Diwali Special: Expert Shares Baked Alternatives To Fried Snacks
Image Credit: Adobe Stock

Diwali is all about indulging in festive treats, putting colours together for rangoli, and lighting up the house to make everything glitter. If you like to make fried snacks to get into the festive spirit, the continuous guilt can take a toll. But who said the Diwali staples like mathri, chakli, or gujiya have to be fried in heavy oil?

If you want to make the most of Diwali, and that too without compromising your health, trying baked recipes for the traditional Diwali snacks is the perfect solution. To get you tried and tested recipes, Slurrp interviewed Ms Samantha Kochharr, the Founder of Tea Room Cafe. Here are five baked alternatives to fried Diwali snacks that you can enjoy guilt-free.

Baked Mathri

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon carom seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup ghee
  • 1/4 cup water, plus more as needed

Instructions:

  1. In a mixing bowl, combine wheat flour, ghee, carom seeds, cumin seeds, and salt.
  2. Add water gradually and knead stiff.
  3. Using a fork, flatten small discs of the dough on a baking sheet.
  4. Bake in an oven at 180°C for 20-25 minutes, until golden and crispy.

Baked Samosa

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tablespoon ghee
  • 2 boiled potatoes (mashed)
  • 1/2 cup peas
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • Salt to taste
  • Water for kneading

Instructions:

  1. Take whole wheat flour, ghee and salt mix them together and knead into a soft dough. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
  2. While making the filling, sauté cumin seeds in ghee, mashed potatoes, peas, garam masala and salt. Mix well.
  3. Roll out small circles from this dough and put the filling inside of it. Fold them into triangular samosas.
  4. Bake at 180°C for 25-30 minutes or till golden brown.

Baked Chakli

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup rice flour
  • 1/2 cup urad dal flour
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon ghee
  • Salt, to taste
  • Water to knead

Instructions:

  1. Mix the rice flour, urad dal flour, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, and ghee in a bowl.
  2. Add water to the dough and knead to get soft. Use the chakli press and shape them in spirals.
  3. Place on a baking tray and bake at 180°C till crispy and golden, at least for 20-25 minutes.

Baked Gujiya

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup khoya
  • 1/4 cup sugar (or jaggery)
  • 1/4 cup chopped nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios)
  • 1 tablespoon ghee

Instructions:

  1. Mix wheat flour with ghee, knead to a soft dough and keep for 30 minutes.
  2. Mix khoya and sugar in a pan over low heat till the mixture combines, then add chopped nuts.
  3. Roll the dough, make circles, fill, fold into a half-moon shape, and seal the edges.
  4. Brush with ghee and then bake for 20-25 minutes.

Baked Kachori

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup moong dal (cooked and spiced)
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp amchur (dry mango powder)
  • 1 tablespoon ghee

Instructions:

  1. Knead and mix ghee into whole wheat flour with gentle kneading and keep it as a soft dough.
  2. Heat the pan by putting cumin seeds, fennel seeds, spices, and amchur powder in the pan, and add moong dal.
  3. Divide the dough portion into small portions, pat them into circles, and fill them up using the lentil mixture to make kachoris.
  4. Bake at 180°C for 25-30 minutes or until it becomes golden and crispy.