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Bhajni Chakri Chakli Murruku
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4.79 from 14 votes

Traditional Maharashtrian Bhajani Chakli Recipe

Chakli is a delightfully scrumptious snack with a blend of lentils and spices often made in India during Diwali festival.
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Snack
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 12
Calories: 120kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Add the flour to a mixing bowl. Add the hot oil and then the hot water. Add red chili powder, carom seeds, turmeric, salt and sesame seeds. Mix everything with a spatula. Gradually add cold water and knead the flour to make soft dough. Cover the dough with a moist paper towel so it does not dry out. 
  • Start heating the oil in a frying pan or kadhai on medium heat. Insert the chakli disc with a star shape in the middle into the chakli press. Next, take some dough and make it into cylindrical shape to fit in the chakli press. Insert just enough dough to almost fill the tube. Tightly secure the top lid/handle on the tube. 
  • Start pumping out the chakli in a circular motion on small pieces of parchment paper or paper towels. I usually do 3 to 4 spiral rounds, close to each other to make one chakli. Secure the end to the outermost circle so the chakli will stay together.  Continue pressing remaining chaklis. The tube usually holds enough dough to press out 6 to 8 chaklis. 
  • Test the oil for optimum temperature by adding a small piece of dough to the oil, which should rise up gradually in 5 to 10 seconds. If it rises up too fast, lower the heat and if it does not rise up in 10 seconds allow the oil to heat up further.
  • Carefully add chakli one at a time into the hot oil, taking care not to crowd the frying pan. You can add 3 to 6 chaklis at a time depending on the size of your pan. Keep on high heat when adding the chakli in the hot oil. After about 1 minute, lower the heat to medium. After 2-3 minutes, turn them over, one at a time and continue to fry on medium to low heat or until they are golden brown in color another 1 to 2 minutes . It usually takes a total of about 5-6 minutes to perfectly fry a batch of chaklis. Lower the heat when you are ready to take out the chakli. Take them out in a paper towel lined tray and allow to cool down in a single layer. 
  • Repeat pressing out the chakli and frying process for the remaining dough, steps 3 and 5. Remember to increase the heat for the oil to high before adding the next batch of chakli.  
    Allow the chakli's to completely cool down and then store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They stay good for weeks or even months as long as you keep them away from moisture. 

Notes:

  • This recipe and mesurements are with my mom's super fine Bhajani flour from India.
    Read my post above to see how to make the flours at home especially in the US.
    1. The homemade flour made without a professional mill can be a bit coarse and needs upto 2 cups of cold water to make soft dough.
    2. The Instant chakli flour with mixed flours, needs up to 1 cup of cold water to make soft dough.

Pro Tips

  • Sift the flour especially if making homemade flour. This will remove any larger pieces of rice or lentils that have not been ground finely. 
  • Add water little bit at a time. Remember different flours will need different amounts of liquids to make soft dough. We found that home milled flour needed a lot more water than the instant chakli flour or mom’s flour from India.
  • Taste the dough to make sure the salt and spice are to your taste. Add more red chili powder for spicier chakli. 
  • After pressing 3 to 4 spirals, make sure to secure the end to the outermost circle so the chakli will stay together. 
  • Make sure the oil is hot enough before adding the chakli. This will prevent the chaklis from dissolving or breaking in the oil. 
  • Make sure each batch takes about 5 to 6 minutes, fry them slowly so they stay crispy for weeks. 
  • Adding room temperature chakli to hot oil makes the oil cooler. So make sure you have high heat when adding chakli. Wait for a minute as the chakli starts to harden and then turn over. Then remember to lower the heat and continue frying at medium low heat
  • Use a slotted spatula which will drain out most of the oil. Place fried chakli on a paper towel lined tray. Allow them to completely cool down before storing in an airtight container. 

Video

Notes

  • Local Indian grocery stores also sell K-Pra Brand Chakli Ready Mix which is good for this recipe.
  • Please check the full post for details on how mom makes homemade bhajani. 
Instant chakli flour
Here is an Instant Chakli flour recipe that can be made by simply mixing a few flours from your pantry. 
  • 1 cup rice flour, sifted
  • ½ cup besan or gram flour sifted
  • ¼ cup urad flour sifted
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
Add rice flour, besan, and urad flour to a medium pan. Roast for 5 to 7 minutes stirring frequently. Allow the flour to cool completely. Mix in ground coriander and cumin. 
Note: For this method and quantity, I used 1 cup of water to make the chakli dough. Makes slightly less than 2 cups of flour and makes 20 - 24 chaklis 

Nutrition

Calories: 120kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 399mg | Potassium: 19mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 198IU | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg
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