Lilva (Tuver) or Moong Dal Kachoris - Baked or Fried, your choice!!


Lilva kachoris are a famous gujarati snack savoured by people throughout the country. The small golden balls filled with Tuvar (Lilva) mixture are very tasty and can serve as perfect appetizers or a snack for a pot-luck party. You can even use moong dal for the filling to create a variation of the recipe. Both the versions promise to be instant hits! One of my aunts used to make them so good I could easily gobble 8-10 kachoris and yet feel the urge to grab more!! So try this authentic gujarati "Lilva ni Kachori", and I've showed you how to bake them rather than deep fry which makes it tasty and healthy at the same time!

Ingredients

For the kachori
3 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour(the latter is healthier but a little compromise on taste )
2 tbsp semolina (fine rava)
1 cup warm melted ghee (clarified butter)
salt - to taste
hot water - to knead the dough
oil for frying kachoris

For the filling
2 cups Lilva (Green Tuver)- only the pods (they are like peas, but smaller)
(you can also use the frozen Tuvar available in indian stores, just thaw it before use.)
2 tspn cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tspn carom seeds (ajwain)
1/2 tspn asafoetida (hing)
1 tspn turmeric powder (haldi)
1 tspn red chilli powder
2 tbsp green chilli-ginger paste
2 tspn sugar
salt and lemon juice - to taste

Method
For the kachori, mix the salt, semolina and flour together and add the warm ghee to it. Mix well so that the entire flour is oiled and forms crumbles. Now knead the dough (not too thin or soft, just pliable enough) using warm water into a firm dough. The warm water and rava will help make the crust more crispier. Cover with a wet cloth and leave aside for 10-15 mins.

Take the tuvar seeds/pods and crush them with 2 tbsp water in the blender to form a semi-smooth paste. Now take a saucepan, add 2 tbsp oil to it, then add the cumin, carrom seeds, and asafoetida. When seeds splutter, add the tuvar/lilva to this. Season with green chilli-ginger paste, salt, lemon juice, sugar and the spices. Remove from flame once the mixture is well-cooked and keep aside.

Now divide the dough into small portions, and roll into a small circle. put a large spoonful of the filling into the center, then fold the dough over the filling to form a ball and seal the edges with a peak at the top (as shown in the pic) You can grease your palms a little and roll the ball between them to form an even ball if that's easier. Repeat for all the kachoris.

Deep Fry: Now heat oil in a wok and deep fry 3-4 kachoris at a time over medium-to high heat till they are golden brown in color. Serve hot with Green Chutney or Tamarind chutney.

Baked: Alternately, you can preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then place the kachoris on a large oven tray. Space them at least half inch apart and apply light margarine to them with a brush. Now bake them for 10-15 mins, then turn them over so the other areas can receive heat as well, and bake again for 10 mins, or till the surface becomes light brown in color.

Of course, the fried version is much tastier than the baked one, but if healthy is more important to you than tasty, you know what to choose!

Tip: For making Moong dal kachoris, Use 2 cups split yellow gram (yelow moong dal) instead of Lilva. Soak it in water for at least 2 hours before preparing the filling. Then use the method above for making the filling with the slight variation that add some water to the dal, and cover it and let it cook before you add all the spices to it. You do not need to blend the dal mixture. Just use the prepared mix as a filling for the kachoris.

Similar Recipes:
Hot and Spicy Samosas
Vegetarian Potato Cutlets
Tirangi Dhokla Sandwich


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27 comments :

Pooja V said...

I love these...Thanks for the recipe so far i have either eaten them at a freinds place or bought frozen pack.

Nora B. said...

This is so interesting. I've not heard of lilva before. And it's great how you can bake this instead of deep-frying it - you are very clever!

Anonymous said...

man, these are mouth-watering!! you can eat 8-10, I can grab the whole bowl yaar:D

Anonymous said...

wow, baking makes it interesting, but I think I'm gonna stick to frying:) def more tasty...hehehe..

