There is a lane in Banaras called Kachori Gali and it does one thing. The pans are on before dawn, the first customers arrive in the dark on their way to the ghats, and by late morning the whole street has sold out and shut. What it sells is a deep-fried pastry stuffed with ground urad dal — the badi kachori; the choti is filled with potato instead — split open and drowned in a thin, sour, deep-orange curry of potato and pumpkin cooked without onion or garlic, because this is temple-adjacent food and the lane feeds pilgrims. Jalebi comes alongside for anyone who wants the morning to go that way. The pumpkin is the part outsiders miss: it dissolves entirely, and what it leaves behind is the body and the faint sweetness that keeps the sourness in check. This is the most-eaten breakfast in the zone and it is eaten standing up.
INGREDIENTS
- 150 g split skinned urad dal (soaked 3 hours)
- 300 g plain flour
- 2 tbsp ghee (for the dough)
- ½ tsp salt (for the dough)
- water (to knead)
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds (saunf, coarsely crushed)
- 1 tsp coriander seeds (coarsely crushed)
- ½ tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
- ½ tsp asafoetida (for the filling)
- 2 cm ginger (grated)
- 2 green chillies (finely chopped)
- 1 tsp salt (for the filling)
- oil (for deep frying)
- 4 medium potatoes (boiled and broken by hand)
- 400 g dense orange squash (peeled and cubed)
- 3 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
- ½ tsp asafoetida (for the curry)
- 2 dried red chillies
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp dried mango powder (amchur)
- 2 tsp salt (for the curry)
- 1 litre water
- a handful of coriander leaves (chopped)
METHOD
- Rub the 2 tbsp ghee and salt into the plain flour, then knead with water into a firm dough. Rest it, covered, for 30 minutes.
- Drain the soaked urad dal and grind it coarse with no water. Do not make it smooth.
- Mix the ground dal with the crushed fennel and coriander seeds, carom, asafoetida, ginger, green chillies and salt.
- Dry-fry this filling in a pan for five minutes until it stops smelling raw and comes away from the base. Cool completely.
- For the curry, heat the mustard oil until it smokes, take it off briefly, then add the cumin, fenugreek, asafoetida and dried chillies.
- Add the squash with the turmeric, coriander powder, chilli powder and salt, and fry for five minutes.
- Add the broken potatoes and the water, bring to a boil, then simmer 25 minutes until the squash has dissolved completely and the curry is thin and orange.
- Stir in the amchur and coriander. It should taste sour first, with the sweetness underneath.
- Divide the dough into twelve. Flatten each into a disc, cup it, spoon in the filling, and pinch closed. Roll out gently to about 8cm, thicker in the centre than at the rim.
- Fry in moderately hot oil, spooning oil over the tops, until they puff and turn pale gold. Turn once.
- Serve two kachoris per person, split open with the curry ladled over.
