SWEET SHANKARPAALE / SHANKARPALI / SHAKKAR PAARE (SWEET CRUNCHY DIAMOND BITS)

SWEET SHANKARPAALE / SHANKARPALI / SHAKKAR PAARE (SWEET CRUNCHY DIAMOND BITS)
Shankarpaale is a very popular snack in the states of Maharshtra & Gujarat, India. It is traditionally made during Diwali in most Maharastrian households. It’s simple and easy to make. It is rich in carbohydrates, making it an instant source of energy.
The mixture is made into dough and then mechanically cut into diamond shaped units which are deep fried in ghee or butter. Most of the ingredients are available at home easily and no need to specially buy stuff to make this dish.
The North Indians make this a bit differently, instead of adding the sugar into the dough, they make a sugar syrup and after frying the dough bits they dunk them in the sugar syrup and allow it to cool down. Once cool, the sugar forms a white frosted topping. I personally prefer the Maharashtrian version as I find them less sweet and guiltless than to see them loaded with sugar on top.
Being married to a man from Pune and not knowing to make Shankarpaale could be considered as a sin. That’s just a joke. We can always buy these goodies from the Store. But nothing can beat the taste or freshness of the home-made ones.
This dish has a long shelf life and can last you even up to a month if stored well in an airtight container.
This year for Diwali I am preparing Shankarpaale. You don’t need to prepare this only for Diwali. It’s a good snack to prepare anytime during the year. These are bite sized munchies which are enjoyable to gobble anytime during the day or can be had as a tea-time snack.
I made one batch of Shankarpaales which was about 250gms but it got over so soon, that, I had to make another batch, so I made 1 kilo of them for Diwali to share with my neighbors and friends.
The below recipe is for making about 250 gms / ¼ kilo Shankarpaale.

Ingredients
All purpose flour – 1 ½ cup
Semolina – 1 teaspoon
Sugar – ¼ cup
Ghee or butter – ¼ cup
Milk – ¼ cup
Salt – a pinch
Oil for frying

If you want to make about 1kg you need to use
All purpose flour – 6 cups
Semolina – 3 teaspoons
Sugar – 1 ¼  cup
Ghee or butter – 1 cup
Milk – 1 cup
Salt – 1 ½ teaspoons
Oil for frying

Method

Sieve the all purpose flour, add the semolina and salt. Mix well and keep aside.
In a saucepan, take milk and ghee and heat until the ghee melts. Now, add sugar and keep stirring until the sugar melts or up to 1 boil, whichever is earlier.
Let this mix cool down.
Once it’s cool, add this mixture to the all purpose flour, semolina and salt mix and start kneading the dough. The dough should be of the consistency of a chappati but will be soft because of the ghee.
Make a stiff dough that’s easy to roll. Now cover with a moist cloth and let this dough rest for about half an hour (30 minutes).
Make small balls from the dough and roll like a thick paratha. The thicker ones come out soft and crunchy like biscuits and the thinner ones come out crispy like chips. It’s a personal choice how you want it. I like it like a biscuit, so I roll my shankarpaales a little thick. Once you rolled the dough to your desired thickness. Remove the rough edges by using knife or pizza cutter.
Now cut in to desired shape (usually squares or diamonds). I like diamond shaped ones, so I cut mine like diamonds. Keep the oil hot and ready in a wok. I usually keep the flame on sim when I add in the shankarpaale diamonds and let it be there on sim for a minute or 2. After this I increase the flame, so that the dough gets cooked properly inside out when on sim. You must do this when you are rolling out thicker shankarpaales. Deep fry till it gets golden brown color. Allow it to cool down and then store in an air tight container or zip lock bag. Enjoy these delicious diamond bites as and when you want.

 Tips

·         The proportion for the All purpose flour may vary. If you feel while kneading that the dough is too smooth and not getting to the required stiffness, add in some more flour till you get the desired stiffness.

·         You can fry in ghee or dalda instead of oil.

·         I used coarse grain sugar in my recipe and my shankarpaales were not overly sweet. If you are using fine grain or castor sugar, you may need to add in some more sugar.

·         My Shankarpaales were not overly sweet, if you like it very sweet you can add in a bit more of sugar.