Bhakarwadi
This fried and delightful snack, Bhakarwadi, also recognized as Bakarwadi, stands as a beloved treat originating from Western India.
Ingredients
For dough
- ⅓ cup maida all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour atta
- 1 ½ cup besan gram flour
- 2 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup water or as needed
For stuffing
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 cup dry coconut grated or powdered
- 2 tablespoon poppy seeds khus khus
- 3 tablespoon sesame seeds Till
- 2 tablespoon fennel seeds saunf
- ¾ cup peanuts
- 2 tablespoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 5 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon hing
- 2 teaspoon ginger-chili paste
- 1 tablespoon – chopped garlic
- oil for frying
Instructions
Make a dough
- To a large mixing bowl, sieve the besan, all-purpose flour (maida), and whole wheat flour.
- Then add salt and hot oil.
- Mix it well by rubbing the flour and oil mixture between the palms and using your fingertips. Keep mixing until it oil is well incorporated in all of the flour mixtures. This would take about 2 minutes.
- At this point, the mixture should resemble crumbs and holds shape. To check, take some flour mixture between your palm and make a fist. If it holds the shape and not crumble then you have added enough fat. If the dough falls to pieces, that means you need to add some more oil/ghee.
- Start by adding the water little by little and knead it into a firm dough. The dough should be hard yet pliable and smooth. I used around 6 tablespoons cup of water here. (The amount of water depends on the quality of the flours.)
- Cover the dough and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Make stuffing
- Heat a non-stick or heavy pan. Once hot turn the heat settings to low.
- Add peanut, sesame seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and poppy seeds.
- Roast for 4 minutes on low heat.
- Then add coconut and dry roast for around 40 seconds.
- Add garlic, ginger-chili paste, and sugar. Roast for few more seconds.
- Next, add red chili powder, salt, turmeric powder, and garam masala. Keep stirring continuously.
- Add Hing and lemon juice and mix well.
- Turn off the heat and let the dry mixture cool down slightly.
- Transfer dry mixture to a spice blending jar.
- Blend into a coarse powder. Transfer stuffing to a bowl.
- If the mixture looks dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water. Mine was dry, so I have added 3 to 4 tablespoon waters to make it a bit moist. The mixture should be moist and holds shape. To check, take some mixture between your palm and make a fist. If it holds the shape and not crumble, then you have added enough water. If the mixture falls to pieces, that means you need to add some more water.
- Keep the stuffing aside.
Assembling and folding bhakarwadi in to spirals
- Once the dough has rested for 30 minutes, uncover it. Add a few drops of oil and knead again for a few seconds.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. (If you want to make mini bhakharwadi, divide it into 18 parts).
- Apply some oil on the rolling board or work surface.
- Take one portion of dough and roll between your palms to get to make a ball.
- Flatten it and make more balls with the remaining dough.
- Roll each ball into a uniform disc, about 7 to an 8-inch diameter which is slightly thicker than roti.
- Add about ⅙ of stuffing to the center of the disc.
- Evenly spread masala on the disc using a spoon or fingers, leaving the sides.
- Also lightly press the masala layer with your fingers or spoon. This step would ensure that masala sticks well on the roti.
- Apply water on the edges.
- Now begin to tightly roll the dough from one side, making sure there is no space.
- Roll it into a tight log or a cylinder.
- Keep rolling further until the edges are sealed and you get a smooth log.
- Trim the edges and cut the rolled log into 2 cm sized pieces pinwheels. You will get about 7 to 9 pinwheels.
- Gently press and a little bit flatten each pinwheel on the top using your fingers. (Don’t press too much, just press a little bit).
- This way make bhakarwadi with the remaining dough. Once done, arrange them in a layer and cover them with a kitchen towel.
Frying
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.
- To test if the oil is hot enough, add a tiny piece of the dough ball to the oil and if it sizzles, and slowly comes on the surface, your oil is ready for frying.
- Once the oil is hot, turn the heat to low.
- Add bhakarwadi pinwheels into the hot oil. Do not overcrowd the pan with bhakarwadi.
- Fry them at low heat. Do not stir often.
- Once the one side is lightly golden, flip the bhakarwadis with a slotted spoon and fry them from the other side.
- Keep flipping and stirring occasionally till they turn golden brown and crisp.
- Drain them on a kitchen towel-lined plate to remove the excess oil.
- Let them cool completely.
- Bhakharwadi is ready. Serve them with some hot masala chai.
- Or store them in an airtight container for up to 2-3 weeks.
Baked bhakharwadi
- Preheat oven at @350 degrees F(180 degrees C).
- Arrange the Bhakarwadi on a baking tray.
- Place the tray into a preheated oven and let it bake for 15 minutes on the middle rack.
- After 15 minutes flip it to the other side and bake it till it gets golden color for another 8 minutes. Please keep an eye to ensure it does not get burnt.
- Once it’s done, remove it from the oven and let it cool down.
- When cooled, store in an airtight container lined with kitchen tissue.
- Serve crispy baked Bhakarwadi as an evening snack with a hot cup of tea or coffee.
- The baked result – crispy edges with a soft and chewy inside and loads and loads of flavors. The spicy, sweet, and tangy filling imparts an explosion of flavors in your mouth.
Nutrition
Calories: 53kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 1gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 30mgPotassium: 52mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 95IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 19mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!