Indian Cooking Challenge - Saggubiyyam Murukulu / Sago Muruku / Sabudana Chakli

Pearly sabudana chakli ~ A good company to an evening cup of coffee

I am neither a novice cook nor deterred by challenging recipes that ask for my attention, time and of course labor. However I cringe and try to stay away from ones that demand frying or oodles of sugar mainly because of the health concerns and the temptations that are hard to resist which ultimately result in a growing girth. :) That's why many traditional, Indian snacks haven't appeared here yet though I know how to make most of them perfectly. And besides, I love to cook simple and faster. I know most of us prefer the same when we have to cook at least twice each day.Recently, however I noticed that my daily rut and the procrastination had made my kids not know about many traditional pindivantalu (festive foods - snacks / sweets) we enjoyed, growing up. I thought about introducing them to those amazing home cooked delicacies keeping my temptations at bay, of course. I needed some motivation and so joined Srivalli's Indian Cooking Challenge this month and chaklis happen to be my first challenge.
Chakli making is not rocket science and it is one of the easiest snacks you can prepare if you don't care about the shape. However you need some patience and strength in your hands if you are using the traditional moulds to press the chakli dough. Though I make good chaklis, the pressing job is happily passed on to beloved M since the pressing part always seems to remind me to see a rheumatologist or an occupational therapist sooner.
Frying & pressing were real challenges but not the chakli making process or eating. :)
Saggubiyyam muruku were like little jewels adorned with pearls. They were appealing to eyes besides being so to our palates. This is the first time I we made sago chaklis and were happy munching on those perfectly done crunchies.

Ingredients required for saggubiyyam chakli:
Rice Flour - 2 cups
Besan / chickpea flour - 1/2 cup
Dalia / Chutney dal - 1/2 cup
Sago / Sabudana/ Saggubiyyam - 1/2 cup
Yogurt / Curd - 1 cup
Hot oil - 4 to 5 Tbsp (About 1/4 cup or 50 gms)
Salt to taste
Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
4 - 6 cups oil to fry (In India, usually peanut oil is used to fry and I have used canola.)
Special utensils needed:
Chakli mould / press
A kadai (Indian wok) to fry the chaklis in
A big slotted spoon to remove the chaklis

And above all, about an hour of your time and a little attention are essential.

Prep work:
1. Wash and soak the sabudana in yogurt overnight. That way, you can be sure that sabudana is soaked well enough. (Srivalli had mentioned that if sago is not soaked well enough, chances of sago bursting while frying are high.)
2. Grind dalia into fine powder.

Making chakli dough:
Mix the riceflour, besan, dalia powder, salt and chili powder in a mixing bowl. Then add the soaked sabudana along with the yogurt and the hot oil into the bowl. Knead well and make firm dough similar to chapathi dough consistency. Add water if needed but have to figure out how much depending upon the dough consistency. I had to add about 1/2 cup water.

Frying part:
Heat oil in a kadai. To test whether the oil is hot enough to fry, slowly slide a pinch of dough into the oil. If it sizzles and comes to surface, then the oil is ready. If not, heat the oil a little longer.
Take a small portion of the dough and fill in the chakli press. I used star shaped disc. Using your hands, press the mould over the hot oil making circling motion so that coils of dough from the mold dropping into the oil make a circle shape. Don't freak out if you can't shape them into perfect circles. As you may have noticed from the picture, I don't worry about the shape. With out overcrowding, 4-6 chaklis can be fried at the same time depending upon the size of the kadai. Fry on low - medium flame till they are fried through out uniformly both sides and attain a golden brown hue.
Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels covered plate.
Repeat the process with the remaining dough. Cool them and store in an airtight container.

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