Chekkalu

1 Cup roasted peanut powder
1 Cup chana dahlia (putnala pappu) powder
5 Cups rice flour
½ Cup raw sesame seeds
2 Teaspoons cumin seeds
2 Tablespoons melted butter or margarine 
2 Teaspoons salt or to taste
1 Teaspoon red pepper or to taste 
3 Cups cold water 
4 Cups oil for frying 

Make peanuts into powder to measure one cup in a small spice grinder. Blend chana dalia into powder to measure one cup powder in a blender. Mix peanut powder, chana dalia powder, rice flour, sesame seeds, melted butter or margarine, salt, red pepper. Add water and mix to make a stiff dough. Make large marble size balls. Place each ball in between plastic paper and press with fingers or roll with a rolling pin gently to make 3-inch diameter thin disc. Heat oil in medium high and fry chekkalu until light brown and crisp. Fry five or six at a time. Remove chekkalu from the oil onto a paper towel lined tray. Repeat with rest of the balls. 
Store them in an airtight container with paper towels in between to absorb oil. Cekkalu will stay fresh and crisp for long.

This recipe makes 140 chekkalus.

Variation: One teaspoon of green chili paste and one teaspoon ginger paste also can be added. These chekkalu are good to eat within a week.

Thanks to Mrs. Lakshmi Somayajula for sharing this recipe.

Pakam Poories

2 Cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon unsalted soft butter
¼ Teaspoon salt (optional)
½ Cup + 1tablespoon water
¼ Cup flour in a flat plate for dusting


2 Cups brown sugar or jaggery (bellam)
1 Cup water
1/2 Teaspoon crushed cardamom (elaichi)
2 Cups oil

In a medium bowl mix flour, butter, and salt (If using jaggery do not use salt). Add water to make stiff dough. Grease hand with half a teaspoon oil and knead the dough for two minutes. Keep it covered.

Mix sugar and water. Boil for three minutes on high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the syrup feels silky in between two fingers for three more minutes. Remove syrup from the heat and keep it aside. Reserve half a cup syrup in small bowl.

Knead the dough again for a minute and make large marble size balls dusting each ball in to the flour in the plate. Roll the ball into three-inch diameter poori. Keep it on paper towels or clean cloth until frying. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.

Heat oil in a small frying pan and fry three or four poories at a time on medium low heat until very light brown and crispy on both sides. If the poories are fried on high heat they will have bubbles and break when they are dipped in the syrup. 
Dip the fried poories into the sugar syrup one at a time on both sides and keep them on a large plate. Repeat with rest of the poories. When the syrup gets low and thick add the reserved syrup.
If there is any syrup left in the pan return the pan to the heat and boil the syrup until it gets thick while mixing. Remove from the heat and drizzle syrup on the poories.
Serve them plain or with ice cream.

Variation: Sprinkle Turbinado sugar crystals on the pakam poori for extra crispiness.

Makes 32 pakam poories.

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