Chakli is a savoury snack from

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, India. It is a spiral-shaped snack with a spiked surface. Chakli is typically made from

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

s of

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

Bengal gram The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae, cultivated for its edible seeds. Its different types are variously known as gram," Bengal gram, garbanzo, garbanzo bean, or Egypt ...

(brown chickpea) and

black gram The black gram or urad bean (''Vigna mungo'') is a bean grown in South Asia. Like its relative the mung bean, it has been reclassified from the genus ''Phaseolus'' to ''Vigna''. The product sold as black gram is usually the whole urad bean, wher ...

(''urad daal''). It has several variations, depending on the types and proportion of flours used.

Murukku Muṟukku () is a savoury, crunchy snack originating from the Indian subcontinent. In India, murukku is especially common in the states of Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. It is called ''murku ...

is a

South Indian South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

snack typically made with rice and black gram flour during

Diwali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...

. It is also very popular in South Africa, introduced by the Indian diaspora. Maize flour is used instead of rice flour with the addition of salt and cumin as the basic dry ingredients. It is sold by street vendors and at neighborhood shops. Kadboli is a similar dish, which is shaped by hand instead of with an extruder. In

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, murukku and chakli variations are known as ''akar kelapa'', and are particularly popular among Betawi.

Etymology

Chakli is known by various names across India, the name of the dish include ''chakkuli'', ''chakali'', Odiya: ଦାନ୍ତକଲି Dantkali, ''chakri'', ''chakralu'' or ''jantikalu'' and .

History

The earliest mention of a dish similar to Chakli comes from ancient

Ayurvedic Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...

texts where it is known as ''"Saskuli"''; it was made from spiced rice flour dough with sesame seeds and then placed in a presser to form a long thread-like design and fried in ghee or oil. The word ''Saskuli'' literally translates to "ear-shaped" design. This early variation of rice flour-based chakli may have more closely resembled ''rice-

murukku Muṟukku () is a savoury, crunchy snack originating from the Indian subcontinent. In India, murukku is especially common in the states of Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. It is called ''murku ...

'' than the chakli known today. The recipe that closely resembles modern Chakli finds mention in the medieval period cookbook ''Soopa Shastra'' dated to 1509 AD. This recipe was made from a blend of rice flour, Bengal gram flour and urad dal flour.The sweet flavour of tradition: mithai, chakli and other tastes of Diwali- Sulekha Nair- October 21, 2014-https://www.firstpost.com/politics/sweet-flavour-tradition-mithai-chakli-tastes-diwali-1766589.html

Ingredients and preparation

Chakli is made from the

s of

(chickpea) and

(urad dal). Other ingredients include

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

seed powder,

cumin Cumin (, ; ; ''Cuminum cyminum'') is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the Irano-Turanian Region. Its seeds – each one contained within a fruit, which is dried – are used in the cuisines of many cultures in both whole ...

seed (jeera) powder, sesame seeds, red pepper powder, turmeric powder, salt, asafoetida powder and oil. Some variations also include

green gram The mung bean or green gram (''Vigna radiata'') is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract Green Mung Bean Extract Powder Phaseolus aureus Roxb Vigna radiata L R Wilczek. MDidea-Extracts P ...

(moong) and

pigeon pea The pigeon pea (''Cajanus cajan'') or toor dal is a perennial legume from the family (biology), family Fabaceae native to the Eastern Hemisphere. The pigeon pea is widely cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions around the world, being com ...

(tuar/arhar) instead of black gram. The flours and seed powders are mixed, and boiling water is added to make a

dough Dough is a malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from flour (which itself is made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops). Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes ...

. The dough is kneaded and shaped into circular forms, using a mould. In commercial food processing units, usually a chakli

extruder Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing processes are its ability to create very complex ...

is used for shaping the dough. The shaped dough is fried in hot oil until it becomes brown in colour. It is then removed from the oil, drained and cooled.

Gallery

File:ಸಿದ್ದಗೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿರುವ ಚಕ್ಕುಲಿ.JPG, Preparation of chakri in hot oil File:Frying chakli.jpg, Frying chakli File:Chakli bhajanichi.jpg, Chaklis File:Traditional Murukku, a must have for festivals such as Deepavali.jpg, Muruku chaklis File:Chakali.JPG, Fully cooked chakli File:Tradtional brass chakli presser and it's various parts.jpg, Traditional brass presser used for chaklis and various other snacks

References

External links