Baked Shankarpale

Shankarpale are the diamond shaped sweet cookies that are a part of every Marathi family's Diwali faral. They go very well with the other Diwali staples like chakli, karanji and chivda. They are also a great snack on their own. However, shankarpale along with most other faral recipes made for Diwali are deep fried! In my kitchen, I have put a moratorium on deep fried foods.

I knew I could not bring myself to deep fry the Diwali faral. I had to find an alternate solution for my dilemma. A few months ago I had made baked matar karanji, another Maharastrian deep fried favorite. We liked it a lot. So it was natural I try a baked version of the shankarpale.

I had to experiment to fine tune this recipe and run a few tests before I was able to find the right baking temperature. I first tried 350 F for 9-12 minutes on each side. But the shankarpale had an aftertaste of flour. The color was fine but they were not cooked through. Next I reduced the temperature to 300 F and increased the time to 12-15 minutes on the first side and 9 minutes on the second side. These were better but not the best. The last test was to keep the temperature at 300 F and bake on the first side for 22-28 minutes. The second side was baked for 9 minutes. Perfection!

The ingredients and process of shaping are identical to the traditional recipe. The difference is in how they are cooked.

You will need (for 5 cups of shankarpale)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil (or melted ghee / clarified butter)
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. sugar
2.5 cups + 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
a pinch salt

pastry cutter or sharp serrated knife

In a pan combine the water, oil and sugar. Put it on medium heat.

The sugar will dissolve and you will begin to see tiny bubbles on the bottom. Just before the mixture comes to a boil turn of the heat. DO NOT LET IT BOIL.

Pour the mixture in a wide bowl. You want to let it cool to a temperature that comfortable to touch but is still warm. Sift and mix the flour into the mixture a little at a time. When all the flour has been incorporated knead the dough well. I put it in my food processor and pulse, you could use an electric mixture with a dough hook. Transfer the soft dough to the bowl and cover with a wet tea cloth.

Preheat the oven to 300 F. Divide the dough into tangerine sized portions. I got five. Work with one portion at a time keeping the rest covered with the towel.

Roll out the dough into a 1/4 inch thick disc. If sticky use a drop of oil. Do not use flour.

Using the pastry cutter cut the disc in a criss cross pattern to form diamonds. Collect the pieces and place them under the tea towel. Repeat with the remaining discs.

Place a parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Place the shaped shankaerpale in a single layer on the sheet. Bake for 22-28 minutes until the bottom is browned evenly. Quickly flip the shankarpale over and put them back in the oven for another 6-9 minutes or until the underside is browned.

Take the shankarpale out of the oven and leave them on the sheet for a minute or two. Transfer to a paper towel lined bowl and allow them to cool. Store them in an airtight container once they are completely cooled. They should last 2-3 weeks.

Enjoy!

This is my entry for week two, day one of BM #45 for the theme Festival Special. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#45.