Baked Karanji, a healthier take on deep fried heaven!

'Karanji' is a traditional Maharashtrian sweet prepared during the festival of Diwali. This dessert has soft sweet coconut warmly wrapped with crunchy pastry.

There are two reasons why Baked 'karanji' are a blessing during Diwali. Firstly, they are a lot healthier than the traditional fried version and secondly they save a lot of time. You don't have to fry them one or two at a time, all of them get baked together! With so much to do during Diwali, a healthier sweet which saves time is always a win-win.

Similar versions of the 'Karanji' called 'Gujiya','Ghugra', 'Kajjikayalu', 'Karchikkai' and many more are prepared all over India. The fillings keep changing with changing regions, but the basic concept remains the same.
Today's recipe is a healthier take on the Maharashtrian version of the 'Karanji'. You can use my recipe or your family's recipe for the filling. But I have narrowed down on the outer cover recipe after trying a couple of online recipes last Diwali. So just go with it! Also, if you have a better version with you, please feel free to share it with all of us.

Before we start, I should mention that Baking the 'karanjis' does not make this dessert calorie free, so maintain caution while indulging in this addictive dessert!

Level: Medium
Serves: 15 - 16 medium sized karanjis
Source: Madhura and Sudha Kulkarni's Microwave cookery guide

Ingredients:
For Cover:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tblsp tuup/clarified butter
2 tsp cornflour
Pinch of salt
Cold milk for kneading, as required

For Filling:
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp semolina, any variety
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
Nuts and raisins, optional

Method:
Cover:
Step 1 - In a bowl, mix together the cornflour, tuup and salt till it forms a smooth creamy paste. Do not rush here. Do this for at least a couple of minutes.

Step 2 - Add the all purpose flour and mix well with your fingers, till it resembles bread crumbs.

Step 3 - Add cold milk a couple of tablespoons at a time and knead it to form a dough. The dough should be a little stiffer than your regular chapati dough. But don't lose your head over the consistency here. Just make sure it isin't too soft. Keep covered for 15 mins.

Filling:
Step 1 - Dry roast the poppy seeds, till they slightly change color. Keep aside to cool.

Step 2 - In the same pan, dry roast the semolina till it slightly changes color. Keep aside to cool.

Step 3 - In a large bowl, mix together the coconut, powdered sugar, cardamom powder, nuts and raisins if you are using and the cooled roasted poppy seeds and semolina.

Assembly:
Step 1- Divide the dough into 1/2 inch round balls. Roll out the dough balls into thin discs. Use some dry all purpose flour, if the dough is sticking to the rolling board.

Step 2 - Place a tablespoon of the filling in the center of the rolled out disc. Apply milk on half of the border. This will act as a glu to hold the shape in place. Carefully flip one end of the disc onto the other to form a half moon shape. Press the joint well. Cut off the corners with a Karanji cutter or a pizza cutter for a perfect finish.

Step 3 - Place the prepared 'karanjis' on a foil lined baking tray and place it in the refrigerator for 30 mins.

Step 4 - Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Bake the 'karanjis' for 7 - 8 mins or till they are golden brown. Keep a watchful eye here as every oven works differently and you do not want to end up with burnt karanjis.

We are done!

Hope you enjoy these 'karanjis' as much as we do!

Happy Diwali Everyone!

Going Green with Palak Sev (Spinach Sev)

Once you realize how easy it is to make Sev, you are bound to go crazy! This year we decided to try out Spinach Sev for Diwali. Initially, I was a little worried that the dough would not retain it's lush green color post frying. But they did retain their color and how! 

I needed these sev to be spicy as they had to perfectly compliment the sweet ladoos that are made for Diwali. So I added some ginger and green chillies to the batter too. All in all, these turned out very interesting. 

Your chakli press has 2 discs for making sev. Thicker sev and thinner sev, as shown below. Just remember that if you are using the thinner sev disc, try and avoid whole spices as it is difficult to press the sev out of the chakli press and the spices get clogged inside the contraption.

Now let's get started.

