How to Make Red Lentil Kachori That Is Perfect for Veganuary 2026

A TikTok foodie has stunned viewers with her simple and unique Indian street food snack recipe for Veganuary, red lentil kachori.

Creator whenmeateatsveg, known as Rupa, showcases vegan and vegetarian recipes, alongside her mother @yourgujaratimum.

Veganuary encourages people to try a plant-based diet each January, spotlighting bold, meat-free recipes.

This red lentil kachori fits perfectly, delivering classic Indian street food flavours in a fully vegan, home-friendly dish.

Rupa outlines how to make the recipe from scratch, starting with pressure cooking the red lentils and urad daal for the “crispy dough”.

She added: “Combine salt, plain flour, oil with hot water, kneading and letting it rest.

“Once the red split lentils and urad daal are soft, blitz and set that aside, make a simple vagar (pan-fry the spices), adding the blitz daal to the mixture.”

In the post, which has attracted over 33,000 views, Rupa continued:

“Mix really well on low heat, adding all the herbs and spices listed above.”

The herbs and spices include turmeric, garam masala, coriander powder, jeera powder, fennel powder and chilli powder.

“Mix on low heat until all the water is reduced.”

“Once a thick consistency, place a generous amount into the middle of the dough, pinching the edges, removing excess dough and rolling into a ball.

“Fry for 5 to 6 minutes.”

@whenmeateatsveg VEGAN Red Lentil Kachori ??? Bringing East African Indian Street Food Snack to your plate this Veganuary ? #kachori #kachorirecipe #kachorilovers #kachorichat #indianfood #indiancuisine #indianstreetfood #indianstreetfoodrecipes #gujaratifood #gujaratisnack #gujaratirecipe ? Don’t Play With Me – Gabzy

Here is how you can create this recipe for yourself, perfect for Veganuary.

Ingredients

• 150g Red Split Daal
• 50g Urad Daal
• 285g Plain Flour
• 3 tbsp Oil
• 1 tsp Salt

Lentil Filling

• 1 tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Turmeric
• ½ tsp Garam Masala
• ½ tsp Fennel Powder
• ½ tsp Coriander Powder
• ½ tsp Cumin Powder
• ½ tsp Chilli Powder
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Ginger
• 3 tbsp Lemon Juice

For Tempering

• 4 tbsp Oil
• 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
• 2 Dried Chillies
• ½ tsp Cloves
• ½ tsp Asafoetida
• ½ tsp cumin seeds

Method

1. Soak the Red Split daal and urad daal overnight with enough water covering. Alternatively, if you didn’t soak, pressure cook for 20 minutes with twice the amount of water to your daals.
2. Remove any excess water and coarsely blitz the daals into a ‘lumpy’ consistency.
3. For the dough, combine flour, salt and oil, giving it a rough mix, then gradually add in hot water until your dough is combined (roughly need 130ml water).
4. Cover and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
5. For tempering, heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds. Once popped, add in dried chilli, cumin seeds, cloves and asafoetida, mixing well.
6. Pour over the blitzed daal and mix well.
7. Add the seasonings: salt, turmeric, garam masala, fennel powder, coriander powder, jeera powder, chilli powder, minced ginger, sugar and lemon juice.
8. Heat this over medium heat, stirring constantly. We want to reduce the water in this mixture as much as possible so we can mould it into balls. Once a super thick consistency, let it cool down.
9. Split the dough into 16 equal pieces, rolling out to a little bigger than palm size. Place a generous amount in the middle, folding over, cutting excess dough, pinching edges and rolling into a ball.
10. Fry for 5-6 minutes, rotating every 30 seconds. Pair with your favourite chutney and enjoy.