Shankarpali Recipe – Shakarpara
Lightly sweetened, crispy, and crunchy Shankarpali or Shakar Para is a delicious treat. It is a Maharashtrian snack usually prepared during Diwali. These sweet bite sized Indian cookies are made with all purpose flour, ghee, and sugar.
These are not overly sweet, crispy, and are melt in the mouth deep fried snack recipes. They can be cut into a thick square or diamond shape. The bite size shankarpali makes a great snack to enjoy with some tea.
Diwali is around the corner and shakarpara is a must have for this festival. This snack has a very good shelf life so it makes a perfect snack to carry with you while traveling.Â
During the Diwali festival other sweet and savory snacks are made at home are chakli, kadboli, sev, namak para, shankarpali, poha chivda, corn chivda, besan ladoo, rawa ladoo, motichoor ladoo, chirote, karanji, and anarse. The list is endless 🙂
These homemade dry snacks, dry fruits, and mithai are gift wrapped and distributed among the neighbors, friends, and relatives.
Table of Contents
What Is Shankarpali?
Shankarpali is a deep fried, crispy, flaky, and melt in mouth sweet cookie from Maharashtra, India. The dish is known as shakkarpara, shakarpara, or shakkar pare in North India.
There are various names and various methods to make this snack recipe. Some like to heat water/milk with some ghee and sugar. Once the mixture is cool it is combined with the all purpose flour and pinch of salt.
Another method is to add hot ghee or oil over the all purpose flour and rub into the flour to create a flaky texture in the shankarpali and then add the sugar and milk mixture.
A few other methods work by combining some semolina with all purpose flour to add some crispiness and texture. Some like to add wheat flour instead of all purpose flour in the recipe.Â
Sweetened shankarpali dough is cut into squares or diamond shape. After that, they are deep-fried on low heat until golden and crispy.
Ingredients
- All purpose flour
- Powdered Sugar
- Ghee
- Water
- Salt
- Oil
Shankarpali Step By Step Recipe
For Making the Dough
In a measuring cup or bowl, add some water and powdered sugar. Mix until the sugar dissolves completely and set aside.
In a large bowl, add some all purpose flour, salt, and mix them well.
Heat a small pan, melt down some ghee, and pour it over the dry mixture.
Using a spoon, mix the flour mixture when it is hot.
Next, using your fingers, rub the mixture and the texture should become crumbly.
Now add water and sugar mixture little at a time and start kneading the dough.
Knead the dough into a stiff and smooth dough. If the dough is very stiff then you may need to add 1-2 tbsp of water. If the dough is loose then add a couple of tbsp of flour.
Cover the dough with a plate and keep it aside for 15-20 minutes.
Next, knead the dough again until it turns soft and smooth. Divide the dough into 6 equal balls and cover them with a cloth.
Rolling And Shaping
Take one ball and flatten it. Roll it into a 7-8 inch diameter with a rolling pin.
Normally, the dough will not stick to the work surface if kneaded into a stiff dough. If the dough is sticking then knead it again by adding some flour or grease some oil on the work surface and rolling pin.
Cut the sides of a circle into a square shape and keep the ends aside to use them later. Cut the large square into squares or diamonds with a sharp knife or a pastry cutter.
Keep the shankarpali covered with a cloth until they are ready to fry.
Repeat the same procedure with the remaining dough.
Line a plate with paper towels to absorb the extra oil from the shankarpali.
Frying Shankarpali
Heat some oil in a kadhai (pan) on medium heat. To check if the oil is hot enough, drop a small ball of dough in the hot oil. If it rises immediately that means the oil is ready for frying.
Once the oil is hot, lower the temperature to medium low. Transfer a few shankarpali to the hot oil. Do not overcrowd them.
Do not disturb the shankarpali for 15-20 seconds. Fry the shankarpali by constantly moving the oil with a spatula. After frying for 2 minutes, flip them with a slotted spoon. Fry them until they turn golden brown in color from both sides for about 2 more minutes. Keep stirring them while frying.
Transfer the shankarpali to a lined plate using a slotted spatula to drain off the oil.
Let them cool down completely for about 20-25 minutes and store them in an airtight container.
Tips For Making Shankarpali
- Knead the dough into a stiff and smooth dough. If the dough is very stiff then you may need to add 1-2 tbsp of water. If the dough is loose then add a couple of tbsp of flour.
- The key for making the best shankarpali is to form a stiff dough. The dough should be soft and smooth.
- The dough should not be rested for longer than 15-20 minutes. If you rest the dough for longer, it will start to release more moisture and the dough will stick to the work surface.
- If your dough is sticking while rolling, add some flour to make it a little stiff, and roll it.
- Greasing some oil on the work surface will help the dough not stick while rolling. You can add a few drops of oil as you need while rolling all the dough.
- Rolling the dough not too thin or thick is very important to make the shankarpali crispy.