Level: Easy
Serves: 8 - 10 people

Ingredients:
2 cups chickpea flour
10 tblsp rice flour
2 cups packed palak/spinach
2 inch ginger, finely chopped
8 green chillies, finely chopped
5 tblsp cilantro, roughly chopped
1.5 tsp turmeric powder
1 tblsp red chilly powder
1 tsp black pepper powder
1 tblsp carom seeds/ajwain, coarsely crushed
1 tblsp cumin seeds/jeera, coarsely crushed
1/4 tsp asafoetida
Salt to taste (I used 2 tsp)
2 tsp clarified butter (ghee) / oil (I used oil)
Warm Water as required
Oil for deep frying
Thin sev disc

Method:
Step 1 - Heat 5 to 6 cups of water. When it comes to a boil, dunk in the the spinach and boil it for 1 min. Take them out and immediately wash it with cold water. This process retains the green color of spinach.

Step 2 - In a mixer bowl, blend the spinach, ginger, green chillies and cilantro to a fine paste. Strain this mixture and keep aside.

Step 3 - Take a flat large pan and fill it with an inch of oil. Start heating it on medium high heat.

Step 4 - In a large bowl, measure out the chickpea flour, rice flour, red chilly powder, black pepper powder, crushed carom seeds, crushed cumin seeds, asafoetida and salt. Mix it with a spoon or with your hand till everything is incorporated well.

Step 5 - Add in the clarified butter or oil and mix the ingredients well. It should have a crumbly texture, which indicates that you have mixed all ingredients well with the grease. 

Step 6 - Now slowly add in the spinach puree from Step 2 and start kneading it into a dough, similar to a chapati dough. Use a little warm water if you have to. The final dough should be of a soft texture. Check for salt. If you need to add more salt, don't just sprinkle it into the dough. Mix the salt in a tsp of water, heat the water in the microwave for a few seconds. Mix till the salt dissolves well. Add to the dough and knead well again.

Step 7- Spray the interiors and the rod of the chakli press with some oil spray or just smear some oil with your hand to make sure the dough comes out well and does not stick to the surface.

Step 8 - Divide the dough into 2 parts, mould it into a cylindrical shape and push the dough into the chakli press. Close the contraption in place. The remaining dough needs to be oiled and covered well. We dont want the dough to form scales on the top while it rests.

Step 9 - Let us check the oil now. By now it should be perfectly hot. Take out a pinch of dough from our resting dough and add it to the oil. It should immediately come up and start sizzling. This indicates the oil is ready. Now take the chakli press and start rotating the rod till it starts squeezing the dough out. Holding the press above the hot oil, quickly squeeze out the dough. Keep moving your hand around so the pan is full of sev.

Step 10 - Let the sev fry for 5 - 10 seconds. With the help of tongs, turn the sev over carefully. Fry for another 10 - 12 seconds. Remove off the pan and place on a tissue lined tray. Start next batch. Make sure you do not brown the sev too much.

Step 11 - When the sev has cooled down, just slightly crush them down with the palms of your hand on the tray, so they break down. You can crush them as small or as long as you like them. Store them in an air tight container and gobble away.

Hope you enjoy munching on these.

For more Diwali recipes, don't forget to check out the Diwali Faraal tab on your right.

Tips:
Make sure you are careful when you push down the sev into the hot oil. You dont want the chakli press to fall into the hot oil and splash oil all over you. To avoid this, before you start frying, make sure your hands or the chakli press is not oily.

Use a flat pan to fry these, so you can fry a large batch at one time.

When the dough touches the oil, there will be a lot of bubbles. Slowly the bubbles will start disappearing. This is the indication of the sev being cooked. Don't wait too long for the sev to change color here. They might end up burning.

When I was frying the sev, I did not pile them a lot as my pan was very flat. Due to this my cooking time was just a few seconds. If you have a deeper pan, and can pile your sev together into a heap, don't forget to  increase your frying time.

Rava Besan Ladoo

Ladoos (Sweet Indian Rounds) are an integral part of Diwali celebrations at Indian homes. Though Indian cuisine boasts of making ladoos out of a variety of ingredients, Diwali celebrations mostly involve Besan Ladoos (chickpea flour ladoos), Rava Ladoos (semolina ladoos) or a combination of both these ingredients Rava Besan Ladoos (chickpea flour and semolina ladoos).

My personal favorite ladoos are Rava Besan Ladoos. I think they just have the perfect texture which takes me to 'Ladoo heaven'! Not too soft like Besan Ladoos and not too gritty like Rava Ladoos. Now that does not mean I am not a fan of the other ladoos. I just have a soft corner for these cuties. 

Everyone at our home likes simple ladoos. No fancy nuts or raisins in them. Maybe because that is how we remember eating them as kids when our ajjis made them. But you are free to add cashewnuts, almonds and raisins to this recipe. Just remember to toast the nuts well before adding them.

