Maharashtrian Chirote or Fried layered crispies

Currently as I write this post, it is just 5 days before I leave for Paris, and I still do not have the Visa in my hand. It is in process since the last 2 weeks, but our not-so-competent (realized just now) travel agent did not mention that an original document notarized in Paris is required for the visa. I had to then urgently call my host in Paris, an amazingly sweet and efficient lady (which I realised now), had to rush to the Paris town hall, get the required document and courier it to me. I will get the document today and then I have four more working days before I fly to Paris. Pray for me.

I have been making to-do lists with a blue pen, then ticking off with a red one, then making another list and working on it, and then another one. It has come to a point where I will need to make a list to index and manage other lists. Phew! You know what I am talking about? It’s that sort of frenzy here right now. I always go crazy when there is a lot of stuff to be done, but right now my craziness is at its worst. To top it, Akshay has gone on a jungle safari which was planned way back , and he has limited phone range there, my mum had fractured her foot and is in a plaster, and my best friend has disappeared to another non-cell phone range area. Where are you guys?!

So for now its just this crazy-to-do-list girl and her my mum-in-law.

The Diwali week has come to an end, and we had a fantastic fun filled Diwali! A healthy mixture of meeting family, partying with friends and then cooking and learning from the masters. In current scenario, my grandma-in-law. Like all grannies, she has a box full of hidden treasures, and I can’t get enough of it. Her secret recipes can be learnt only if you cook with her. If you ask her the recipe, she would shrug it off and say “There’s nothing to it. Just heat some oil, do tadka, saute some things, let it simmer, add some coriander and its ready.” I replay it in my head and try it alone at home. It comes nowhere close to what it tastes like when she makes it. Nowhere close.

So this time around during Diwali, I tricked her into making her crisp, light and multi-layered chirote while I “help” her and for record, I took zillion photographs. Each time I would take out the camera, she would ask me “You will click this too? Whats to click in this?”. I persisted and got the detailed procedure.

So chirote, are a Maharashtrian delicacy made during Diwali. They are a bit cumbersome to make, and takes a while. And hence it is disappearing from Marathi households. Most of us don’t have the technique and/or the patience to do these beautifully ghee-layered crisps. We made about 15-20 2-inch chirotes, and it took us 2 hours. Or more. But once you make them, and they melt in your mouth, you will want to make them again. That’s my promise.

Chirote or Multi-layered Crisps Recipe

What you will need :

• 2 cups regular all purpose flour or maida
• 3-4 tbsp hot ghee or hot clarified butter
• 4 tbsp whole milk

• 4 tbsp corn flour
• 6 tbsp ghee

• 3 cups ghee/ clarified butter for frying
• 1 cup powdered sugar

What to do :

1. Mix all purpose flour, hot ghee and milk and form into a thick dough. Knead well for 5 minutes, till all lumps are broken down and it forms a non-sticky smooth dough. Tip: The dough should peel off the hand without sticking to it.
2. Let it rest covered on the countertop for 10 mins.
3. Divide the dough into 11 (eleven) equal size balls. We will be needing 9 ultra thin rotis, but there is a chance of breakage, so make additional 2 as a precaution.
4. On a well floured surface, with a rolling pin, roll out the dough on all sides evenly, adding flour as needed. The rotis need to be really thin, each one about 8 inches in diameter.
5. Then in a separate dish, take 4 tbsp cornflour and ghee and mix it with your fingers till it forms a very smooth mixture. Divide this mixture into 6 parts.
6. Now, take one roti and generously apply one part of the ghee and corn-flour mixture. Then place another roti on top and repeat with the cornflour mixture. Place the third roti on this stack and repeat.
7. Once this stack of 3 rotis is ready, fold it from both sides and then roll it up from the third side till the centre and the opposite side till the center. Both the rolled up layers should meet and stack on each other in the center.
8. With a sharp knife, cut this roll into 5 equal pieces.
9. Take each piece on a flat surface and again flatten it delicately with a rolling pin to upto 2 inches wide. Be careful to not squeeze too much into the layers.
10. Repeat with the other 6 rotis, stacking them up into groups of three and follow the same procedure.
11. Now your chirote are ready to be fried.
12. In a thick bottomed vessel or kadhai, heat the butter. Lower the flame and fry the chirote one-by-one.
13. Hold the chirota in a slotted spoon over the inside of the vessel. Gently with another spoon, pour the hot ghee from the vessel over the layers in the chirota. Pour the ghee over each side 6-7 times, till it sizzles and becomes slightly brown in color.
14. Then drain on a sieve for a couple of minutes.
15. While still hot, sprinkle powdered sugar on it generously and coat it from all sides.
16. These sexy delicate layered melt-in-your-mouth crispies are ready!

Careful, they are super hot till the core!

Here a step-by-step photo tutorial :

Enjoy these darlings with some milk. I am sure you can’t stop at one.

And yeah, if you wish I can say Thank you to my granny-in-law on your behalf 🙂

P.S: Dont forget to say a small prayer for my visa.