Shankarpali : Special Diwali Sweet Recipe!

Thursday, October 13, 2011, 17:15

Shankarpali is a traditional Diwali recipe handed down generations of grandmothers. Diwali is a time of celebrations when families meet and there is lots laughter and chatter. To accompany those happy moments you have this Indian dessert. Shankarpali is that perfect 'something sweet' to munch on when you are just chatting or having fun. It is in a way the perfect festival food; something you can eat in a hurry and still enjoy. Even if you are short of time this Diwali recipe will not be a problem for you to manage on Diwali 2011.

This Diwali sweet recipe is made out of lots of flour and ghee and involves deep frying. So this dessert like others is soaked in calories; definitely not for fussy calorie counting eaters. Try this Diwali recipe only if you are willing to give your taste buds precedence over your health consciousness.

Ingredients For Shankarpali:

1. Flour 2 cups
2. Ghee half a cup
3. Milk 1 cup
4. Finely powdered sugar 3/4th cup (can be more or less depending on how sweet you want it to be)
5. Sugar syrup
6. Cumin seed 1 teaspoon
7. Ajwain or Carom seed 1 pinch
8. Oil at least ¼ of the pan for deep frying
9. Salt 1 pinch

Procedure For Shankarpali:

Heat ghee in a pan for tempering. When it crackles add cumin seeds and ajwain in it for singing.
Pour this smoking liquid over the flour. Mix it with a serving spoon or stirrer. Wait for 2 to 3 minutes before you knead the flour.
Now pour the sugar and keep mixing small quantities of milk as you knead. Don't make the dough too tough or too soft. Let it be malleable but not soggy.
Now roll it out in form of roties with the help of a baylan or rolling pin. You can do this on any clean flat surface.
Now take a knife and draw horizontal lines on the flattened dough with the tip of the knife. Then cross it out by drawing vertical lines. The quadrilateral pieces you get have to be fried.
Moderately heat oil in deep pan and fry the pieces of dough on low flame. Drain oil with tissues.
Let it cool for 1 hour and soak in sugar syrup for half an hour.

Shankarpali can be safely stored for a few weeks in an air tight container so make sure you try it on Diwali 2011.