Pyaaz Kachori
Crispy, golden fried pastry pockets filled with spiced caramelized onions and fresh herbs. A beloved Indian street snack with a shatteringly crisp shell and savory, fragrant filling.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Servings
- 8
- Calories
- 320
- Protein
- 5g
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- ½ cup warm water
- 3 medium yellow onions
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled
- 1 whole green chile
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 cups vegetable oil
Instructions
- 1
Pour 2 cups flour and 0.5 teaspoon salt into a large mixing bowl and stir with your fingers to combine, breaking up any lumps.
- 2
Create a well in the center of the flour by pushing flour toward the sides, leaving an empty space in the middle, about the size of your fist.
- 3
Pour 1.5 tablespoons of oil into the well and slowly add warm water while mixing with your fingers, starting in the well and gradually bringing flour from the sides into the wet center.
- 4
Once the dough comes together into a shaggy ball, turn it out onto a clean dry counter and knead by pushing it away from you with the heel of your hand, then folding it back over itself, for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
- 5
Rub the dough with the remaining 1.5 tablespoons oil so it feels slick all over, then cover it with an inverted bowl and let it rest on the counter for 20 minutes.
- 6
Slice each onion in half from root to tip, then lay each half flat on the cutting board with the flat side down and slice crosswise into very thin half-moons, about the thickness of a playing card.
- 7
Mince the ginger until the pieces are smaller than a grain of rice, about pencil-tip-sized dots, then mince the green chile the same way, removing any large seeds.
- 8
Chop the cilantro by holding it in a bunch and slicing it crosswise into small pieces, about the size of your pinky fingernail.
- 9
Heat 1.5 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat for 30 seconds, then add the cumin seeds and stir constantly for 15 seconds until they smell strongly fragrant and begin to pop.
- 10
Add the sliced onions to the skillet and stir once every 30 seconds with a wooden spoon, letting them cook undisturbed between stirs for 15 minutes until they turn the color of caramel and feel very soft when you press them with the back of the spoon.
- 11
Stir in the minced ginger and green chile and cook, stirring once every 10 seconds, for 2 minutes until the mixture smells strongly of ginger and the raw smell is gone.
- 12
Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the cilantro, 0.25 teaspoon salt, and 0.25 teaspoon cayenne pepper until evenly distributed, then spread the filling on a plate to cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
- 13
Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces by cutting it like a pizza into 8 wedges, then roll each piece into a ball between your palms.
- 14
Flatten one ball into a thin circle about 3 inches across by pressing it between your palms, then place 1 tablespoon of cooled filling in the center.
- 15
Fold the edges of the dough circle up and over the filling, pinching them together at the top to seal the opening completely, then gently press and shape it into a round dumpling.
- 16
Repeat with the remaining 7 dough balls and filling until you have 8 sealed dumplings.
- 17
Pour 3 cups oil into a deep saucepan or heavy-bottomed pot and heat it over medium-high heat for 3 minutes until a tiny piece of dough dropped in immediately sizzles and floats to the surface.
- 18
Carefully slide one kachori into the hot oil using a slotted spoon, then fry 2 to 3 at a time, stirring gently with the spoon once every 20 seconds, for 4 minutes total until they are deep golden brown on all sides like caramelized sugar.
- 19
Remove each finished kachori with the slotted spoon and set it on a plate lined with paper towels to drain the excess oil.
- 20
Repeat frying with the remaining kachori in two more batches of 2 to 3 each, letting the oil return to the correct temperature between batches, about 1 minute.
Tools you’ll need
- large mixing bowl
- measuring cups and spoons
- large skillet
- wooden spoon
- deep saucepan or heavy-bottomed pot, at least 4-quart capacity
- slotted spoon
- plate lined with paper towels
- cutting board
- chef's knife
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