Chekkalu (Rice Crackers) 

Rice flour mixed with ginger and few spices to make dough and deep fried in oil is our all time favorite snack. Curry leaves give a nice flavor to this chekkalu. My mom does this chekkalu in bulk and keeps in an air tight container, which lasts for up to one month. This got few variations; I followed my mom's version.

Ingredients: 

Rice flour - 2 cups

6-7 green chilies

2" ginger piece

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp butter

2-3 strands of curry leaves

1/2 cup chana dal

Salt to taste

Luke warm water

Procedure:

·         Soak chana dal for about 2 hours and drain water.

·         Blend ginger and chilies together to make paste.

·         Roughly tear curry leaves and mix with the flour.

·         Add salt, cumin seeds to the rice flour and mix well.

·         Add butter, dal, and chili-ginger paste and mix well without forming lumps.

·         Add small quantity of Luke-warm water (add little by little) and make dough.

·         Dough should be tight and not like chapatti dough.

·         Grease oil to the hand and make 6-8 small balls out of the dough.

·         Grease oil to a plastic sheet and flatten the balls to thin chekkalu with the fingers.

·         Heat oil in a kadai, and gently place 6-8 chekkalu depends on kadai size and fry them.

·         Turn the chekkalu, and fry the other side until medium-brown color.

·         Remove chekkalu from kadai and drain the excess oil.

·         Repeat the same for the remaining dough.

·         Let them cool for an hour. Then keep them in an air-tight container.

Note:

·         If you place chekkalu in oil, it should soon come up to the surface and float, otherwise the oil should be heated a bit more.

·         If the oil is too hot, it will change the color of chekkalu to dark brown but not cooked inside.

·         These should be fried on medium-high heat.

·         chekkalu should crack at the edges while flattening, if not the dough is too soft, Add a tbsp of rice flour and mix well.