Continuing with my series of traditional Goan Christmas sweets here on the blog, let’s talk about these sweet diamond cuts! Shankapali is yet another treat that’s prepared during festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, and Christmas. It also happens to be one of the things that are served in the Kuswar i.e Goan Christmas sweet platter distributed to family and friends. But really, these can be prepared any time of the year, for they are perfect to snack on if you aren’t counting calories 😀
HOW TO MAKE SHANKARPALI | SHAKARPARA?
There are many ways in which shankarpali is prepared in India. It is known as shakarpara or shakkar pare in North India and in that version, the dough is made with plain flour and ghee. The deep-fried shakkar pare are then dunked in a thick sugar syrup which coats the shakarpara and forms a whitish layer when it hardens. In Western India, these diamond cuts are known as shankarpali. In the Maharashtrian version, water, sugar, and ghee are heated. The flour is then mixed into this solution to make a dough. It is then rolled, cut out and deep-fried. I’m sharing the Goan version today which I absolutely love! To make these crispy shankarpali, you will need 6 ingredients,
Flour Semolina (rava/sooji) Ghee Icing sugar Salt Milk/water.
You can use wheat flour instead of refined flour to make wheat shankarpali. You start with incorporating the hot melted ghee in the flour and semolina, an important step in achieving the flaky texture in the end product. Once that’s sorted you mix in other ingredients, knead a soft and smooth dough. Let it rest. During this phase, the semolina will absorb liquid, water in this case and the dough will have a perfect consistency. Divide the dough into portions, roll out each portion, and cut it into diamond shapes. Then these get deep fried over medium heat until golden brown.
These shankarpali are just right, not overly sweet, crisp and crunchy, yet soft and melt in the mouth. And that’s how a good Shankarpali should be, for you to enjoy it! You can also make a savory version of shankarpali known as khara shankarpali | tikhat shankarpali | spicy shankarpali | namakpare. Skip the sugar and add spices like chilli powder, cumin, ajwain seeds, hing, and salt to taste. We did try a baked version of this shankarpali, but honestly, we weren’t too happy with it. They turned out more crisp and hard, rather than the melt in the mouth ones. They were probably over baked, so we went ahead and deep fried the entire batch. If I do attempt to bake these, which I think I definitely will sometime sooner, I will surely update the settings for the temperature and timings here. If you have successfully baked these, please do share your tips with me in the comments below. I’d love to know 🙂 Little E enjoyed these being made by his Grandma. And since he’s learning all about shapes and numbers and so on, he kept saying, look, Grammy, that’s a diamond shape 😀 Here’s yet another recipe treasure from My Mum-in-law, and I’m happy to have it up here on the blog to share it with you guys, right in time for Christmas! Also, you can use the same recipe to make kulkuls and kormolas, though I will be doing a short post on those two soon, mainly just for a stepwise pictorial to make the shapes or else everything else remains the same.
IF YOU ENJOYED THIS SWEET SHANKARPALI RECIPE AND ARE LOOKING FOR MORE TRADITIONAL GOAN CHRISTMAS SWEETS,
You will find a bunch of them here
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE SHANKARPALI | SHAKARPARA
1.In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, add semolina and salt.
2.Add the hot melted ghee and immediately mix, rub the ghee into the flour to resemble breadcrumbs. If you hold a portion of the flour-ghee mixture with your fist, it should hold its shape. If not, add another 1-2 tablespoons of hot melted ghee.
3.Now add powdered sugar, mix well.
4.Add water little by little to knead a soft dough. Do not knead a tight dough as the semolina will absorb water and make it firmer. Cover with a damp kitchen napkin or cling wrap and leave it aside for 30 minutes.
5.After the resting time, divide the dough into 6 portions. Take a ball and roll it out to a diameter of 7-8 inches, little thicker than a roti. Cut diamond-shaped pieces with a knife, as shown in the picture below. Meanwhile also, heat oil on medium heat in a heavy bottomed kadai.
6.Drop one piece in the oil, if it comes up instantly, the oil is ready. Drop in few pieces, fry on medium heat until golden brown on both sides. Do not let them brown too much, as they will continue cooking in the residual heat and become darker. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a tray lined with an absorbent napkin. Fry all the pieces in the same way, in batches, depending on the size of your kadai.
7.Once cool completely, store shankarpali in an airtight container(s). It will stay good for 2-3 weeks.
HOW TO MAKE SHANKARPALI?
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