Spicy shankarpali (savoury biscuits) step-by-step recipe with photos.
About this recipe
Spicy Shankarpali is savoury deep-fried biscuits made with plain flour. There is a sweet version of this as well, but I personally prefer the spicy ones more. Perfect tea-time accompaniment.
As a child, I remember my mom making a large batch during festivals and school holidays and storing them in air-tight containers. They stay fresh for up to 10 days. A handy snack when the kids get that sudden hunger attack!
These biscuits are pretty simple to make. Just combine together flour, cumin seeds, chilli powder, and salt. Add a few tablespoons of hot oil to it. Remember the oil must be so hot that it starts to bubble instantly. This is what makes these biscuits crunchy. Carefully mix it all together, add water and knead into a dough. Once the dough is rested, roll into a thin disc, cut into diamond shapes, and deep-fry.
Click here for sweet shankarpali recipe.
Spicy shankarpali step by step instructions
1. Add spices and hot oil to the flour
2. Knead well and let the dough rest
3. Roll into thin discs
4. Cut it using a sharp knife or pizza cutter
5. Fry in batches in hot oil
Recipe card
Spicy shankarpali
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain flour
- 2 tablespoon semolina (suji)
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 tablespoon oil (should be very hot)
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder or to taste
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add flour, suji, salt, chilli powder, and cumin seeds
- Pour in hot oil. Mix well until it becomes crumbly. Oil should be so hot that as soon as you pour it, it starts to form bubbles on the flour
- Add water slowly and knead to form a stiff dough. Rest the dough for 30 minutes
- Knead the dough again for a couple of minutes. Divide them roughly into 4 equal parts
- Roll out the dough as thin as possible using some flour for dusting
- Cut into diamond shapes using a pizza cutter or knife
- Repeat for rest of the dough
- Rest the cut shapes for 15 minutes
- Heat oil in a deep fry pan or fryer. Once the oil is hot enough, fry the shankarpali in batches on medium heat until they are golden brown and crispy
- Drain on a kitchen towel and cool completely
- Store in airtight containers
Notes
- The dough has to be stiff. If the dough is soft, the shankarpali won’t be crispy
- Take care not to fry sharkarpali on high heat. They should be fried on medium heat to get the right crispiness
Click here to watch spicy shankarpali web story.
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