Chakli

Chakli/ Murukku & many names this Indian savory snack has. I already have one Chakli recipe on my blog. This one which I am posting today is my Mom's recipe & the best Chakli recipe you will ever find or have tasted. When you bite a piece it so crispy & melt in your mouth types. This is a recipe to keep & share. I made around 60 of these yesterday & have stored them in an airtight box. This recipe is very easy to make & can be done under  2 - 3 hours. This is how I made them,

Makes: 50 - 60 chaklis
Making time: 1-3 hours
fry time: 2- 4 mins
Equipment: Chakli making press with star tip

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of semolina (200 gms)
• 5 cups Rice flour (1 kg)
• 100 Gms Butter
• 100 gms melted hot Vegetable shortening (Crisco or Dalda)
• salt as per taste
• Chili Powder optional
• 3 tspn cumin seeds
• 1-2 cups water for mixing

Method:

1. Dry roast the semolina & Rice flower separately & set aside.
2. Now boil 2 cups of water in a pan, add butter & salt to it.
3. When the water reaches rolling boil, turn the heat to medium & add the semolina slowly into the water stirring continuously.(Like the way we make upma)
4. Now allow the semolina to cook in this water which will take just a minute or 2. Make sure you keep stirring. You will notice that the water is all drained & the semolina has become like a pudding. Just turn off the heat & set this aside.
5. Now in a big bowl add this cooked semolina, rice flour, hot shortening, cumin seeds & water as much as needed to make a soft dough.
6. The dough should neither be very soft nor very thick.
7. Prepare the Murukku making press with a star tip.
8. Now take a large ball size of dough & fill the Murrukku maker with this. Make spiral shapes or just loose Murrukus. I made some large spiral Murukus & some small ones.
9. I piped the Spiral Murrukus on a Parchment paper first.
10. Now fry them in hot oil for about 2 to 3 minutes. I fried 5 Murukkus at a time in the oil. Depending on your Pan size you can decide on how many will fit in. When the Murukku starts sinking, that's when you know it is done.
11. Once they are cooled, store them in an airtight container.

Note:

1. If you want you can skip adding the vegetable shortening & just butter instead.
2. If the Murukku is breaking off while piping, just add some water to the dough to make it a little soft. This process will help the piping process easy.
3. I divided the dough into 2 batch & added chili powder to one batch of dough to make spicy Murukku.
4. To drop Murukku into oil, just lift the murukku with your hands & slip them into the oil. The another method is to slowly bring the parchment paper closer to the oil & slip them into the oil from the paper.