Kachori
Encyclopedia
Kachori or Kachauri or Kachodi or Katchuri (Oriya
କଚୋଡ଼ି, Bengali
কচুরি) is a spicy snack popular in various parts India including Uttar Pradesh
, Rajasthan
, Delhi
, Maharashtra
, Madhya Pradesh
, Gujarat, Bengal
and Orissa
."
Kachoris of Uttar Pradesh
and Rajasthan
are extremely well known and popular. It is supposed to have originated in one of these states.
In Rajasthan
and Uttar Pradesh
it is usually a round flattened ball made of fine flour filled with a stuffing of baked mixture of yellow moong dal or Urad Dal (crushed and washed horse beans), besan (crushed and washed gram flour
), black pepper
, red chili powder, salt
and other spices.
Additionally in Rajasthani cuisine
, the Pyaaj Kachori
(onion kachori) is very famous.
In Gujarat, it is usually a round ball made of flour
and dough
filled with a stuffing of yellow moong dal, black pepper
, red chili powder, and ginger
paste.
In Delhi it is often served as a chaat. Also Delhi has another kind of kachori, called 'Khasta kachori' or 'Raj Kachori'.
A variant includes sweet upwas (fast) kachori, made with potato, coconut, and sugar. Kachoris are often served with a chutney, often made from tamarind, mint, or coriander. Another variant is fried and stuffed with pulses (urad and moong especially) and it is generally found in Kutch region in Gujarat. A kachori stuffed with peas is a delicacy in Bengal.
Some of the variants popular in North India
includes a version similar to the Rajasthan version accompanied with a curry made of potatoes and varied spices or even chana (chole), similar to one served in chole bhature
.
Kachoris are also a popular Ramazan meal food item in Pakistan, where variants include vegetarian as well as meat (chicken or beef) stuffing served with sweet chutney.
Oriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
କଚୋଡ଼ି, Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
কচুরি) is a spicy snack popular in various parts India including Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, Gujarat, Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
and Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
."
Variations
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
and Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
are extremely well known and popular. It is supposed to have originated in one of these states.
In Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
and Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
it is usually a round flattened ball made of fine flour filled with a stuffing of baked mixture of yellow moong dal or Urad Dal (crushed and washed horse beans), besan (crushed and washed gram flour
Gram flour
Gram flour is a cereal flour made from ground chickpeas. It is also known as chickpea flour, garbanzo flour, or besan . Used in many countries, it is a staple ingredient in Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi cuisines, and, in the form of a paste with water or yoghurt, a popular facial exfoliant in...
), black pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
, red chili powder, salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
and other spices.
Additionally in Rajasthani cuisine
Rajasthani cuisine
Rajasthani cooking was influenced by both the war-like lifestyles of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in this arid region. Food that could last for several days and could be eaten without heating was preferred. Scarcity of water and fresh green vegetables have all had their...
, the Pyaaj Kachori
Pyaaj Kachori
Pyaj Kachori is a kind of Rajasthani Kachori, a donut stuffed with onion. It is one of the famous spicy snack food from Jodhpur and vicinity. Popularity of this snack dish increased in other parts of North India when Rajasthani restaurants and food outlets opened throughout India. Today it has...
(onion kachori) is very famous.
In Gujarat, it is usually a round ball made of flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
and dough
Dough
Dough is a paste made out of any cereals or leguminous crops by mixing flour with a small amount of water and/or other liquid. This process is a precursor to making a wide variety of foodstuffs, particularly breads and bread-based items , flatbreads, noodles, pastry, and similar items)...
filled with a stuffing of yellow moong dal, black pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
, red chili powder, and ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
paste.
In Delhi it is often served as a chaat. Also Delhi has another kind of kachori, called 'Khasta kachori' or 'Raj Kachori'.
A variant includes sweet upwas (fast) kachori, made with potato, coconut, and sugar. Kachoris are often served with a chutney, often made from tamarind, mint, or coriander. Another variant is fried and stuffed with pulses (urad and moong especially) and it is generally found in Kutch region in Gujarat. A kachori stuffed with peas is a delicacy in Bengal.
Some of the variants popular in North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
includes a version similar to the Rajasthan version accompanied with a curry made of potatoes and varied spices or even chana (chole), similar to one served in chole bhature
Chole bhature
Chole bhature is a combination of chole and fried bread called bhatoora .. The word 'bhatura' is pronounced as 'pathoora' in Punjabi. It is mainly eaten in Punjab in North India.It is a street food sold by vendors,...
.
Kachoris are also a popular Ramazan meal food item in Pakistan, where variants include vegetarian as well as meat (chicken or beef) stuffing served with sweet chutney.