Kachdee / Lentil Fritters

couple of weeks ago it rained here almost each day of the week as it got colder and colder. We even had to turn on the heat in the house which by the way is quite unusual for around here. One evening as I sat at my workstation looking through the big window at the drizzle outside, it had me completely nostalgic of the rainy evenings back at home in India. It used to get pretty cold there too and we used to huddle up in blankets. Those cold evenings where when we really craved for spicy and fried food to perk us up.

Kachdee is a traditional Bihari (from the Bihar region of India) snack. If belongs to the Pakora family except it is made with chana daal (Bengal gram lentil). It is basically a coarsely ground lentil paste mixed with spices and deep fried to get a nice crispy exterior.
Everyone in the family was a fan, dad and grandpa alike and so were we. So while we snuggled up in our blankets, one of us would innocently suggest "wouldn't it be nice if we could get some nice hot Kachdee from somewhere" and mom, a good sport as she always is when it came to cooking, would willingly volunteer to fry up some.
I still love 'em. Hubby is not a big fan of pakoras so I do not make them very often but this time around I just could not resist.

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