Karasev recipe | Besan sev | Diwali snacks recipes

Updated: August 9, 2022, By Swasthi

Karasev recipe – Besan sev for Diwali. Karasev is a traditional Indian snack made with gram flour (besan), salt and spices. These are crunchy, have a lovely light texture and are aromatic. Karasev taste different from the traditional murukku and have an unique aroma of fried besan and carom seeds.

karasev



These are mostly made spicy & hot with the addition of chilli and garlic. Karasev taste very different from the other snacks like chakli, murukku or ribbon pakoda. These can be eaten plain or can also be added to South Indian mixture if you intend to make it.

Karasev is usually made by passing the dough through a ladle with holes to give a shape. The shaped dough falls in the hot oil and is fried until crisp. But that method is slightly hard so I made these using a murukku maker.

I have used garlic and carom seeds (ajwain) for flavor. You can replace them with cumin and coarsely crushed pepper. But the flavor of garlic & ajwain in these karasev makes them unique in flavor and taste.

One can find karasev in the shops with different textures. The recipe shared here yields karasev that is crunchy, light, spicy and do not absorb oil. These keep good for about 2 weeks in air tight glass or steel jars.

I tried these besan sev with different proportions of riceflour – from 3 tbsps to 5 tbsps. The batch with 3 tbsps were very light. The batch with 5 tbsps were very crunchy. But usually karasev sold in the shops is not very crunchy, it has more of besan and almost no or very little rice flour.

You can check more Diwali snacks here and Diwali sweets here

Related recipes:
Butter murukku
Murukku
Thattai
Chakli
Sweet murukku
Ribbon pakoda

Photo Guide

How to make karasev recipe or besan sev

1. Pour oil in a kadai heat it on a medium flame.

2. Sieve together besan, rice flour, fried gram powder and soda to a large mixing bowl.

Sieve together besan, rice flour, fried gram powder

3. Make sure you add only a pinch of soda.

add only a pinch of soda

4. Add chili powder or crushed pepper, garlic paste, hing, salt and ajwain.

Add chili powder

5. Add 1 ½ tbsps hot oil. Make sure you don’t add more.

Add hot oil

6. Mix everything together. You can check the taste now. The mixture has to be slightly salty and spicy. If needed you can add more of salt and chilli.

Mix everything together

7. Pour water little by little only as needed.

Pour water

8. Make a stiff dough. The dough should not be sticky. Too much moisture in the dough will make the karasev oily.

dough

9. I choose to go with the plate that has medium holes. You can even choose one with larger holes but it takes a little longer to fry them.

plate that has medium holes

10. Check if the oil is hot. Drop a small piece of dough in the oil. It has to rise and not brown quickly.

dough in the oil

11. Hold the murukku mould with both your hands and gently press down to release the sev. When they are about 3 inches long, take a spoon and break them.

murukku mould

12. Karasev dough is very light so they will get broken easily and fall off in the oil.

Karasev dough

13. After few seconds gently stir with a ladle to separate any joined sev. Fry them on a medium heat until golden and crisp.

ladle to separate any joined sev

14. Drain them to a kitchen tissue. Continue to make the next batch.

Drain karasev to a kitchen tissue

Cool karasev completely. Store them in a airtight steel or glass jar. The garlic flavor in the karasev gets enhanced the next day and these turn very aromatic.

Related Recipes

Besan sev or Karasev recipe

karasev diwali snacks

Karasev

5 from 11 votes
Karasev is a tea time crunchy snack made with gram flour, rice flour & spices .  These are also known as besan sev. Karasev is often made during festivals like diwali as a snack.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Servings6 to 8
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

  • 1 cup Besan or gram flour
  • 3 tablespoons rice flour
  • 2 tablespoons fried gram flour or pottukadalai or putani powder
  • 1 ½ tablespoons hot oil
  • 1 pinch soda-bi-carbonate or cooking soda or baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon red chilli powder or 1 tsp crushed pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic paste
  • ¼ teaspoon hing or asafoetida
  • 1 to 1 ½ teaspoon ajwain or cumin
  • ½ teaspoon Salt (adjust to taste)
  • water as needed to make dough
  • Oil as needed


Instructions

  • Powder 2 tbsps of roasted gram in a mixer or spice jar. The powder must be fine.
  • On a medium flame heat oil in a kadai for deep frying. While the oil heats, Place a sieve over a mixing bowl. Add besan, flour, soda and fried gram flour and sieve them together.
  • Add red chili powder, ajwain, hing,salt, garlic paste and hot oil. Mix everything well. Pour water little by little and make a dough. It should not be sticky or too stiff.
  • Sticky dough will make very oily karasev. Too stiff and crumbly dough will make hard karasev. If the dough turns sticky, just drizzle some dry flour and mix. If it turns too dry then just sprinkle little water and make mix it.
  • Choose a murukku plate that has thick holes to make karasev. Grease the murukku mould and transfer half of the dough to it.
  • Check if the oil is hot enough by dropping a small piece of dough in the oil. If it raises and doesn’t brown quickly the oil is hot enough & is right for deep frying.
  • Hold the murukku maker with both your hands, 2 to 3 inches above the oil surface. Then press down gently in the oil. Squeeze them across the pan. When you see the sev is about 3 inches long, take a spoon and gently break them. Since the dough is very light, sev easily gets broken and falls off into the kadai.
  • Do not add too much of dough at one time. Overcrowding the pan will reduce the temperature of oil making the karasev absorb oil. Do not disturb for a minute or so. 
  • Fry them on a medium heat until golden and crisp stirring often. Drain them on to a steel colander or kitchen tissues. Cool karasev completely before transferring to a air tight steel or glass jar.


Notes

To make karasev more crunchy you can add upto 5 tbsps rice flour in this recipe.

Video

Video of Karasev recipe

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Karasev
Amount Per Serving
Calories 137 Calories from Fat 45
% Daily Value*
Fat 5g8%
Sodium 20mg1%
Potassium 196mg6%
Carbohydrates 16g5%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 5g10%
Vitamin A 100IU2%
Vitamin C 0.2mg0%
Calcium 9mg1%
Iron 1.2mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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About Swasthi

I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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Please tell why hot oil is added to the besan batter

5 stars
The sev turned out very well. The recipe is very clear and measurements are accurate.Thank you

5 stars
I tried It today. The karasev come very crunchy and tasty. Everyone in my family love it. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. ❤️

5 stars
Thank you for your recipe.Clearly said?I will surely try for my kids.

Hi, may I know the difference between fried gram flour and gram flour? Are they different types of chickpeas?

Thank you for the swift reply Ms. Swasthi. I really appreciate it.

5 stars
Wow ? the aroma of these wafted my entire home. Love ?. Thank you

5 stars
I made them. They turned out very good. Thanks