Now let us get to making these ladoos.

Serves: 20 medium ladoos

Level: Medium 

Ingredients:

2 cups semolina/rava (fine)

1 cup chickpea flour/besan

6 tblsp ghee

2 cups + 2 tblsp sugar

1 cup water

3/4 tsp cardamom powder

2 pinch saffron strands

pinch of salt

Method:

Step 1 - In a heavy bottom pan, roast the semolina well on medium heat stirring continuously. Roast till it smells awesome and turns brownish. Keep aside to cool.

Step 2 - In the same pan, heat the ghee and roast the chickpea flour on medium heat till it turns golden brown in color. This mixture will not be dry like the semolina. It will form a paste. Take the pan off heat. Add the roasted semolina from Step 1 and mix well. Keep aside till we work with our sugar syrup.

Step 3 - In another pot, add the sugar and water. Start boiling on medium heat. Initially the syrup will foam up a lot. Keep boiling it for 5 mins. Till then you should see clear liquid bubbling. After 5 mins of rapid boiling, start testing the syrup. Dip a steel spoon into the syrup and stir it around well. Take out the spoon and swipe your index finger on the back of your spoon to test the syrup. Now touch your thumb to your index finger and gently pull the two fingers a little apart. A single thread should form in between these fingers. Keep joining and releasing these 2 fingers a couple of times rapidly. If you see a single thread form each time, you are done. Usually this should be achieved in 2 to 3 mins from your first boil.

Step 4 - Pour this sugar syrup into the dry mixture from Step 2. Mix well with a spoon. Make sure there are no lumps. Cover it and let this mixture rest till it cools down, absorbs all the syrup and thickens enough to form a ball. 

If you make this on a warm day, the mixture could take 4 to 5 hours to cool down and thicken up. On the other hand, if you make this on a cold day it could take just 30 mins. So do keep an eye on it. Once you realize that you are able to press the mixture together, you are good to go.

Step 5 - When the mixture is still a little warm, add a pinch of salt, the cardamom powder and the saffron strands. Mix well. Let the mixture cool completely.

Step 6 - Take a heaped tblsp of mixture into your hand and just press it together till it holds shape. Once you have the mixture clumped up well, roll them in the center of both your palms till it forms a smooth ball. Do not apply pressure while rolling as this might break the ladoos. Also, when you start rolling you might realize that the mixture is not looking as smooth as a ladoo. Do not worry. Keep rolling it into a round shape with minimum pressure. The heat in your palms will mold it into a smooth ball. 

If you are uncomfortable while rolling the mixture as it sticks a lot to your hand, you can apply some ghee on your palms before you start rolling.

We are done! Enjoy these any time of the day!

Hope you enjoy these ladoos as much as we do.

Tips:

Even though it is true that the sugar syrup consistency is key to making ladoos, do not let that scare you. Try to get the one string consistency as correct as you can. This does take time. 

Just remember that if you under cook the syrup, all that will happen is your ladoos will be soft and will not hold shape. They are not going to taste bad.  And if you notice that you have boiled the sugar a little too long and now see 2 strings instead of 1 between your thumb and index finger, you have gone a little too far and you might not be able to roll out the ladoos well. When this happens, just put the ready warm mixture into a greased plate, cut them into squares or diamonds before they completely cool off and make Rava Besan Wadi (Bars) instead of round ladoos. 

The sugar testing process has to be done by testing the syrup when it is hot. When you touch your steel spoon to test the syrup, do not try to take a lot of it on your finger. Do understand that it is boiling sugar that you are handling. Also, just a tiny amount is necessary to test the consistency. When I was new to making ladoos (I am fairly new even now), I was paranoid about touching the syrup. So I always kept a bowl of cold water right next to me in case I burn myself. It is only after a few tries that you realize that such small quantities don't really burn you.

If you want to add nuts to this recipe, toast them well and add them at step 2 when you mix the roasted semolina and chickpea flour.

If you want to add raisins, add them when you start molding the ladoos in Step 6. You need not fry or roast these.

Quick Poha Chivda (Flattened Rice Snack)

With Diwali around the corner, the "faraal" (festive snacks) making has started at my home. The easiest and  most common snack prepared is "Poha Chivda". The recipe which I am sharing with you is a regular at Maharashtrian homes during Diwali.

Before we get to the recipe, I would like to mention that a lot of tips have been provided below the recipe to change the flavoring of the chivda to your liking. Do go through them to tweak the chivda as per your preference.

