Moong dal chaklis; savory, crunchy deep fried spirals (Indian snack) made with moong dal/yellow split green gram and rice flour dough flavored with some aromatic Indian spices like cumin, sesame seeds, hing/asafoetida and red chilli powder!!
These are the perfect munchies to share with your family and friends!!
Scroll down the post for tips, tricks and step-wise pictorial instructions as well as a printable Recipe Card!
With festivals or special occasions always on the horizon be it Diwali, Ugadi, special pooja days, Thanksgiving, Christmas etc., this is one of the easiest make ahead Indian savory snack you can make for those special occasions!
These "buttery" (but with "no butter") amazingly crispy, crunchy and literally "melt-in-mouth" south Indian savory snack is one of India's best crispies to make and enjoy!
Call it "chakli" or "murukku", this delicious deep fried deliciousness (either store bought or better yet homemade) is on every household menu, especially in the southern part of India to enjoy with family, friends and is a perfect snack to share!
Diwali (Indian festival of lights) is just around the corner, every Indian household is busy preparing for this exciting festival.
Houses and surroundings are given a good cleaning, sweets and savory snacks are prepared with much fervor to offer to God and then share with family and friends!!
During my childhood, I remember, my mother used to make many containers full of different varieties of sweets and savory deep fried snacks!! Literally slaving over the stove to concoct delicious burfis, chaklis, laddoos, banana chips, boondi etc.
The exciting part for us as kids was, dressing up in new clothes and visiting all the houses in the neighborhood, with trays of these snacks to share with them.
Nowadays, sadly this tradition seems to be dying down. With busy lifestyles, sugary sweets and savory snacks are mostly bought from sweet shops all over town.
I have tried to maintain some of this tradition and so we try to make some of the sweets and snacks at home. Moong dal chaklis are the first of my snacks!!
Making these is so easy; just cook moong dal, mash well and mix with rice flour and some spices to make a soft dough.
Then make spirals out of them and then deep fry to a crispy and crunchy texture!!
If you have a chakli maker, making these spirals becomes much easier. But if you do not have one, try making them using a piping bag with the star nozzle!!
Make these chaklis with this easy recipe and you will like it so much, I am sure it will be a favorite in your house!!
Adorn your favorite Diwali platter with this crispy crunchy chaklis along with other sweets and surprise your family.
Other snacks you can try are:
Let's make some crispy, crunchy, savory chaklis now!!!
Step-by-step method:
Take 1/2 cup of moong dal.
Wash it well and place in a pressure pan. Add ¾ cup to 1 cup water.
Cook till it is completely soft and well cooked, about 3 to 4 whistles on high or 5 minutes on low after first whistle...the way I do it.
Once the pressure drops, check to see if it is fully cooked. If not, add a bit more water and cook again.
Mash well when it is warm to a fine paste.
In a large mixing bowl, add 2 cups rice flour, mashed dal, 1 tsp red chili powder, 1 1/2 tsp jeera, salt, 1/2 tsp hing, 1 tsp white sesame seeds, 1/4 tsp haldi/turmeric powder and 2-3 tsp hot oil.
Mix well, rubbing with your fingers, to form fine crumbs.
Add enough water (about ½ cup to 3/4 cup) to make a medium soft dough. Add little by little until to you form a soft dough. Knead for a few minutes.
Heat oil for deep frying.
Prepare the chakli mould (if you do not have this mould, use a star tip with a piping bag).
Grease the inner sides of the mould. Fill with the chakli dough and close well.
Make chakli spirals on a foil-lined plate (about 4 to 5).
Gently press the mold to release the dough and pipe them in spirals on a lined pan, be it with aluminum foil, silicone mat or even parchment paper.
Test the oil to see if it is hot enough. Drop a small piece of dough in the hot oil and if it rises, the oil is ready.
Gently slide each chakli spirals into the hot oil.
Once all the spirals are in the oil, you will see lots of bubbles. Now, turn down the heat of the oil to medium low and cook the chaklis till they are light golden brown.
Do not overcrowd the pan. Fry only 3 to 4 chaklis at a time.
When the chaklis are done, you will see that most of the bubbles are gone; this is an indication that the chaklis are well fried.
Remove from the hot oil and place on paper towel lined plate to drain the excess oil.
Now, increase the heat of the oil again, and once hot, slide in the next batch of chaklis. Immediately, reduce the heat and fry till done.
Fry the rest of the chaklis the same way.
Store in airtight containers after they are completely cool.
Serve these crunchy, crispy moong dal chaklis as an evening snack, during festivals or at any party!!
