Chakli is a spiral-shaped savory snack made from rice flour, besan (gram flour), and spices. These fried and crunchy snacks are usually made for Diwali and pair perfectly with some hot cup of tea (chai). Vegetarian and Gluten-free!
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What is chakali
Chakli It is a deep fried savory snack in the shape of spiral with small spikes.
It is also known as Chakri in Hindi or Chakali in Marathi and Murukku in Southern India.
There are various types of chaklis based on the flour used like wheat flour chakli, jowar flour chakali, tandalachi chakli (rice flour chakali), and the classic bhajanichi chakli.
My mom and Aaji always made the traditional Maharashtrian chakali recipe with bhajani flour which is a mix of rice, lentils, cumin, and coriander seeds that are washed, air-dried, and then ground to make the flour.
With time, my mom gradually started making the Instant chakli version which I'm sharing in today's post.
The instant one takes away the additional steps of washing, drying, roasting, and grinding replacing it with ready to use flours (rice flour and besan) without any compromise in taste or texture.
To make or shape the chaklis, we will need a chakli press or chakali press. These are readily available in the Indian markets or online.
The recipe is as easy as mix the flours, spices, seeds, hot ghee, and make a dough using hot water.
Insert a portion of the dough into the chakali maker and then rotate the handle or press to make spirals.
These spirals are then deep fried until golden and drained to get crispy chakli.
They have a great shelf life so make these a few weeks in advance for Diwali!
Recipe Ingredients
- Flour - Rice flour and besan (gram flour or chickpea flour)
- Spices - red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric, hing (asafoetida), and salt.
- Seeds - carom seeds (ajwain), cumin seeds (zeera), and white sesame seeds (til)
- Fat - Oil, ghee, or butter. This helps make the chakli crispy. Always add hot. I've used ghee.
- Oil - for frying. I prefer using peanut oil.
- Water - Use hot water for making the dough.
- Chakli press - This is the tool we will use to make/shape the chaklis. I got mine from India but linking a similar kind like mine Brass chakli press or a stainless steel chakli press.
Step by step method
To make the dough
1 - In a large mixing bowl, sift the rice flour and gram flour.
2 and 3 - To it, add the spices (red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric, hing (asafoetida), and salt) and seeds (carom seeds (ajwain), cumin seeds (zeera), and white sesame seeds (til)). Mix with a spoon (or spatula) to combine.
4. Heat ghee (or oil) on stove top or microwave and add to this dry mix.
5 -Incorporate the ghee(oil) into the flour using hands or spoon. It will form a crumbly texture and the color will change to orangish-yellow.
6 and 7 - Boil some water and use this hot water, some at a time knead a soft pliable dough. Used approximately half cup hot water.
8 - Rest for 5-10 mins by covering with a wet cloth. Don’t rest for too long as it may get dry.
To make chakali
9 - Give the rested dough a quick knead one more time and then divide into two equal portions (portions can vary depending on the size of your chakli maker)
10 - Take the chakli press and add the star disk to it so it's flat and seals the bottom.
11 and 12 - Add one portion of the dough, press so it fits inside the tube. Close and tightly secure the lid/handle of the chakli maker.
Line a plate or baking sheet with parchment paper or cut individual parchment paper squares for each chakali. This makes transferring to oil easy.
13 - Press the chakli press to squeeze out the dough and then move in a circular motion to make spirals.
14 - Make about 4-5 spirals, close to each other for each chakli.
15 - Break the dough and seal the outside and inside edge (i.e start and end) to prevent them from opening while frying.
16 - Continue pressing the remaining chakalis in a similar manner. Keep them covered with a wet cloth to prevent drying. Makes 7-8 chaklis of 4-5 round each with one portion.
To fry:
Heat oil in a frying pan and test the temperature by adding a small piece of the dough. It should rise up gradually in a few seconds.
If it rises too fast then the oil is very hot and if it doesn't then the oil needs to heat up more.
Line a baking tray or plate with paper towel and keep it ready.
17 - Add 1-2 pieces of chakali or as much the pan can hold without over crowding.
18 - Fry on medium-low heat until golden.
19 and 20 - Drain and then transfer on an on lined plate to drain excess oil. Keep frying the remaining chaklis in a similar manner.
Crispy and crunchy chaklis are ready!!
Storage
Allow the chaklis to cool completely, they will harden further as they cool. Store airtight at room temperature.
When stored right, they can easily last for weeks or even a month.
Recipe tips and notes
For the dough:
- For those crispy and crunchy chaklis, add hot fats (oil, ghee or butter) to the dough and incorporate it in the flour before kneading.
- Don't skip the seeds, they had a nice crunch and flavor. In addition, ajwain aids digestion too.
- For spicier chakali, add some more chili powder. Taste a small portion of the dough to check.
- Keep the dough and uncooked chaklis covered at all times with a wet cloth to prevent them from drying.
Shaping or making chaklis
- Use a chakali maker or chakli press. I got mine from India but there are many varieties available online as well as in local Indian stores.
- Ensure the dough is soft and pliable. Don't rest it for long.
- Less water will cause the chakali to break while piping. If this happens, add some water (a tablespoon at a time) and knead again and try.
