Chakli
Chakli
is a savory spicy crunchy spiral, made out of a few flours and spices
and fried until golden brown. They make a great any time snack. Great
with chai.
2 cups Jawar Flour
1 cup Rice flour
1 cup Plain Flour
1/2 cup Ghee, warmed
2 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Asafoetida (hing)
2 tbsp Ajwain / Ova seeds
2 tbsp Sesame seeds
Salt as per taste
Oil for deep frying
Mix all the flours.
Add red chili powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida, ajwain seeds, sesame
seeds and salt. You may taste it to test for seasoning. Now add the warm
ghee and mix well. Knead to a thick, soft dough by adding water accordingly.
Keep aside covered by a wet cloth for half an hour.
Heat the oil. Place the chakli plate/mould into the hand press. Now fill
the barrel with some of the
dough and close the lid. Make chaklis, using a circular motion starting from
the center of the chakli into 3" spirals. Keep them on a plastic bag. If the chaklis
break, then remove the dough and knead it a bit. Lift gently one by
one and fry them in the medium hot oil till golden brown in color.
Here are a few tips for good chaklis.
1. The flours should be sifted well.
2. Excessive ghee / oil in the dough causes the chaklis to break while frying.
3. If chaklis turn out to be very hard. This might be because the amount
of ghee / oil or water used is not enough.
4. Do not fry chaklis in extremely hot oil. They get over fried, turn
black and taste bitter.
In India you get special chakli flour called "bhajani" All the
flours are already mixed. All you do is add the spices.
