Shankarpali or Shakarpara is a crispy and lightly sweetened snack prepared using just six basic pantry ingredients! Typically made in Indian homes around Diwali, these irresistible bite-sized sugar cookies can be prepared ahead of time and make for a perfect tea-time snack.
The main ingredients in Shankarpali are all purpose flour or maida, sugar and ghee. Shakkar para for some, is a very versatile snack and comes in a savory version too. Popularly known as namak-para or Nimki, the savory snack replaces sugar with salt and kala jeera.
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour/maida
1/2 cup sugar,
1/2 cup ghee,
1/2 cup milk,
Oil for deep frying
Method:
- In a bowl, add warm milk and sugar and mix well until the sugar dissolves.
- Add ghee and mix well.
- Add the maida in batches and mix well.
- Close with a lid and let it rest for 2 hours.
- Knead the well rested dough and divide it into 2 parts.
- On the side, heat oil a medium sized kadhai on medium flame.
- Take one part and roll into a medium thick roti. It shouldn’t be too thick or too thin. Cut into desired shape and size.
- Add the cut shakarpara and fry on low flame until golden.
- Once cooked on all sides, transfer onto a kitchen towel.
- Shakarpara is ready to be served.
Tips for making crisp Shankarpali:
- Heat the milk just enough for the sugar to melt. This will reduce subsequent cooling time.
- I use the kitchen counter to roll and cut the shankarpali. This makes cleanup easy.
- Do not fry the shankarpali on very high heat. Make sure each batch is slowly fried on medium-low heat to a perfect golden color. Frying on high heat may result in the outsides turning brown without making the Shankarpali crisp.
- Make sure to lower the heat when taking out the fried Shankarpali and then increase the heat to medium high to bring up the oil temperature before adding the next batch.
- Drain the fried shankarpali on a paper towel to remove excess oil, if any.
- Allow the Shankarpali to cool down completely before storing them. This ensures they remain crisp for a long time.