TIPS TO MAKE THE PERFECT MOONG DAL CHAKLIS
Make sure you add the right amount of water while cooking moong dal. More water, more rice flour and it may deter from the final texture of chakli.
Dough should be soft enough to squeeze out of the chakli maker at the same time, should not be too soft that it breaks up.
If you feel the dough is too soft, feel free to mix in some chickpea flour or besan; maybe about 1/4 cup or so.
Adjust the amount of chili powder and other spices according to your taste.
Gently transfer the chaklis in hot oil and then reduce heat to allow it to fry and cook throughout.
Remove when you see the bubbles subside and they turn light brown in color.
Enjoy after cooling completely.
Moong Dal Chaklis/Deep Fried Indian Savory Spirals
Savory, crunchy deep fried spirals (Indian snack) made from moong dal and rice flour dough flavored with some aromatic Indian spices like cumin, sesame seeds, hing/asafoetida and red chilli powder!!
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice flour
- ½ cup moong dal/split yellow green gram
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 1 /2 teaspoons jeera/cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon hing/asafoetida
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon white sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons hot oil
- Salt to taste
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
-
Wash 1/2 cup moong dal well and place in a pressure pan. Add ¾ cup to 1 cup water and cook till it is completely soft and well cooked, about 3 to 4 whistles on high or 5 minutes on low after first whistle on high.
-
Once the pressure drops, check to see if it is fully cooked. If not sprinkle some water and cook again.
-
Mash well when it is warm to a fine paste.
-
In a large mixing bowl, add 2 cups rice flour, mashed dal, 1 teaspoon red chili powder, 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. jeera, salt, 1/2 tsp hing, 1/2 tsp haldi powder, 1 tsp sesame seeds and 3 tsp hot oil; mix well to form fine crumbs.
-
Add enough water (about ½ cup to 1 cup) to make a medium soft dough. Knead for a few minutes.
-
Heat oil for deep frying.
-
Prepare the chakli mould (if you do not have this mould, use a star tip with a piping bag).
-
Grease the inner sides of the mould. Fill with the chakli dough and close well.
-
Gently make chakli spirals on a silicone mat, Aluminum foil or parchment paper-lined plate or baking sheet (about 4 to 5).
-
Test the oil to see if it is hot enough. Drop a small piece of dough in the hot oil and if it rises, the oil is ready.
-
Gently slide each chakli spirals into the hot oil. Once all the spirals (about 3-5 depending upon amount of oil) are in the oil, you will see lots of bubbles in the oil. Now, turn down the heat of the oil to medium low and cook the chaklis till they are golden brown.
-
Do not overcrowd the pan. Fry only 3 to 5 chaklis at a time.
-
When the chaklis are done, you will see that most of the bubbles are gone; this is an indication that the chaklis are well fried.
-
Remove from the hot oil and place on paper towel lined plate to drain the excess oil.
-
Now, increase the heat of the oil and once hot, slide in the next batch of chaklis. Immediately, reduce the heat and fry till done.
-
Fry the rest of the chaklis the same way.
-
Store in airtight containers after they are completely cool.
-
Serve these crunchy, crispy moong dal chaklis as an evening snack, during festivals or at any party!!
Recipe Notes
- If the dough is too soft, add more rice flour and if too dry, sprinkle water to make a smooth dough.
- If you feel the chakli is breaking when you are pressing it through the chakli maker, add some besan/chickpea flour, maybe about 2-3 tablepsoons up to 1/4 cup. (This can happen depending upon quality of rice flour too). It should be easier to make perfect chaklis then.
- Make sure you add the right amount of water while cooking moong dal. More water, more rice flour and it may deter from the final texture of chakli.
- Dough should be soft enough to squeeze out of the chakli maker at the same time, should not be too soft that it breaks up.
- Adjust the amount of chili powder and other spices according to your taste.
- You can use ajwain in addition to the other whole spices.
- Gently transfer the chaklis in hot oil and then reduce heat to allow it to fry and cook throughout.
- Remove when you see the bubbles subside and they turn light brown in color.
- Enjoy after cooling completely.
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Hello mam,
In what ratio i have to add rice flour ,oil..
HI Manita, sorry that the ingredient list got deleted. I have corrected and updated the recipe. Please check it out 🙂
These are so pretty! I love the spiral shape. When I first saw it I thought it was going to be a sweet biscuit and I was so excited but now that I know it's savoury, I've even more excited.
Thank you so much for sharing with us at FF!
Thank you Maggie!! Do try this Indian savoury chaklis, you will love it!!
They look crispy and delicious - I guess we need that mold to make them. Happy FF!
Thank you 🙂 You can still try them without the mold... just use an icing bag with a star nozzle!!!