Chakli recipe with video & step by step photos – Chakli is a spiral shaped snack made with rice flour, gram flour, spices and herbs. Murukku & chakkli are the terms used synonymously to mention these fried snacks. This recipe will yield you light, crunchy and delicious chaklis that you can make them instantly for your tea time snack or during festivals like Diwali.
Murukku is the term used very much in Tamilnadu, kerala and only in some parts of Andhra. While chakli is a term used in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat. In Andhra Pradesh some call them chakralu.
However based on the regions different ingredients are used. Each family may have their own recipe of chakli and murukku to suit their taste.
These days many people even make these with wheat flour, ragi flour etc. This recipe of instant chakli is from my mom. It needs only a handful of ingredients apart from the rice flour.
Many people prefer to mill the grains to flour as they yield the best tasting chaklis. I have used store bought rice flour to make these.
For more similar Diwali snacks, you can check
Butter murukku
Ribbon pakoda
Sweet murukku
Thattai
Namak pare or diamond cuts
Omapodi or Sev
Chivda
You may also like to check this collection of 100 Diwali sweets recipes.
Making dough for chakli
1. Powder the ¼ cup fried gram in a mixer jar. We need only ¼ cup of fried gram flour for this recipe. Make sure you measure the flour and use only ¼ cup. You will be left with some excess flour which you can use for stir fry veggies.
2. To a mixing bowl, add
1 cup rice flour
½ to ¾ tablespoon red chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 pinch hing
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon carom seeds
3. Mix all of them well. Then heat little butter in a pan. Measure 1 tablespoon hot butter and pour it here. Mix this up very well again.
4. Then pour water little by little to form a dough. Begin with 3 tablespoons water and add more as required.
5. Make a tight dough. The dough has be non sticky and not dry or crumbly either. If the dough turns sticky then you can also sprinkle some flour and mix it again.
How to make chakli
6. Before making the chakli, pour oil to a deep fry pan and begin to heat on a medium flame. Meanwhile grease the chakli maker or mould. I used a single star plate. If you do not have a mould, then you can use a plastic bag. But you will get plain chakli and not the star design.
7. Divide the dough to 2 to 3 parts and fill the chakli maker or the plastic bag. Press the chakli maker to release the dough and shape the dough to spirals. Start from the inner center and move your hand in clockwise direction to make a spiral. (watch video). If using a plastic bag, cut a small portion at the corner to release the dough.
Frying chakli
8. When the oil is hot enough drop a small piece of dough, it has to rise without browning. This is the correct temperature. Gently slide the chakli to the hot oil. Do not disturb for a few minutes until the dough becomes firm. Fry them on a medium heat until golden and crisp. Fry them in batches without crowding the pan. I fry about 3 to 4 chakli in each batch.
9. When they turn golden on one side, turn them to the other side and fry. Soon they will turn crisp and golden on both sides, then remove to a colander. Continue making and frying chakli in batches. Do not allow them to dry up, you can also keep them covered with a cloth.
Cool chakli completely and store them in a airtight jar. Avoid plastic jars. Discard the oil and do not reuse.
Tips to make chakli
Fried gram in the recipe lends a light texture to the chaklis. So do not skip them. Fried gram is also known as chatni dal or roasted gram.
If you do not have fried gram then you can simply replace them with gram flour or besan. But the texture will be slightly different.
Gram flour or besan brings a good aroma. There is no substitute to this.
Other ingredients like sesame seeds, cumin, ajwain are all optional and can be used according to your taste.
Red chilli powder can be replaced with pepper or green chili paste.
Sometimes we also add ginger, garlic and green chili paste to water. Squeeze up well and strain the water to make the dough.
Related Recipes
Chakli recipe (Chakralu recipe )
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 1 cup rice flour (refer notes)
- ¼ cup besan (gram flour)
- ¼ cup fried gram powder (roasted gram powder) (substitute with besan, refer notes)
- ½ teaspoon salt as needed
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (do not use unhulled)
- 1 tablespoon hot butter or hot oil
- 1 tablespoon ajwain (carom seeds) (optional)
- ½ to ¾ tablespoon red chilli powder
- 1 pinch hing (asafoetida)
- water as needed
- 2 cups oil for deep frying
Instructions
Preparation
- The recipe needs ¼ cup fried gram powder. You can replace it with besan. If using fried gram then add the gram to a chutney jar and make a fine powder. Use only ¼ cup powder in the recipe.
- Add rice flour, besan, fried gram powder, salt, sesame seeds, ajwain, hing & chilli powder to a large mixing bowl. Mix up well.
- Heat 1 tbsp butter or oil until very hot. Pour it quickly to the mixture. This will make the chakli crunchy.
- Gently mix with a spoon as the oil is too hot. Then mix well with your hand to incorporate the oil evenly.
- Pour water little by little and make a dough. Do not knead it just mix to get a non sticky dough.
How to make chakli
- Grease the chakli maker and fill it with the dough.
- You can make chakli either on a moist cloth, dry cloth or parchment paper. Slowly press the chakli maker to release the dough. Make spirals of the dough. Use your finger to end the spiral. Join the end of the chakli to the spiral. (check video)
- Heat oil on a medium high flame. Continue to make the chakli while the oil heats up.
- Check if the oil is hot enough by dropping a small portion of dough to the hot oil. The correct temperature is when the dough rises to the surface without browning.
- Remove the chakli to your fingers and gently slide to the hot oil. You can fry about 3 to 4 chakli in each batch depending on the size of your pan.
- Do not disturb them for 1 to 2 minutes. When they firm up, turn them to the other side. Fry on a medium flame on both the sides until crunchy.
- Remove chakli to a colander and cool them completely. Transfer chakli to a air tight steel or glass jar.
Notes
If you fry them when the oil is not hot enough they will turn soft the next day and will also turn oily.
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
Bit confused about fried gram, is it same as Dalia that is used in coconut chutney also
Yes it is the same as dalia used in chutney
Hi Swasthi,
I too stay in Singapore. Would like to know which brand you have used for rice & besan flour. Is it pattu brand?
Hi Greta,
When I made for this post I don’t remember which one I used. But this Diwali I made with organic mantra besan and rice flour from double horse brand. Any brand should work.
Thank you for the recipe…. where did you buyvthe chakli maker from…pkease suggest a good quality brand…
Welcome Tara
I bought this in Bangalore Jaynagar. Don’t remember the brand.
Hi Swasthi,
Can we re-use the oil that is used for deep frying? Otherwise a lot of oil is getting wasted, every time I prepare something by deep frying.
Hi Kavitha
Just discard the used oil. It is not good to reuse it.