Let me also go through certain important tips before we start cooking:
When it comes to flattened rice, your supermarket may carry 3 different varieties: Thick Poha, Thin Poha and Nylon Poha. For this chivda recipe I would recommend the thin variety of poha.

I generally make my chivda with less oil. My measure is :
4 cups of flattened rice needs 2 tblsp oil. 

The most common problem new cooks face while making chivda is guessing the salt content. Though this is a personal preference for everyone, I have a fixed measure for that too.
4 cups of flattened rice needs 3/4 tsp ground salt. 
Do keep in mind that this is our personal preference. You can work around this figure to get your flavors right where you want.
You noticed I mentioned 'Ground' salt? It is nothing fancy! I just put some salt in a mortal pestle and grind it till it is powdered down well. This prevents the salt from settling to the bottom of your pan or the box where you store this chivda. Also, powdered salt perfectly coats the flattened rice and there is no residue at the bottom that makes your last batch of chivda too salty to consume.

I generally dry roast the nuts before adding them to the chivda when I make it at my home just as a regular snack. But when it is prepared during Diwali time, the nuts are shallow fried in oil.
Afterall Diwali is about (over) indulging. Isin't it!

And last but not the least, like most of the snack recipes, you will need to have all ingredients prepped and ready before you get to making the chivda.

Moving to the recipe..

Level: Easy
Serves: 8 heaped cups of chivda

(Chivda with onions, cilantro and a squeeze of lime)

Ingredients:
8 cups of thin poha/flattened rice
3/4 cup raw peanuts
1/2 cup roasted chana dal
12 garlic pods, thinly sliced
4 tblsp oil + oil for shallow frying nuts and garlic
1 tsp mustard seeds
3/4 tsp asafoetida/hing
3/4 tsp turmeric powder
15 green chillies, wiped dry and finely chopped
15 -18 curry leaves, wiped dry
Salt to taste, powdered in a mortar and pestle

Method:
Step 1 - In a small pot, heat 4 tblsp oil. When the oil is hot, add the raw peanuts and fry till they turn light brown. Drain onto a paper towel. Next add the roasted chana dal and fry till they turn light brown too. Drain these onto the paper towel. In the same oil, add the garlic and fry it on a high flame till they turn brown. Drain these onto the paper towel too. Keep aside. Discard remaining oil.

Step 2 - Let us roast the flattened rice. Take 4 cups of flattened rice in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave cook on high power for 1 minute. Take out the bowl, stir the flattened rice around with a spoon and microwave cook again for 1 more minute. Keep aside. Repeat the steps with the next 4 cups of rice. You will notice that the puffed rice curls up a little, looks brittle and is crisp when it cools down.

Step 3 - In a huge pot, heat 4 tblsp oil. Add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the asafoetida and curry leaves. Stir for a couple of seconds. Add the green chillies and saute them for a minute or two till the chillies turn brown.

Step 4 - Add the turmeric powder and immediately add all the fried nuts and garlic from step 1. Stir for a few seconds. Add the ground salt and mix well. Immediately add the roasted flattened rice and saute well till the oil coats each and every ingredient. Roast for 4 to 5 mins on medium heat.

The chivda will be crisp as soon as it cools down. Store it in an air tight container and indulge!

Tips:
Unlike my folks at home, a lot of Indians enjoy their chivda a little sweet. 2 ingredients can help you with this. Raisins and Sugar. If you plan to add some raisins, make sure you fry them well in Step 1. If you plan to use sugar, you will have to powder it in a mortal pestle like we did for the salt and add it right at the end after your chivda cools down a little. If you add sugar when the chivda is hot, the sugar will caramelize and you will not get your desired texture and taste.

You can add dry coconut flakes in this chivda too. Like raisins, you will have to fry them till they are light brown in Step 1.

You need to remember that whenever you are using garlic in your chivda, it is the last ingredient that you will fry. While frying, as we are using less oil, garlic tends to cling to your spoon and become sticky. You may not be able to fry anything else after you fry garlic.

If you do not own a microwave oven, you can roast the flattened rice in a flat pan on medium to low heat stirring continuously. This process would take upto 12 - 15 mins. Do not rush.

A lot of Indian stores have 'Chivda Masala' available. You can substitute this spice mix instead of turmeric in this recipe.

