Baked Bhajani Chakli

Chakli is Diwali faral that is made year around as a snack. In Maharashtrian homes chakli is usually made with bhajani. Whole grains are roasted separately, combined together and milled. Roasted coriander and cumin seeds are added for flavor. The resultant flour or bhajani is combined with sesame seeds and carom seeds (ajwain or ova) to form a dough. The chakli is shaped from this dough and is usually deep fried. I baked it.

I do not have the ability to mill grains so I started out with store bought flours. I roasted them separately and then combined them together with roasted coriander and cumin powder. Thereafter I followed the traditional process to prepare the dough. Once the dough was prepared I shaped the chakli and baked them.

Chakli is an integral part of the Diwali faral. It is one of the must have savory faral. I kept the chakli mild so we could all enjoy it.

You will need
Special equipment to shape the chakli

For the bhajani
3 cups rice flour
2 cups channa dal flour (besan or bengal gram flour)
1/2 cup urad dal flour
1/2 cup moong dal flour
1/2 cup coriander seeds
1/4 cup cumin seeds

For the chakli
3 cups water
2 tbsp. oil

1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 tbsp. ova (ajwain, carom seeds)
1 tsp. red chili pepper powder (optional)

2 tsp. salt (adjust to taste)
3 cups bhajani

To make the bhajani, roast all the ingredients one by one. Put the roasted coriander and cumin seeds in a grinder and grind to a fine powder. Combine all the flours and the ground powder in a mixing bowl. The bhajani is ready. It can be stored in an airtight container for a couple of weeks.

For the chakli
Bring the water to a boil in a pan along with the oil, salt, sesame seeds and red chili pepper. Working quickly lower the heat and add the bhajani. Mix it well with the water for a couple of minutes. Take the pan off of the heat, cover and keep aside for half an hour. Knead the dough well or run it through a food processor until you have a soft pliable dough. Keep this dough covered with a moist tea towel while you work.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Prepare the chakli mold. Break off a lemon size ball of the dough. Knead well in the palm of your moistened hands. Place it inside the mold. Press the lever to form the chakli. Try not to make them too big so they are baked evenly. Continue until you fill the baking sheet.

Bake for 20-30 minutes flipping them over once after 10 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and continue with the remaining dough. Store in an airtight container when completely cooled.

Enjoy!

This is my entry for week three, day three of BM #45 for the theme Healthy tea time snacks. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#45.