Spiral shaped fried snack; Rice Flour Chakli is addictive, perfectly crisp and best enjoyed with masala chai.
A must-have recipe for Diwali faral; this instant version needs under an hour of active time and tastes super amazing.
There are so many snack recipes that are easily available in Indian stores. And yet, there is always a preference of one brand over the other or making them at home over buying store bought snacks.
While these snacks are amazing throughout the year with some masala chai or coffee; there are some that make an essential part of Diwali Faral; a mix of sweet and savory recipes that we make.
Chivda, Sakarpara, Puri, Sev and Gujia are always made for Diwali. These are a balanced mix of sweet and savory and fried and roasted recipes to enjoy through the festive season.
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What is Chakli
Chakli is a delicious Indian snack. Made using different flours and combinations of flours; it is popular across the country.
Rice chakli, a popular version is chiefly made with rice flour and besan or urad dal. Another version uses wheat flour and some use a special mix called bhajani flour. No matter what flour you use, these are generally made as spirals and deep fried till crisp.
It is popularly called as chakri in Hindi and Gujarati; Chakli in Marathi or Murruku in Southern India. They are all made with a signature chakli press and often some tend to be just straight lines instead of spirals. Yet they are all super delicious for sure.
Chakli makes a great snack with chai and it is also a part of Diwali faral. I remember my mother nad grand mother working together to make dozens of chakli, carefully shaped, fried evenly and kept in large steel containers. And we would devour them first before heading over to Sakarpara, Puri and Sev.
Why this recipe works
- It is a pretty simple recipe.
- We only need a handful of ingredients to make this.
- This is an addictive snack.
- The recipe is easy to scale up or down based on dough quantity.
- Made chiefly with rice flour, the add-ins are super customizable.
- This is a make ahead recipe and stays well for up to a month.
- It is great for adults and kids alike.
- This makes a great Diwali faral recipe.
- These can be made as part of an edible gift with other faral recipes.
- It is easy to make Vegan and gluten-free.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Flours: I like to use a majority of rice flour for the recipe. However, I do add some besan and all purpose flour. Skip the all purpose and add more besan if you like.
- Yogurt: Yogurt is the key to get soft yet crunchy chakli. Plus, it gives a slight tang to the dough which I like. Regular or Greek yogurt will both work equally well.
- Butter: Another ingredient that helps bring in softness to the chakli. However, oil works well too; but my personal preference is butter for the taste.
- Spices: Powdered spices like turmeric, red chili powder and finely ground green chilis work well to season the recipe. Use garlic or ginger if you like too. Plus, we do add salt to the dough too.
- Seeds: This is an optional bit of the recipe. Traditionally cumin and sesame seeds are added to chakli. However, adding any seed mix of your choice works; including the 'everything but the bagel' mix.
- Water: The dough is best made with lukewarm water. Not boiling so that the flours do not get cooked instantly, but warm.
- Oil: We need oil to fry the chakli. Any oil works but I generally prefer sunflower or olive oil to fry.
See the recipe card for detailed ingredient information, measurements and nutrition.
How to make this recipe
1- In a bowl add the flours.
2- Mix well and add all the other ingredients except water and oil to fry.
3- Knead well till the butter/oil has incorporated in the flours.
4- You should be able to bring the dough together in your palm without it crumbling. Else, add some more oil or butter.
5- Then add water little by little (I used about 1 cup) and knead well.
6- Make a soft and smooth dough.
7- Cover and set aside for 30-40 minutes.
8- After the dough has rested, divide into small portions.
9- Grease a chakli press with oil and fit a star tip plate in it.
10- Press a dough ball into the chakli press.
11- Cut parchment paper into squares of 4 inches X 4 inches. Pipe out chaklis on the parchment paper. Continue till you get about 3-4 spirals and then snap the dough. Gently press the end to stick to the remaining rounds.
12- Pipe out 10-15 chakli at a time. Let them rest covered so they do not dry out.
13- Heat the oil to medium high in a pan. Gently lift the chakli from the paper and add to hot oil. Do not overcrowd the kadhai.
14- Fry the chakli till both sides are golden brown and remove on a paper towel. Once the oil drains completely and the chakli cools, transfer to an airtight container.
Expert Tips and Notes
- The Dough: The dough is the key for the recipe. We want it firm yet soft and not crumbly. To test, add the ingredients except water and try to bring the dough together in your palm. If it comes together without crumbling; it is perfect. If not, add some more butter. Add water in parts and keep incorporating it. Yet if you end up with a wet dough, add some rice flour and mix.
- Rested Dough: After the dough has rested, it might dry out a little. If so, knead it with some water. There is nothing like over kneaded dough. So kneading extra will never deteriorate the quality.
- Shaping the Chakli: Once the dough is made, it is easy to pipe out chaklis on a parchment paper. I like to use small squares for ease of transferring but you may also pipe on a large sheet. Pipe out a sizable portion of the dough and roll it into a spiral. Once you reach the end, simply stick it to the last spiral.
- Drying out: Keep the dough and chakli covered at all times, especially in a dry region. The dough does dry out quickly and results in dry chakli that break up while frying.
- Frying the chakli: Test the oil temperature before frying the chakli. To do so, drop a small dough ball in the oil. If it rises in under 5 seconds, lower the heat and let the oil cool. If it rises in 5-7 seconds, start frying the chakli. Else wait for the oil to heat up a little. Fry one batch and taste it before frying the entire lot. Never fry the chakli in cold oil; it will soak a lot of oil and be soggy.