If you are not comfortable adding green chillies into the chivda, you can substitute it with red chilly powder. Just add it immediately after the turmeric. Make sure you do not let it burn.

Roasted chana dal is readily available in the market. If you do not have it, just skip it. Do not roast the regular chana dal you have at home. It does not mimic the store bought version.

We enjoy this chivda with some chopped onions, lots of cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Perfect with our evening tea or coffee.

If you have any further questions or if I have missed any points, please feel free to drop me your queries in the comment box below. I will try my best to answer them.

HAPPY DIWALI EVERYONE!

Kurmuryache Ladoo (Puffed rice balls)

A super quick and simple snack, which gets me back to my childhood vacation time, which I usually spent with my cousins and ajji. She used to make the best kurmuryache ladoo I have ever tasted ! I used to sit in the kitchen with her, when she made these ladoos and always made sure at least a couple went right from the plate into my mouth. ohhhh...I miss her so much.

Though these ladoos are quick and easy to make, the kurmura/murmura/puffed rice that I manage to get hold of in the USA are as chewy as they get. Tried many brands and types of puffed rice, but they all were chewy. Now, when you make chivda, you dont have to worry too much about the puffed rice being chewy. You roast them in the preparation, which gets them crunchy again. But while making sweets, chewy puffed rice added to jaggery is going to result into a chewy ladoo. But there is a way around this. Isn't there always...
So here is a recipe, which will first get your puffed rice crunchy and then helps you make lovely ladoos which will stay cruchy for a couple of days. That is if they last that long...

Another thing, which I need to stress here is that, like all sweet preparations, you need to have all ingredients ready and then start making the ladoos. Once, jaggery is added to the kurmura, it turns hard really quickly. If you lose time here, it will be difficult to mold it into a circle. And don't worry too much about the temperature here. Trust me,once you add puffed rice, the temperature drops really quickly and unlike Til ladoo or rava ladoo these ladoos can totally be handled. But if this still scares you, go right down to the Tips section and see what else can be done.

So let us get cooking some kurmura ladoo. Ajji this one is for you!

Level: Medium
Serves: 12 - 14 medium sized ladoos

Ingredients:
4 cups heaped puffed rice/kurmura
1 cup jaggery, grated (any kind)
1 cup water
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1 pinch nutmeg powder (optional)
1 bowl of water (for syrup testing and molding)

Method:
Step 1 - Let us get the puffed rice crunchy. Place a paper towel onto a microwave safe plate, spread the puffed rice in a single layer and microwave for 40 to 45 seconds. Remove and place the warm kurmura in a pot. Do not panic! They will be crunchy only when they cool down. You will have to do this in batches, without over crowding the plate till all 4 cups of kurmura are done. If you think the kurmura is getting brown at the edges, reduce your microwave cooking time by a couple of seconds.

Step 2 - In a wide bottomed pan, heat the jaggery and water together on medium heat. Initially, it will start melting and then gradually it will start foaming as shown in the picture below. Once the jaggery foams up completely for 2 to 4 minutes and gets a caramel-like color, start testing the syrup. Drop a tiny drop of the syrup into the bowl of water. It should hold it's shape and should not dissolve in water. Put your hand in the bowl and try and form a soft ball (underwater) out of this jaggery with your thumb and index finger. When you can do that, the syrup is ready. This syrup making process should take you only about 15 mins from start to finish.

(Clockwise - Syrup making, from a slow boil to a fast boil to a caramel colored boil)

Step 3 - Add the cooled kurmura, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder if using into the syrup and mix well till the jaggery is well coated. The kurmura will soak in all the syrup and this mixture will just look like a thick golden mass.

Step 4 - Let this cool only till it can be handled, which will not be more than 2 mins out. Start shaping into balls. Press them lightly into shape. If the mixture is sticky or warmer than what you can handle, just dip your hand in some cold water and continue shaping them.

Done!

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Tips:
If you think making round balls is not upto you, just press the puffed rice mixture into a greased baking tray or on a plate. Run a knife through it, while it is warm to get your desired shape. Do not break them apart until they cool down. This way the entire 'handling warm puffed rice with your bare hands' process is avoided.

Generally there are 2 varieties of puffed rice you use in Indian snacks. One is the regular long variety you use for bhel and another is the round smaller variety (Kolhapuri kurmura) you use for ladoos or bhadang. Ideally Kolhapuri puffed rice is used for these ladoos but you can use any kind that you have on hand. It really doesn't matter.

