Easy Rava Chakli Recipe | Sooji chakli

Instant rava chakli or sooji chakli is crispy textured deep-fried snack. It is a popular Indian festival snack made of fine semolina or rava and rice flour along with other spices.

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Check a quick video of how to make Rava Chakli in the recipe card and try this in your kitchen. If you have enjoyed the video do subscribe to Dice n Cook Youtube channel for more food videos.   

About rava chakli

It is a South Indian snack recipe. The simple recipe involves cooking fine rava or sooji or semolina in twice amount of water. Then dough is prepared by adding rice flour to this. Using a chakli presser make the chakli and deep fried in hot oil.

Instant chakli is important part of different festivals in many of South Indian states. Here is a recipe I learnt from one of facebook foodie group.

There are many variations in chakli recipe across India. Few household use rice flour, wheat flour, chickpea flour or fine rava. Fried, ground or cooked lentils are also used in making chakli.

This is instant version of chakli without any washing drying or roasting and not grinding any lentils.

Why will you love this chakli recipe?

You will love this Indian festival snack because its

An easy and instant savoury snack recipe

Requires only few ingredients to make

Festival savoury recipe

This is instant chakli recipe

Beginners chakli

A dairy free snack

Its vegetarian deep-fried savoury

It’s a great party snack

Dairy free snack recipe

More easy and quick snacks recipes for Krishna Janmashtami or Gokulashtami, Ganesha chaturti or Diwali can be found on blog

Instant moong dal chakli

Nippattu

Urad dal chakli

Equipment

Chakli presser or maker – This is the Indian style brass equipment used to make chakli, sev, ribbon pakoda. Different shaped plates are used to make these fried snacks. This plate is fitted at the bottom of cylindrical presser, filled with dough, and pressed from top. Chakli presser which on pressing releases strands of dough that are spirally shaped and later deep fried.

Deep fry pan – Used to fry chakli.

Thick bottomed pan – used for cooking fine rava for the dough.

Mixing bowl – to prepare dough by mixing cooked rava and rice flour.

Stainless steel deep fryer crafted Ladle – for frying chakli.

Parchment paper – we can use this for placing the pressed chakli and this helps to easily slide the chakli into hot oil.

Kitchen tissue paper – to remove excess oil from fried chakli.

Ingredients Note

Let’s see the ingredients required to make this instant chakli snack

Fine Rava or sooji or chiroti rave or semolina – This is main ingredient in this chakli recipe. Also called as suji, sooji or semolina. If you don’t find fine rava, can powder medium sized rava or Bombay rava. Sooji gives crispy texture to chakli.

Fine Rava and rice flour in the ratio 1 : 2 is used to make this chakli

Water – it is used to cook fine rava.

Rice flour – I have used store brought rice flour, you can use homemade flour as well.

Cumin or jeera – This is used for extra flavour to the chakli.

Hot oil – I have used the same oil for dough and for deep frying.

Red chili powder – It is used for spiciness of chakli. You can use homemade powdered red chili or store brought red chili powder.

Refined oil – Any odourless oil is used for deep frying the chakli. Ground nut oil or coconut oil can be used for deep frying.

Salt as per taste preference. We can use any salt to make the chakli dough.

Step by Step Method

We can make a perfect crispy instant chakli from this recipe, follow the instructions given with step-by-step photos.

To make the dough:

To prepare dough, we have to start by boiling water in a thick bottomed kadai.

Next add salt and red chili powder. As water heats up add fine rava or semolina to this.

Continuously stir the mixture and see to it that there is no lump in the mixture.

Rava or suji cooks well similar to umpa or uppittu. Suji absorbs water, salt, red chili powder and thickens up.

You can remove the mixture from flame and add cumin.

Also add rice flour to this mixture.

Next, heat oil in a small pan on low heat, it should be hot enough not burning. Pour this oil on the flour mixture. You hear a sizzling sound when hot oil poured on top of the flour.

Use your fingertips to thoroughly combine the oil with flour.

Start bringing together the dough mixture. Do not add any water to make dough.

The water added while cooking the rava is sufficient to prepare dough. If you add more water, chakli will become soft after they are fried.

Make soft pliable dough.

Keep the dough aside for 10 to 15 minutes as the flavors of dough blend well.

To make chakli:

While you rest the dough, we will prepare the chakli presser. Apply oil to the inner surface of chakli presser and star disk or plate.

Set the chakli presser with the star nozzle disc before we start pressing.  

Quickly knead the rested dough and then divide into equal parts (each dough portion varies depending on the size of your chakli presser).

Make dough logs and fill one portion to the presser. Close tightly the handle of chakli presser.

Press chakli presser in spiral manner starting from center towards outside close to each other on a small individual parchment paper square. After pressing 2 to 3 rounds, break the dough and seal the outside and inside edge. This prevents chakli from opening while frying.

Making on parchment paper helps in transferring chakli to oil easily. Not to worry if you do not have parchment paper, simply use a greased plate as base.

If you are a beginner in making chakli then you can follow this method. Press the chakli on the back of frying ladles, later slide them into hot oil.

Do not make all the chakli as they will dry up.