Making Vegan Chakli
The only dairy based ingredient here are butter and yogurt. Swap butter for oil or plant based butter and yogurt for a plant based version too.
Then the recipe is completely Vegan. And the difference will not be very noticeable.
Gluten-free Chakli
Rice flour and chickpea flour are both gluten-free. However, all purpose flour contains gluten.
To make a gluten-free version of chakli, simply swap the all purpose flour with half chickpea flour and half rice flour. Then the recipe is free from gluten.
Recipe FAQs
Chakli is a popular snack from Maharashtra while murukku is from Southern India. Chakli is made with rice flour and besan while murukku uses lentil (urad dal) flour with rice flour. Though, both are shaped and made the same way.
One reason is if gram flour is too much compared to rice flour, the chakli begin to soften after frying. Also, frying the chakli at very high temperatures results in brown chaklis outside yet uncooked inside. These tend to turn soft after cooling down. So ensure the chakli is fried at medium high temperatures only.
If the dough has too much moisture, it may result in the spirals breaking away when fried. To fix this, add a tablespoon of rice flour to the remaining dough, knead well and make the chakli.
The type of chakli depends on the key ingredient in the recipe. Wheat flour chakli, Rice flour chakli and Bhajani (a special Maharashtrian lentil and rice mix) are the popular kinds of chakli. Moreover, there is garlic, spinach, schezwan etc; all named after the add-ins to the traditional chakli.
More Diwali Snack Recipes
Love this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below & if you REALLY like it, consider a review in the comments whilst you are there, thanks!
Instant Rice Flour Chakli
Ingredients
- 2 cups Rice Flour
- ½ cup Chickpea Flour
- ½ cup All purpose Flour
- 2 tablespoon White sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoon Black sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon Cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1½ teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- ½ teaspoon Green Chili paste (optional)
- 1½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoon Yogurt
- 5 tablespoon Butter
- 1 cup Lukewarm Water
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- In a bowl add all the flours and yogurt.2 cups Rice Flour, ½ cup Chickpea Flour, ½ cup All purpose Flour, 2 tablespoon Yogurt
- Then add the seeds and seasonings.2 tablespoon White sesame seeds, 2 tablespoon Black sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon Cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder, 1½ teaspoon Red Chili Powder, ½ teaspoon Green Chili paste, 1½ teaspoon Salt
- Knead well till the butter/oil has incorporated in the flours.5 tablespoon Butter
- You should be able to bring the dough together in your palm without it crumbling. Else, add some more oil or butter.
- Now add water little by little (I used about 1 cup) and knead a soft and smooth dough.1 cup Lukewarm Water
- Cover and set aside for 30-40 minutes.
- After the dough has rested, grease a chakli press with oil and fit a star tip plate in it. Cut the parchment paper into squares of 4 inches X 4 inches.
- Press the dough into the chakli press and pipe out chaklis on the parchment paper.
- Continue till you get about 3-4 spirals and then snap the dough. Gently press the end to stick to the remaining chakli.
- You can pipe out 10-15 at a time. Let them rest covered so they do not dry out.
- Heat the oil to medium high in a pan.Oil for frying
- Gently lift the chakli from the paper and add to hot oil. Do not overcrowd the kadhai.
- Fry the chakli till both sides are golden brown and remove on a paper towel.
- Once the oil drains completely and the chakli cools, transfer to an airtight container.
- Store in a cool and dry place. Enjoy with some chai!
Video
Notes
- The Dough: The dough is the key for the recipe. We want it firm yet soft and not crumbly. To test, add the ingredients except water and try to bring the dough together in your palm. If it comes together without crumbling; it is perfect. If not, add some more butter. Add water in parts and keep incorporating it. Yet if you end up with a wet dough, add some rice flour and mix.
- Rested Dough: After the dough has rested, it might dry out a little. If so, knead it with some water. There is nothing like over kneaded dough. So kneading extra will never deteriorate the quality.
- Shaping the Chakli: Once the dough is made, it is easy to pipe out chaklis on a parchment paper. I like to use small squares for ease of transferring but you may also pipe on a large sheet. Pipe out a sizable portion of the dough and roll it into a spiral. Once you reach the end, simply stick it to the last spiral.
- Drying out: Keep the dough and chakli covered at all times, especially in a dry region. The dough does dry out quickly and results in dry chakli that break up while frying.
- Frying the chakli: Test the oil temperature before frying the chakli. To do so, drop a small dough ball in the oil. If it rises in under 5 seconds, lower the heat and let the oil cool. If it rises in 5-7 seconds, start frying the chakli. Else wait for the oil to heat up a little. Fry one batch and taste it before frying the entire lot. Never fry the chakli in cold oil; it will soak a lot of oil and be soggy.
- Vegan Chakli: The only dairy based ingredient here are butter and yogurt. Swap butter for oil or plant based butter and yogurt for a plant based version too. Then the recipe is completely Vegan. And the difference will not be very noticeable.
- Gluten-free Chakli: Rice flour and chickpea flour are both gluten-free. However, all purpose flour contains gluten. To make a gluten-free version of chakli, simply swap the all purpose flour with half chickpea flour and half rice flour. Then the recipe is free from gluten.
Nutrition
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