Baked Pyaaz Ki Kachori

I spent 3 months in India. I am pretty sure I had a pyaaz kachori or a samosa at least once a day for the majority of those 3 months. It got to the point where I was craving one. A crispy, steamy, deep fried savory pastry stuffed with deliciously spiced onions wrapped in paper. It’s been a couple of years since I had daily access to these round puffs of deliciousness, and I am pretty sure I still want a kachori daily. They are that good.

When I first came back from India, within a week I was in the kitchen trying to make my own kachoris. Nothing will ever compare to the food you get on the side of the road from the many different walas in India, but I can promise you this kachori recipe will get you pretty close. I chose to bake these for a healthier version. They won’t come out as flaky as if you were to deep fry them, but they taste just as good.

Ingredients: 

for dough-

• 1 cup flour
• pinch of salt
• ajwain seeds, to taste
• 2 tsp ghee
• water for kneading

for stuffing-

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• salt to taste
• 1/8 tsp turmeric
• 1/8 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp amchur powder
• red chili powder to taste
• 1/4 tsp kalonji
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp coriander seeds, coarsely ground in mortar and pestle
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• 2 tsp oil

To Make:

Make the dough. Add salt to the flour and stir. Add the ghee and incorporate it into the flour until crumbly. Add water little by little until hard dough forms. Cover and set aside for at least 30 minutes.

Heat a pan with the oil. Add all of the seeds and when they crackle, add the onions. Saute till translucent and then add the spices. Saute for another 5 minutes. Let cool.

Heat oven to 350*.

Knead the dough again to make smooth. Divide into equal portions. Roll out into circles, and add around a tsp to a tsp and a half of the onions, depending on how big of a circle you made. Gather the sides and bring them together to form an enclosure. Twist and pinch closed. Put them closed side down and let them sit for around 5 minutes.

Roll them out gently, just a little bit. Spray each with cooking spray, and bake in the oven for around 18 minutes, or until golden. Turn over half way through.

For your eye’s pleasure, here are some pictures I took in India, of the kachoris I ate. How I miss thee, little pyaaz ki kachori.