- Too much moisture will cause the chakali to lose shape. If this happens, add some more rice flour a tablespoon at a time and try again.
- Making those perfect circles is not difficult at all and can be mastered with some practice.
- If you find it difficult to make spirals, make small 2-3 inch lines instead. These are known as tukda chakali and taste just the same just that these are bite-size and not round.
Frying:
- Fry on medium to medium-low heat.
- Frying at a high temperature will cause the outside to brown quickly and the inside to remain uncooked resulting in unpleasant results like crunchy on out and soft inside.
- Similarly, frying at low temperatures will turn them hard not crispy.
- Always test the oil temperature before frying the next batch.
FAQ's
If you fry at a high temperature then chances are that the chaklis will brown faster and the inside remains uncooked so you will get a chakali which is hard on the outside but soft inside. Fry in medium to medium-low heat for those perfectly crispy chaklis.
There are mainly two reasons, frying at very low temperatures will cause the chakli to harden, and second, adding fewer fats to the dough can also result in hard chakli. Use the ratio mentioned in this recipe for those perfect crispy chaklis.
Lack of moisture (water) can cause the chaklis to break. Add some water (a tablespoon at a time), knead the dough and try again.
Technically yes, you can make chakali without chakali maker but the shape and texture (spikes) will not be the same. It will look more like kadboli which is shaped by hand instead of an extruder (maker).
More Diwali Faral recipe
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Recipe Card
Chakli Recipe
- Chakli Maker (Press)
- 1 cup rice flour
- ½ cup besan
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder adjust to taste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ⅛ teaspoon asafoetida hing
- ½ teaspoon carom seeds ajwain
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds zeera
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds til
- 4 tablespoon ghee hot
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- ½ cup hot water or as needed
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To make the dough
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the rice flour and gram flour.
- To it, add the spices (red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric, hing (asafoetida), salt), and seeds (carom seeds (ajwain), cumin seeds (zeera), and white sesame seeds (til)). Mix with a spoon (or spatula) to combine.
- Heat ghee (or oil) on stovetop or microwave and add to this dry mix.
- Incorporate the ghee(oil) into the flour using hands or spoon. It will form a crumbly texture and the color will change to orangish-yellow.
- Boil some water and use this hot water, some at a time knead a soft pliable dough. Used approximately half cup hot water. Adjust as needed.
- Rest for 5-10 mins by covering with a wet cloth. Don’t rest for too long as it may get dry.
To make chakli
- Give the rested dough a quick knead one more time and then divide into 2-3 equal portions (portions can vary depending on the size of your chakli maker)
- Take the chakli press and add the star disk to it so it's flat and seals the bottom.
- Add one portion of the dough, press so it fits inside the tube. Close and tightly secure the lid/handle of the chakli maker.
- Line a plate or baking sheet with parchment paper or cut individual parchment paper squares for each chakali. This makes the transfer to oil easy.
- Press the chakli maker to squeeze out the dough and then move in a circular motion to make spirals.
- Make about 4-5 spirals, close to each other for each chakli.
- Break the dough and seal the outside and inside edge (i.e start and end) to prevent them from opening while frying.
- Continue pressing the remaining chaklis in a similar manner. Keep these covered with a wet cloth to prevent drying.Makes 7-8 chaklis of 4-5 round each with one portion.
To fry:
- Heat oil in a frying pan and test the temperature by adding a small piece of the dough. It should rise up gradually in a few seconds. If it rises too fast then the oil is very hot and if it doesn't then the oil needs to heat up more.
- Line a baking tray or plate with a paper towel and keep it ready.
- Add 1-2 pieces of chakali or as much the pan can hold without overcrowding.
- Fry on medium-low heat until golden. Drain and then transfer on an on lined plate to drain excess oil. Keep frying the remaining chaklis in a similar manner.
- Crispy and crunchy chaklis are ready!!
- Allow the chaklis to cool completely, they will harden further as they cool. Store airtight at room temperature for 3-4 weeks.
- For those crispy and crunchy chaklis, add hot fats (oil, ghee, or butter) to the dough and incorporate it in the flour before kneading.
- Don't skip the seeds, they had a nice crunch and flavor. In addition, ajwain aids digestion too.
- For spicier chakali, add some more chili powder. Taste a small portion of the dough to check.
- Keep the dough and uncooked chaklis covered at all times with a wet cloth to prevent them from drying.
- Use a chakali maker or chakli press. I got mine from India but there are many varieties available online as well as in local Indian stores.
- Ensure the dough is soft and pliable.
- Less water will cause the chakali to break while piping. If this happens, add some water (a tablespoon at a time) and knead again and try.
- Too much moisture will cause the chakali to lose shape. If this happens, add some more rice flour a tablespoon at a time and try again.
- Making those perfect circles is not difficult at all and can be mastered with some practice.
- If you find it difficult to make spirals, make small 2-3 inch lines instead. These are known as tukda chakali and taste just the same just that these are bite-size and not round.
- Fry on medium to medium-low heat.
- Frying at a high temperature will cause the outside to brown quickly and the inside to remain uncooked resulting in unpleasant results like crunchy on out and soft inside.
- Similarly, frying at low temperatures will turn them hard not crispy.
- Always test the oil temperature before frying the next batch.
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