So, make 3 or 4 depending on the size and depth of your frying pan.

Let’s see how to fry these Instant rava chakli in the next section

To fry Chakli:

In a deep fry pan, add three fourth filled oil. Heat oil on medium flame.

Check the temperature of oil by adding a small piece of dough. If it raises too fast then it indicates oil is very hot and if it doesn’t then the oil needs to heat up.

Temperature to fry is perfect when dough ball rise up gradually to the top.

Gradually drop pressed chakli from sides of frying pan (this prevents spilling of oil on sides and hurting your hand)

I have fried medium sized three chakli at a time. Do not over crowd the pan and add as much the pan can hold.

Do not disturb chakli immediately as it might break, after few seconds, turn them over.

After 2 or 3 minutes, oil stops sizzling and chakli settles to bottom. This indicates they are fried well and becomes golden colour.

Remove them from oil, drain excess oil using kitchen tissue paper.

Fry the remaining chaklis in a similar way until the entire dough is completed.

Such an easy and instant crispy chakli is ready to be served with your favourite beverage.

Lets see how to store them

Storage suggestions

Deep fried chakli should be cooled completely before storing it. Always store them in airtight container to retain the crispiness and freshness.

When stored properly, these instant chakli remain fresh for 15 days to a month

If you store hot chakli in airtight container they become soggy and soft due to moisture.

Also see to it that you do not keep the cooled chakli open for long time. This also makes them soft due to air moisture. So, storing chakli in proper way is important.

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This recipe was previously published in the year 2017, now I have updated the recipe with new pictures and tips to get perfect rava chakli.

Recipe Card

Tips to make perfect chakli

To get perfect dough:

Always add proper quantity of water as mentioned in the recipe card. Follow the ratio of water, rava and rice flour ratio as given.

For spicier chakli add more red chili powder while making the dough.

Add hot oil rather than adding normal temperature oil as hot oil helps in keeping them crispy.

Always keep the dough and pressed chakli closed all times to avoid drying.

Always make a pliable soft dough but do not add any extra water than mentioned in the recipe. Too much water will make chakli lose shape. If you face such problem add 2 to 3 tablespoon of rice flour to the dough and knead again.

Do not rest the dough for long time. It will become dry and becomes difficult to press and break while rolling.

If you cannot make chakli spirals, then there is a easy way to make it. Simply press long lines of dough, break it and roll it into spiral chakli.  

If you still cannot make spirals then make small 3-to-4-inch bite sized chakli and fry them in hot oil. Other way is carefully pressing these small chakli directly into hot oil.

Frying chakli:

Check the temperature of oil before you start frying to avoid any burning of chakli.

Always maintain uniform temperature throughout the frying process.

Always use perforated ladle while frying chakli, this helps to remove any excess oil.

Fry on medium flame for uniform crispiness and colour.

If fried on low temperature. They absorb more oil and become oily to eat. Or if chakli is fried on high temperature, it quickly becomes brown from outside and remain uncooked from inside.

After every batch of frying, if you feel the temperature is high, you should lower the flame and maintain the heat of oil to get perfectly cooked chakli.

Recipe Variations

Bombay rava or upittu rava- If you do not have fine rava or chiroti rava, then use uppittu rava. Fine powder the medium sized rava and use in this recipe.

Sesame seeds – Few recipe variations like adding sesame seeds. They can be either roasted or used as it is. Simply mix with the flour while making the dough.

Ajwain or carom seeds – Whole ajwain or its powder can be used. These also add flavour to dough and make  

Roasted rice flour – We can also add roasted rice flour to make this chakli

Homemade rice flour – Store brought rice flour can be replaced with homemade rice flour. It can be made at home in your kitchen. Here is a simple method of making it at home. Wash the rice 2 to 3 times and soak in clean water for 15 minutes. Drain water completely, spread rice on muslin cloth and shade dry for 1 hour. Powder this into fine flour and use it making rava chakli.

Butter – Hot oil can be replaced with butter to get the crispiness in chakli. Melted butter can be added.

We can also make pudina rava chakli by adding garam masala and mint or pudina paste to the dough.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use any other flours?

I have tried only rice flour in making rava chakli. If you wish to use any other flour, use the same proportions, however the taste of chakli changes.

Is this recipe glutenfree?

No this chakli recipe is not glutenfree, since we use fine semolina.

Can we use any other glutenfree flours?

I haven’t tried any glutenfree flours to make this chakli. May be some amount of rice flour can be replaced with glutenfree flour. The texture of chakli also changes.

Can we refrigerate the dough?

No, the rava chakli dough cannot be refrigerated. It must be immediately used for making chakli otherwise they dry and becomes difficult to press.

Why is my chakli soft?

There are many reasons for chakli to become soft. If you add more water than mentioned in the recipe, dough becomes soft in turn chakli turns soft.

The other reason is if chakli is fried on high flame, the outer layer becomes dark brown and inner part remains soft and uncooked.

Why is chakli breaking while frying?

Chakli breaks in oil if there is more fat content and less moisture in the dough. So add both of them in proper measurements as mentioned in recipe.

How long these chakli can be stored?

These rava chakli can be stored for 15 days to 1 month in airtight container.

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