Moong dal kachori

Step 1: Rinse 3 ½ oz yellow moong dal (split, skinless) well, cover with plenty of water and soak for 2 hours, until a grain splits easily between your fingers. Drain in a sieve for 10 minutes so it's as dry as possible.

Step 2: Mix 10 ½ oz plain flour (maida) and 1 tsp salt, pour in ¼ cup vegetable oil and rub together with your fingertips for 3–4 minutes until the mixture holds in a clump when squeezed. Add ½ cup cold water little by little to make a firm, rough dough; don't knead it smooth. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.

Step 3: Pulse the drained dal in a grinder without any water to a coarse, gritty crumb, like couscous. A smooth paste makes a pasty, heavy filling.

Step 4: Heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil in a heavy frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add 1 tbsp fennel seeds, 1 tbsp coriander seeds and 1 tsp cumin seeds and let them crackle for 30 seconds, then add ¼ tsp asafoetida (hing), 1 tbsp fresh ginger and 2 green chillies and stir for 30 seconds more.

Step 5: Add the ground dal and 2 tbsp gram flour (besan) and roast, stirring and scraping constantly, for 10–12 minutes. At first it clumps and looks damp; keep going until it breaks into loose, sandy crumbs, turns a shade darker and smells toasty. Lower the heat if it starts to catch.

Step 6: Stir in 1 ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp dried mango powder (amchur), 1 tsp sugar and ¾ tsp salt and cook for 1 minute. Tip onto a plate and cool completely. Taste: it should be boldly spiced, tangy and a little sweet, as the pastry mutes it.

Step 7: Divide the dough into 16 balls. Squeeze a heaped tablespoon of filling into a ball for each (it will just hold together); if it's too crumbly to hold, sprinkle in a teaspoon of water.

Step 8: Flatten a dough ball into an 8 cm round with thinner edges, set the filling in the middle and gather the edges up in pleats to seal. Pinch off the excess dough, turn seam-side down and press gently into a 6–7 cm disc. Keep the rest covered as you work so they don't dry out and crack.

Step 9: Heat 1 litre vegetable oil over a low heat to about 275°F: a pinch of dough should sink and rise slowly with small bubbles.

Step 10: Fry 5–6 kachoris at a time on a low heat for 18–20 minutes, turning now and then. They will rise, puff in the middle and turn deep golden with tiny blisters. Don't raise the heat to hurry them; that's what gives a soft, oily kachori the next day.

Step 11: Drain on a rack and cool completely before storing in an airtight tin, where they stay crisp for 5–6 days. Serve warm or at room temperature with 8 tbsp tamarind and date chutney and 8 tbsp green coriander chutney if you like.