Chakli

Ingredients
Rice flour 4 cups (washed and dried), urad dal 1 cup, hot oil or ghee for dough 75 ml, salt to taste, white sesame seeds 2 tsp.

Method
Pressure cook dal in just enough water for 10 minutes. Drain excess water and grind dal to a smooth paste.

Mix it with rice flour, salt and sesame seeds. Pour hot oil on top and mix well. If necessary, add a little water to thicken the dough. Pass through a greased Chakli making device with a single or three-holed plain disc to prepare small Chaklis on top of a polythene sheet.

Deep fry a few at a time, depending on the size of your frying pan. Store in a dry-air-tight container.

Ingredients :
Condensed milk one tin, desiccated coconut powder 2 cups, Cherries half cup.

Method
Mix the condensed milk and one and a half cup of desiccated coconut powder in a bowl and stir on a low flame for about ten minutes. Set aside until the mixture has slightly cooled down and shape in laddus. Roll each laddu in the desiccated coconut powder and decorate with cherries.

Sesame laddus

Ingredients:
White sesame seeds100 gms, jaggery 150 gms, a little grated dry coconut.

Method
Wash the sesame and dry it on a white muslin cloth. After it dries roast it till golden brown. Half powder it in mixer. In a kadai put the jaggery with little water and bring it to thread consistency, switch off the gas and add dry coconut power, sesame powder and make laddus when hot.

Groundnut laddus

Ingredients
Groundnut 1 cup, jaggery half cup, dry coconut (grated) 1/4 cup, Rice 100 gms, green gram dal 100 gms.

Method
Roast the groundnuts until the skin comes out. Fry rice and green gram dal till golden. Powder both in the mixer. In a kadai put the jaggery with little water and boil till it comes into thread consistency. Add the roasted groundnut, rice and dal flour and dry coconut and make laddus when it is still hot.

Ingredients :
Groundnuts one and a half cup, sugar one cup, ghee 2 tbsp.

Method
Roast the groundnuts in a kadai over moderate heat. After it cools rub off the skin. Melt sugar on a slow fire in a thick pan without adding water, but stirring continuously. When it has melted and turns light gold in colour remove pan from fire and immediately add the nuts stirring briskly. Quickly pour on a greased plate and cut it to required shapes.

Rice marbles (Cheedai)

Ingredients:
Ready-made Chakli flour 2 cups; butter 2 tbsp; sesame seeds 1 tbsp; ghee 2 tsp; oil for frying.

Method
Add butter to the flour and rub well to get crumbs. Add sesame and ghee and make into stiff dough with water. Knead well and make tiny marble sized baits and deep fry in hot oil and drain; store when cool. Makes about 50 numbers. A very crunchy marble nibble.

Note: Chakli flour can also be prepared at home by mixing roasted rice flour and urad dal flour in the ratio of 1:1/4 and adding a little of salt, jeera and asafetida.