Hinger Kochuri with Kumro Aloor Torkari

Once Halloween comes up in US, everyone finds excuse to put some form of pumpkin in anything they eat or drink. While some like pumpkin pie makes sense, others like pumpkin latte seems weird to say the least.

I had to get pumpkin for the little devil at home, so I decided to make something Indian out of it. Since my husband worked really hard at carving it up, I decided to treat him with his absolute favorite Hinger Kochuri (asafetida stuffed poori) and pumpkin potato curry.

He was so happy to have it, that he dug out the photo he took many years ago of his favorite dingy kochuri shack in Behala. He insists that the guy is pure genius and an artist (see English Vinglish)

Kumro AlooR Torkari

Ingredients

1. 3 large potatoes cut into medium cubes along with their skin
2. 100gms pumpkin peeled and cut into cubes
3. 1tsp. turmeric powder
4. 1tsp. chili powder
5. 1tsp. asafetida powder or hing
6. 2-3 dry red chilies broken
7. 1tsp. paanch phoron
8. salt
9. 2 tsp. oil

Procedure

Heat oil in a pan and temper it with paanch phoron, hing and dry red chilies. Wait till you get a pungent smell. Now add pumpkin and potato cubes to it. Add turmeric and chili powder and fry them for a minute. Season with salt and mix well.

Now add one and half cups of water to it and cook it covered on medium heat till potatoes are done and pumpkin cubes are very mushy and melts. There should be no solid pieces of pumpkin, they should’ve all turned into a gooey paste.

Remove from heat and transfer to a serving bowl.

Kochuri

Ingredients For Stuffing

1. 1 cup white urad dal soaked overnight
2. 1 tsp.ginger paste
3. 2-3 green chilies
4. 1 tsp. turmeric powder
5. 1/2tsp. kalonji  (nigella seeds)
6. 1+2 tbsp. hing (asafetida)
7. !/2tsp. sugar
8. Salt
9. 1 tsp. oil

Procedure To Make The Stuffing

In a grinder grind urad dal along with green chilies into a paste.

Heat oil in a frying pan and temper it with a spoon of hing and kalonji.

Now add the paste of dal to it. Sprinkle turmeric powder, salt and sugar over it and mix well. Fry the dal mixture on medium heat till you see the paste is coming together.

Turn off the heat and let it cool.

Once it cools down, add the rest of the asafetida and ginger paste to it. To retain the flavor of hing in hinger kochuri, we add asafetida at the end. Knead it well.

Ingredients for dough

1. 2 ups maida (All purpose flour)
2. 1tsp. salt
3. 1/2 tsp. sugar
4. 1/2 – 3/4th cup of water
5. 2 cups oil for deep frying

Procedure To make Dough

In a mixing bowl take all the dry ingredients (1 through 3) and mix well.

Add 2tbsp. of oil to it and mix with the flour mixture using your fingertips till it takes a crumb texture.

Knead it by adding water little at a time till you get a soft smooth dough. Keep it covered with a damp cloth for 30 minutes.

Knead once more and then make ping pong size balls out of the dough.

Approximately you will get around 20 balls.

Procedure of making kochuri

Take each balls you made from the dough and press it between your palm to flatten it. Now put a spoonful of stuffing at the centre of the flattened dough and round the dough again by gathering the sides together.

Roll them into discs as you would make pooris.

Take enough oil in a wok and heat it up before you slide the kochuris in. Give both sides a minute before flipping them.

They might not always fluff up like a puri as they have stuffing in it.

Your kochuris are ready.