ख़मंग कूरकूरीत चकलीची भाजणी Chakali Bhajani Peeth : Chakli is a delightfully scrumptious snack that is often made in India during the Diwali festival. Also known as Chakri, these spiral-shaped crunchy snacks are made using the perfect blend of lentils and spices. Deep-fried to golden brown perfection, chaklis are lightly spiced with turmeric and chili packing in an explosion of flavors in every bite.

Ingredients for AREVA chakli - flour(Chakali Bhajani Peeth), chili, carom seeds, turmeric, sesame seeds, salt and oil
Step 1 - Add the AREVA flour to a mixing bowl. Add 1/4 cup of hot oil and 1/4 cup of hot water. Add red chili powder, carom seeds, turmeric, salt, and sesame seeds. Mix everything with a spatula. Gradually add cold water and knead the flour to make a soft dough. Cover the dough with a moist paper towel so it does not dry out
Step 2 -Start heating the oil in a frying pan or kadhai on medium heat. Insert the chakli disc with a star shape in the middle into the chakli press. Next, take some dough and make it into a cylindrical shape to fit in the chakli press. Insert just enough dough to almost fill the tube. Tightly secure the top lid/handle on the tube
Step 3 - Start pumping out the chakli in a circular motion on small pieces of parchment paper or paper towels. I usually do 3 to 4 spiral rounds, close to each other to make one chakli. Secure the end to the outermost circle so the chakli will stay together. Continue pressing the remaining chaklis. The tube usually holds enough dough to press out 6 to 8 chaklis
Step 4 -Test the oil for optimum temperature by adding a small piece of dough to the oil, which should rise up gradually in 5 to 10 seconds. If it rises up too fast, lower the heat and if it does not rise up in 10 seconds allow the oil to heat up further.
Step 5 - Carefully add chakli one at a time into the hot oil, taking care not to crowd the frying pan. You can add 3 to 6 chaklis at a time depending on the size of your pan. Keep on high heat when adding the chakli to the hot oil. After about 1 minute, lower the heat to medium. After 2-3 minutes, turn them over, one at a time, and continue to fry on medium to low heat or until they are golden brown in color for another 1 to 2 minutes. It usually takes a total of about 5-6 minutes to perfectly fry a batch of chaklis. Lower the heat when you are ready to take out the chakli. Take them out in a paper towel-lined tray and then allow to cool down in a single layer
Step 6 -Repeat pressing out the chakli and frying process for the remaining dough, steps 3 and 5. Remember to increase the heat for the oil to high before adding the next batch of chakli.

Allow the chaklis to completely cool down and then store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They stay good for weeks or even months as long as you keep them away from moisture.