Generally people add peanuts, dry coconut or roasted chana dal to these ladoos. But I remember eating these plain and that is how I make them. Please feel free to add your favorite ingredients in Step 3 along with the kurmura. Don't forget to roast or fry these ingredients before adding them.

Submitting this recipe to CookEatDelicious for her 'Picnic Dessert' event.

Spicy Garlic Sev

Spicy...Garlicy...Dead Easy!

If you are new to Diwali Faraal and dont know what to start off with...this is the recipe to go!
It is really quick and easy. Needs no experience and a huge bunch can be fried in less than 10 mins.
Having a chakli press is necessary though...

You can season this dish with any of your favorite spices.

Red chilly powder, Black pepper powder and clove powder make the sev spicy.
You can also add in cumin seeds (jeera) or carom seeds (ajwain) to the dough. Just make sure you roughly crush them before adding. I would suggest rolling them with pressure with a rolling pin. We don't want it super fine. But if there are large pieces of spices, it will just fall out into the oil when you fry the sev.

Your chakli press has 2 discs for making sev. Thicker sev and thinner sev, as shown below. Just remember that if you are using the thinner sev disc, try and avoid whole spices as it is difficult to press the sev out of the chakli press and the spices get clogged inside the contraption.

Now let's get started.

Level: Easy
Serves: 8 - 10 people

Ingredients:
2 cups chickpea flour
8 tblsp rice flour
1.5 tsp turmeric powder
2 tblsp garlic powder
2 tblsp red chilly powder
1 tsp black pepper powder
1/4 tsp asafoetida
Salt to taste (I used 2 tsp)
2 tsp clarified butter (ghee) / oil (I used ghee)
Warm Water as required
Oil for deep frying
Thin sev disc

Method:
Step 1 - Take a flat large pan and fill it with an inch of oil. Start heating it on medium high heat.

Step 2 - In a large bowl, measure out the chickpea flour, rice flour, garlic powder, red chilly powder, black pepper powder, asafoetida and salt. Mix it with a spoon or with your hand till everything is incorporated well.

Step 3 - Add in the clarified butter or oil and mix the ingredients well. It should have a crumbly texture, which indicates that you have mixed all ingredients well with the grease.

Step 4 - Now slowly add in the warm water and start kneading it into a dough, similar to a chapati dough. The final dough should be of a soft texture. Check for salt. If you need to add more salt, don't just sprinkle it into the dough. Mix the salt in a tsp of water, heat the water in the microwave for a few seconds. Mix till the salt dissolves well. Add to the dough and knead well again.

Step 5 - Spray the interiors and the rod of the chakli press with some oil spray or just smear some oil with your hand to make sure the dough comes out well and does not stick to the surface.

Step 6 - Divide the dough into 2 parts, mould it into a cylindrical shape and push the dough into the chakli press. Close the contraption in place. The remaining dough needs to be oiled and covered well. We dont want the dough to form scales on the top while it rests.

Step 7 - Let us check the oil now. By now it should be perfectly hot. Take out a pinch of dough from our resting dough and add it to the oil. It should immediately come up and start sizzling. This indicates the oil is ready. Now take the chakli press and start rotating the rod till it starts squeezing the dough out. Holding the press above the hot oil, quickly squeeze out the dough. Keep moving your hand around so the pan is full of sev.

Step 8 - Let the sev fry for 5 - 10 seconds. With the help of tongs, turn the sev over carefully. Fry for another 10 - 12 seconds. Remove off the pan and place on a tissue lined tray. Start next batch. Make sure you do not brown the sev too much.

Step 9 - When the sev has cooled down, just slightly crush them down with the plams of your hand on the tray, so they break down. You can crush them as small or as long as you like them. Store them in an air tight container and gobble away.

Hope you enjoy munching on these.

Tips:
Make sure you are careful when you push down the sev into the hot oil. You dont want the chakli press to fall into the hot oil and splash oil all over you. To avoid this, before you start frying, make sure your hands or the chakli press is not oily.

Use a flat pan to fry these, so you can fry a large batch at one time.

When the dough touches the oil, there will be a lot of bubbles. Slowly the bubbles will start disappearing. This is the indication of the sev being cooked. Don't wait too long for the sev to change color here. They might end up burning.

When I was frying the sev, I did not pile them a lot as my pan was very flat. Due to this my cooking time was just a few seconds. If you have a deeper pan, and can pile your sev together into a heap, don't forget to  increase your frying time.