Mom's Recipies

Chakli is famous Indian snack which is made mainly in Diwali.It has been long been the tradition at most homes to make delicious snacks such as Chakali, Thattai, Sev etc. along with some special Indian sweets for Deepavali.I couldn't remember one person who doesn't love this crunchy Chakalis.There are many types of chakalis.I made chakalis with Bhajani .My husband ,my daughter and even I am great fan of these chakalis . My mom is an expert in making chakalis and these are our family's all time favourite.This is one of my mom's very special recipe, she used to make for every Diwali. I tried them out this Diwali and It came out very nice (as you can see), crunchy and tasty. :-)

Recipe courtesy: My mom.

Chakali Flour [Bhajani]Ingredients:
1 cup Chana Dal
½ cup Urad Dal
3 cups white Rice
1/2 cup Sabudana (Sago)


Method:

1) First wash Chana Dal with water and drain water .Spread over a cloth then immediately roast it on heat till golden brown.Do not use oil for roasting.
2) Then wash urad dal with water and drain water .Spread over a cloth then immediately roast it on heat till golden brown.Do not use oil for roasting.
3) Dry roast each dals separately on medium heat.
4) Wash Rice and drain water. Spread over a cloth then immediately roast it on heat till golden brown.
5) Dry roast Sago till brown.
6) Let all roasted Items cool down. Mix all and grind to fine powder. This Blended Flour is used to make Chakali.
7) This is 'bhajani' flour for chakli. This can last upto a year if store in an airtight container.

For Dough:-
* 2 cups bhajani flour ( Chakali Flour)
* 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
* 1 teaspoon ajwain ( Carom Seeds)
* 1 tbsp red chili powder or (as per the taste)
* 1/2 tsp asafoetida
* 1/2 tsp Cumin powder
* 1/2 tsp Coriander powder
* salt to taste
* 1/4 cup oil (called 'mohan' in marathi)
* Oil for deep Frying

Method:-

1) Heat some oil in a pan until it reaches the smoking stage. Pour it over the bhajani and mix.
2) Add sesame seeds, ajwain, salt, cumin powder, coriander powder ,chili powder, and approx. 1 cup boiling water into the bhajani.
3) Knead the flour well to make a soft pliable dough. Put it in the chakli mold or kitchen press.
4) Press out in circular motion to make chaklis of desired size (generally of 3 rotations).
5) Heat enough oil in the pan. When oil is heated enough, turn the heat to medium to low and put chaklis in the pan. Avoid overfrying.
Fry chaklis in small batches of 2 to 3. A well done chakli stops bubbling and starts going down in the oil.Deep Fry chakali on medium heat ,until golden.Drain and put on paper towel to remove excessive oil.
6) Once cool, store Chaklis in an airtight container.

Tips:

1) Chaklis break at the time of frying if abundant oil is used in the flour.

2) On the other hand, they turn hard if the amount of oil is not sufficient.

3) Bhajani should be ground to a very fine powder.

4) Fry chakalis in small batches or 2 to 3 at a time to achieve crispness, else they become soggy. Replace the oil periodically (when you see the oil becoming frothy) or they break at the time of frying.

5) The oil should be sufficiently hot (but not at the smoking point), else chaklis soak up lots of oil and may not become crisp. Also once oil is heated enough, turn the heat to lowest setting. High heat causes them to cook on the outside, while staying uncooked from the inside, or sometimes they even burn and taste bitter.