-Shanti

Rajitha said...

thanks for sharing the baked version..i will dfly try the baked ones out :)

Anonymous said...

brilliant!! love these kachoris, and baking them will be so much more healthy! you can eat them often enough:)

-Sanjana

KellytheCulinarian said...

Those look delicious, I'd love to have one right now. What's the dipping sauce in the photo?

Coffee said...

For the lack of tuvar I sometimes use green peas.... I must try your baked version next time! :)

Bhawna said...

Great Mansi, kachoris looks really tempting, thanks for the recipe.

Mansi said...

kelly, the dipping sauce is the green chutney whose recipe you can find on my blog...just check the dips/sauces section

Bindiya said...

baking is a great idea ,but the real taste is in the frying, looks good

amna said...

baked for me! and such lovely shape!!

you shud post bigger pics :)

FH said...

Beautifully done Mansi, looks delicious!:))

Padma said...

Same pinch, I too posted toovar lilva recipe. Kachoris looks divine, its been years I had them... I know its calls for lot of work... You have so many incredible recipes that all ur posts are on my to do list ....

Sharmi said...

will the baked kachoris give a good finish. oh Man I love kachoris. yours looks divine.

Mansi said...

Thanks everyone - yeah it does take a lot of work, hence its a weekend thing:)

Sharmi, the baked version doesn't come out as great as the fried one, but as I said, its a compromise...it tastes great, but you might miss some spots which may not get baked entirely..easier to fry:) but the latter is very good for people on a diet or with cholesterol problems.

Amrita said...

My dear, your kachoris look perfect. Gotta try them. I have heard of tuvar but never bought it, maybe in UP its known as something else. I ask around in the shops if i can get tuvar or lilva, otherwise I will use moong.Frying is tastier but baking is healthy, I 'll throw health out of the window.

Amrita said...

My dear, your kachoris look perfect. Gotta try them. I have heard of tuvar but never bought it, maybe in UP its known as something else. I ask around in the shops if i can get tuvar or lilva, otherwise I will use moong.Frying is tastier but baking is healthy, I 'll throw health out of the window.

Kajal@aapplemint said...

oh these are sooo very guujjuuu, i've been wanting to make these for a long time and post them on my blog but i keep pushing it for later :). My mom used to make them with yellow moong dal. Oh yum ! u know u really are making me homesick now :))Love the pattern you've made on top . I usually just make the potli shape ! earier :p

Cris said...

They have a cute shape, I bet they are delicious!

musical said...

Lovely kachoris! Baked is good for regular chai time snack, while fried is great for once in a while munching (cuz' fried ones do have a distinct taste) :-D

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful shape. Baking kachoris are health wise best. Nice idea. Thans for sharing

Anonymous said...

I think lilva kachoris are very famous in gujarath. Perfect shape and really mouthwatering. Than you for sharing

Unknown said...

Hi Mansi,
Thanks for such a yummy recipe.
cant wait to try them.
Just have few questions.
1) How many kachoris will come with this recipe may be the size as shown in the pic?
2) Will the baked version be crispier?

will try and stick to the fried version for the first time but baked is definitely heathier so can try that if we want to have on regular basis.

Mansi said...

hi Bhavika,
this will make about 30 kachoris approx, and the fried version is def more crispier than the baked one.

good luck with it!:)

Unknown said...

Hi Manasi,
I tried the baked version...Yummy delicious..Thanks a lot for that..
I tried withw heat flour...Absolutely tasty...One more question though..
Can we decrease the amount of ghee which we put in kneading the flour ?
Or ghee in flour is the secret of its such a good taste even with baked version ?
Please let me know.
I look forward to making this often..so simple and tasty.
Once again thanks

Mansi said...

Bhavika - the ghee is a key ingredient; I wouldn't decrease the quantity in the recipe:)

glad you liked it, and thanks for the compliments!