- Adding melted warm ghee while making the dough helps to make the shankarpali more crispy and flaky.
- Frying the shankarpali on medium low heat is very important to make them more crispy.
- Checking out the oil temperature before frying each batch of shankarpali is very important to cook them perfectly from inside or else they will turn soft. You can increase or lower the temperature as you go to maintain the correct temperature of the oil.
Variations
- Use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour or add both in equal quantity.
- You can add milk instead of water while kneading the dough. They will have a 15 day shelf life.
- You can add some cardamom powder to add some flavors in the shankarpali.
- Cut them into any desired shape – diamond shape, star shape, or heart shape for making them interesting for kids.
How To Store Shankarpali?
Once the namak pare cool down completely, store them in an airtight container for 25- 30 days.
Make sure to close the container’s lid tightly everytime you open it. Otherwise they will turn soft.
How To Serve Shankarpali?
Serve them as a snack with a cup of tea or coffee.
They make a perfect after school snack for kids. Pack them in a lunch box as a side dish to munch on.
Take them with you while traveling as they have a very long shelf life.
Diwali Snacks Recipes
- Chakli
- Roasted Poha Chivda
- Corn Chivda
- Namak Para
- Beetroot Coconut Burfi
- Dates And Apricot Dry Fruit Roll
- Badam Katli
- Besan Ladoo
- Karanji
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Recipe Card
Shankarpali Recipe – Shakarpara
Ingredients
- 4.5 cup All purpose flour around 560 grams
- 1 cup Powdered sugar + 2 tbsp grind regular sugar
- 1/2 cup Ghee
- 3/4 cup Water
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1.5 cup Oil for frying
Instructions
For Making the Dough
- In a measuring cup or bowl, add some water and powdered sugar. Mix until the sugar dissolves completely and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add some all purpose flour, salt, and mix them well.
- Heat a small pan, melt down some ghee, and pour it over the dry mixture.
- Using a spoon, mix the flour mixture when it is hot.
- Next, using your fingers, rub the mixture and the texture should become crumbly.
- Now add water and sugar mixture little at a time and start kneading the dough.
- Knead the dough into a stiff and smooth dough. If the dough is very stiff then you may need to add 1-2 tbsp of water. If the dough is loose then add a couple of tbsp of flour.
- Cover the dough with a plate and keep it aside for 15-20 minutes.
- Next, knead the dough again until it turns soft and smooth. Divide the dough into 6 equal balls and cover them with a cloth.
Rolling And Shaping
- Take one ball and flatten it. Roll it into a 7-8 inch diameter with a rolling pin.
- Normally, the dough will not stick to the work surface if kneaded into a stiff dough. If the dough is sticking then knead it again by adding some flour or grease some oil on the work surface and rolling pin.
- Cut the sides of a circle into a square shape and keep the ends aside to use them later. Cut the large square into squares or diamonds with a sharp knife or a pastry cutter.
- Keep the shankarpali covered with a cloth until they are ready to fry.
- Repeat the same procedure with the remaining dough.
- Line a plate with paper towels to absorb the extra oil from the shankarpali.
Frying Shankarpali
- Heat some oil in a kadhai (pan) on medium heat. To check if the oil is hot enough, drop a small ball of dough in the hot oil. If it rises immediately that means the oil is ready for frying.
- Once the oil is hot, lower the temperature to medium low. Transfer a few shankarpali to the hot oil. Do not overcrowd them.
- Do not disturb the shankarpali for 15-20 seconds. Fry the shankarpali by constantly moving the oil with a spatula. After frying for 2 minutes, flip them with a slotted spoon. Fry them until they turn golden brown in color from both sides for about 2 more minutes. Keep stirring them while frying.
- Transfer the shankarpali to a lined plate using a slotted spatula to drain off the oil.
- Let them cool down completely for about 20-25 minutes and store them in an airtight container.
Notes
- Knead the dough into a stiff and smooth dough. If the dough is very stiff then you may need to add 1-2 tbsp of water. If the dough is loose then add a couple of tbsp of flour.
- The key for making the best shankarpali is to form a stiff dough. The dough should be soft and smooth.
- The dough should not be rested for longer than 15-20 minutes. If you rest the dough for longer, it will start to release more moisture and the dough will stick to the work surface.Â
- If your dough is sticking while rolling, add some flour to make it a little stiff, and roll it.
- Greasing some oil on the work surface will help the dough not stick while rolling. You can add a few drops of oil as you need while rolling all the dough.
- Rolling the dough not too thin or thick is very important to make the shankarpali crispy.
- Adding melted warm ghee while making the dough helps to make the shankarpali more crispy and flaky.
- Frying the shankarpali on medium low heat is very important to make them more crispy.
- Checking out the oil temperature before frying each batch of shankarpali is very important to cook them perfectly from inside or else they will turn soft. You can increase or lower the temperature as you go to maintain the correct temperature of the oil.
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