The one festival that most Indians look forward to, is Diwali! The streets and homes are lit up, clean and decorated with rangolis, diyas and a lot of fairy lights. We all even get excited about the number of gifts we receive during this time. But what most of us love about this festival, is the food. Every household cooks different dishes according to their own customs. But one common farsan (snack) is the most delicious—Chakli! So, we nudged Vidhi Doshi a.k.a @RamenHairedGirl to make chaklis and show us how to make them too. Here’s the recipe she gave us. And TBH, we’re really excited to try it!
What You’ll Need
- 1 Cup rice flour
- 3/4 Tsp ginger-green chili paste
- 1/4 Tsp turmeric powder
- 1 Tsp white sesame seeds
- 1 Tsp cumin seeds
- A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp softened butter
- 1/4 Cup curd (dahi)
- Oil for frying
- Salt to taste
Here’s How You Can Put It All Together
Step 1
Combine the dry ingredients together in a very large bowl. Lightly crush the jeera seeds using a rolling pin. This helps bring out their flavour. You can increase or decrease the amount of ginger, green chili paste you want to add according to your taste preference.
Step 2
Add the butter and curd and combine well.
Step 3
Add approximately 1/2 a cup of water and knead this into a semi-soft dough. Since rice flour is gluten-free, the dough will not be stretchy.
Step 4
Grease the inside of a chakli press with butter and add some dough into it. While you are doing this, make sure the rest of the dough is nicely covered with a damp cloth to not get top dry.
Step 5
Going in a circular motion, and pressing the chakli press, form concentric circles of the chakli dough onto a newspaper. Once all are shaped, heat the oil.
Step 6
The oil should be of the perfect temperature. You can find this out by dropping a little dough in the oil if it doesn’t bubble and sinks to the bottom it’s not ready yet and if it rises and changes colour immediately, it’s too hot. When you drop the dough, it should rise, there should be bubbles and it shouldn’t immediately change colour.
Step 7
Using a metal spatula pick up a few chaklis at a time and slowly place them in the oil. Wait for them to crisp up a little and flip them. They should cook evenly on both sides. Once they change colour and crisp up, remove them on an absorbent paper and let them cool completely before you store them!
#MMProTip:
You will constantly have to regulate the temperature between slow and medium to get the perfect crunch. If the oil is too hot, the outside will cook and inside will remain soggy. If the oil is not hot enough, then it won’t be crispy and absorb too much oil. When frying anything, always remember to add the batter when the flame is on a low (after the oil has reached the proper temperature) then gradually increase or else it might sputter. Keep an eye on the bubbles in the oil. When the bubbles die down that means that your item is cooked.
Now, it might seem taxing, but if you nail the batter consistency and oil temperature, the chaklis will be nice and crispy! So, try this out today, and tell us how they turned out in the comments below!
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