· By ODM Masala
Chakli Recipe: Crispy Rice Flour Chakli at Home
Quick answer: Chakli is a crisp, deep-fried Indian spiral snack made from rice flour and besan, spiced with ajwain, jeera and chilli, then pressed through a chakli mould and fried on steady medium heat. Get two things right — a soft, smooth dough and oil that never climbs past medium — and every chakli comes out crisp instead of cracked or soggy.
Also known as: chakli is called murukku in Tamil Nadu, chakralu or janthikalu in Andhra and Telangana, and chakri in many Gujarati and Maharashtrian homes. In English it is usually described simply as a savoury rice flour spiral.
Almost every Indian home makes chakli at festival time, and almost everyone has had a batch that broke inside the press or drank half the kadhai of oil. This is the everyday version made with ODM Chawal Atta (Rice Flour) — no overnight bhajani grinding, nothing more specialised than a chakli press.
What Goes Into Chakli?
This makes roughly 20 medium chakli.
- 2 cups rice flour (chawal atta)
- Half cup ODM Chana Besan
- 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
- 1 tsp jeera (whole cumin seeds)
- 1 tsp red chilli powder and salt to taste
- 2 tbsp hot oil for the dough, plus oil for deep frying
- About three-fourth cup hot water
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds, optional
The flour does most of the work here, so it is worth using a clean, freshly milled rice flour with no fillers — ODM flours are milled from handpicked grain with no artificial colours or preservatives added.
How Do You Make Chakli at Home?
- Dry-roast the rice flour and besan separately on low heat for 2–3 minutes, just until warm and loose. This one step keeps chakli from soaking up oil later.
- Mix both flours with salt, chilli powder, ajwain, jeera and sesame seeds in a wide bowl.
- Heat 2 tbsp oil until hot and pour it into the flour. Rub it in well — when you press a fistful, it should hold its shape. This is the moyan, and it decides how crisp the chakli turns out.
- Add hot water a little at a time and knead a soft, smooth dough — softer than roti dough, but not sticky. Cover and rest it for 10 minutes.
- Grease the chakli press, fit the star plate and fill it with a portion of dough, keeping the rest covered so it does not dry out.
- Press spirals of two to three rounds onto a sheet of butter paper. Press the loose outer end gently into the spiral so it cannot unwind in the oil.
- Heat oil on medium. Drop in a pinch of dough — it should rise steadily, not shoot up instantly. Slide in three or four chakli at a time.
- Fry on medium, turning once, until the bubbling slows down and the colour is an even golden brown, roughly 6–8 minutes. Drain and cool completely.
Why Does Chakli Break or Turn Soft?
Nearly every chakli problem traces back to the dough or the oil temperature.
| Problem | What caused it | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Breaks while pressing | Dough too dry, or too little hot oil in it | Sprinkle warm water and knead again until smooth |
| Bursts or unwinds in oil | Air pockets, or the outer end left loose | Knead well, rest the dough, seal the end |
| Soft instead of crisp | Oil too hot, so it browned before cooking through | Lower to medium and fry until bubbling slows |
| Very oily | Oil not hot enough when the chakli went in | Let the oil come back to medium between batches |
| Hard and tooth-breaking | Too much moyan, or over-kneaded dough | Stick to 2 tbsp hot oil for 2 cups of flour |
How Do You Store Chakli So It Stays Crisp?
Cool the chakli completely before it goes near a container — packing them even slightly warm traps steam and turns the whole batch limp by morning. Stored airtight at room temperature, away from the stove and any damp corner, chakli stays crisp for two to three weeks. In heavy monsoon weather, a few minutes in a low oven brings back the crunch.
If you would like to know more about the flour itself, our guide to chawal atta and how to use it covers its other everyday uses.
FAQ
Can I make chakli without a chakli press?
Yes. A piping bag with a star nozzle works well, and at a pinch you can cut a small star-shaped opening in a thick zip bag. Shape slightly smaller spirals, since hand-piped chakli is thicker and needs a little longer in the oil.
Is chakli the same as murukku?
They are close cousins rather than the same thing. Murukku is usually built on rice flour with urad dal flour, while chakli commonly uses besan or a roasted bhajani mix and leans more on ajwain and chilli. The shaping and frying are practically identical.
Why is my chakli absorbing so much oil?
Almost always because the oil dipped below frying temperature, usually after too big a batch went in at once. Fry a few at a time, let the oil recover between batches, and roast the flour lightly first.
If you are planning a festival batch this season, a good rice flour makes the whole thing easier — you can pick up ODM Chawal Atta along with the rest of your chakli spices whenever you are stocking up.