Crunchy, golden and just sweet enough, a festive favourite across Indian homes, sweet shankarpali is made with flour, ghee and a lightly sweetened dough, then cut into little diamond shapes and fried until crisp. This version uses Zeroh instead of regular sugar, so you can keep the familiar sweet, buttery flavour with a different sweetener.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Resting Time: 15–20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20–25 minutes
Servings: 4–5
Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour, maida, or a 50:50 combination
¼ cup Zeroh
¼ cup water
2½–3 tbsp ghee
1 pinch salt
¼ tsp cardamom powder
1 cup oil, for deep frying
Method
Prepare the sweetened liquid
Add water, Zeroh and ghee to a saucepan. Warm gently until the Zeroh dissolves and the ghee melts. Do not bring the mixture to a vigorous boil. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool until warm, not hot.
Make the dough
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and cardamom powder.
Gradually add the warm Zeroh mixture while mixing with a spoon.
Once the mixture comes together, use your hands to knead it into a stiff, smooth dough.
The dough should be firm and non-sticky. If it feels too dry to come together, add a few drops of water at a time. Avoid making the dough soft or wet.
Cover and let it rest for 15–20 minutes.
Roll the dough
Divide the dough into 4 equal portions.
Take one portion and roll it into a smooth ball.
Grease your rolling surface lightly and flatten the dough into a round sheet about 6–7 inches wide.
Keep it medium-thick. If you roll it too thin, the shankarpali can become overly hard and crisp; if it is too thick, the centre may not cook properly.
Cut into diamonds
Using a knife or pizza cutter, make straight cuts across the rolled dough, spacing them roughly ¾–1 inch apart.
Repeat in the opposite direction to create small diamond-shaped pieces.
Separate the pieces and place them on a plate.
Repeat with the remaining dough.
Fry the shankarpali
Heat the oil in a deep kadai over medium heat.
To check the temperature, drop in a tiny piece of dough. It should rise gradually with gentle bubbling rather than immediately turning brown.
Carefully slide the shankarpali into the oil in small batches. Do not overcrowd the kadai.
Fry over medium to medium-low heat, stirring and turning occasionally so they cook evenly.
The shankarpali should turn lightly golden and crisp.
Don't fry on very high heat. They may brown quickly on the outside while remaining undercooked inside.
Drain and cool
Remove the fried shankarpali with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a steel colander or a plate lined with paper.
Allow them to cool completely. They become noticeably crispier as they cool.
Once completely cooled, store them in an airtight container.
There is no need to cook the Zeroh mixture into a thick sugar syrup. Simply warm the water, Zeroh and ghee until combined, then let it cool slightly before making the dough.
Nutrition Note
Whole wheat flour gives shankarpali more fibre, magnesium and naturally occurring nutrients than refined flour alone. If you prefer the traditional lighter texture, you can use maida or a combination of wheat flour and maida.
Ghee contributes fat and is important for the rich, short texture of the dough, while Zeroh replaces the conventional sugar used for sweetness.
Recipe Tips
- Use wheat flour, maida, or a 50:50 combination depending on the texture you prefer.
- Keep the dough stiff. A soft dough can absorb more oil while frying.
- Don't skip the resting time. It makes the dough easier to roll and shape.
- Roll the dough evenly so all the pieces cook at the same rate.
- Fry in small batches so the oil temperature doesn't drop too much.
- Keep the heat moderate. Golden and crisp is the goal, not dark brown.
- Cool the shankarpali completely before storing. Any residual warmth can create moisture inside the container and reduce the crispness.
Crisp little diamonds, a cup of chai and absolutely no intention of stopping at two.
That jar was never going to last anyway.
