Shankarpali Recipe - Shakarpara
Lightly sweetened, crispy, and crunchy Shankarpali or Shakar Para is a delicious treat. These sweet bite sized Indian cookies are made with all purpose flour, ghee, and sugar.
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.
- 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.