizzles of oil, it was tough to cook this and dal was sticking to the bottom.
4. Remove from the flame and cool slightly.

Other Ingredients

• Spray oil for greasing
• Baking tray
• Parchment paper

Assembling:

1. Line a baking tray with foil or parchment paper. Spray with oil. Pre-heat the oven at 345.
2. Now divide the dough into small portions, and roll into a small circle. put a large spoonful of the filling into the center, then fold the dough over the filling to form a ball and seal the edges. Arrange on the baking tray.
3. Bake for 15 minutes .When one side is done, take the tray out and flip the sides and bake for another 10-12 minutes. This will ensure that  crust is crisply baked.
4. Broil for 2-3 minutes to give the dark brown color.
5. The browning continues even after removing from oven and so watch carefully and keep a very close eye or you might burn the yummy cuties.

These can also be stored in air tight container for a week.
Enjoy with your favorite relish such as date-tamarind, salsa, and mint chutney!!!