Bhakarwadi / Vegetarian Snack Recipe / Maharashtrian Cuisine

With festive season around , we generally tend to cook and eat lots of sweet delicacies . And then there is an urge to eat some chatpatta snacks to balance the sweetness !! So here's a  recipe of  a spicy and tangy snack dish - Bhakarwadi to satisfy such cravings.

Never had thought that I would make this dish at home. I have always relished on Bhakarwadis from Pune's Chitale Bandhu and would stock this yummy snack whenever I would visit my Mumma's place. But since the time I started this food blog , I get opportunity to try hands on all such recipes.

Bhakarwadi  are actually fried rolls stuffed with spicy and tangy mixture of coconut and poppy seeds. Can be served as a tea time snacks or as festive snacks during festivals like Diwali and Holi. You can also bake the Bhakarwadi to cut down calories.

After browsing on Internet, I came across many recipes and after trying , testing and modifying, settled down to this recipe. Very easy to follow and does not involve any rocket science, (as I had always thought). Only it requires little efforts but tastes awesome and can be stored and kept for about a month or so in air tight container.

Ingredients: Yields 25-30 medium size Bhakarwadis
                     (Measurements 1 Cup - 250ml)

For Cover -

• Chick Pea flour / Besan - 1 Cup
• Whole wheat flour - 1/2 cup
• Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
• Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Hing / Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil 3 tbsp  

For Stuffing -

• Fresh Coconut, Scrapped - 2 tbsp
• Poppy Seeds/ Khus Khus - 2 tbsp
• Fennel seeds / Saunf- 1tbsp
• Sesame seeds / Til -1 tbsp
• Coriander seeds / Dhaniya-1Tbsp
• Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Red Chili Powder - 3 tsp
• Black Pepper corns / Sabut Kali Mirch- 1tsp
• Hing / Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tbsp
• Saunt Powder / Dry Ginger powder - 1/4 tsp
• Juice from lemon - 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

Method:

1.  Take all the ingredients to make the covering of the Bhakarwadi roll in a mixing bowl and mix well and work with palms to form a crumbled mass. Now using little water knead the flour into a stiff dough. Keep the dough aside for 10 minutes.

 
    2.  Dry roast the Sesame seeds, Coriander seeds, Fennel seeds, Cumin seeds and add to the grinder along with scrapped Coconut, Red Chili powder, Hing, black Pepper corn and Sugar and grind to a coarse mixture.To this mixture now add the Raw mango powder/ Aamchur powder , salt and Dry ginger powder and lemon juice and mix well. (The lemon juice not only adds to the tangy flavor but also helps the stuffing to stick well to the covering.) The stuffing is ready.

   3.  Divide the dough and the stuffing into 3 equal parts and roll out each part of dough into a round using oil.

 

 

    4.  Spread out one part of the stuffing evenly on the chapati and press little with fingers and the start rolling the chapati holding tightly making sure that the stuffing is tightly packed in the roll without any gaps. 

  5.  Using a sharp knife cut equal portions of the roll of desired length.  Press the open ends of each roll a little to ensure the stuffing is not coming out. Similarly repeat the process for the rest two portion of dough and stuffing. 

   6.  Heat up oil in a kadhai or deep frying wok and deep fry the Bhakarwadi's on low to medium heat. This work needs patience. It will take around 10-12 minutes per batch. If you fry the Bhakarwadi at high heat the Bhakarwadi will remain uncooked from inside and become soft afterward. So to get crispy Bhakarwadi , fry them on low to medium heat until they turn golden brown .

 

       7.  Remove the Bhakarwadi on absorbent paper and allow to cool down. Now Transfer them to airtight container. Enjoy the crispy tangy and spicy snacks with tea or just as it is !!

  Notes:

• Traditionally the procedure to make Bhakarwadi involves steaming the stuffed rolls for 20 minutes and then cutting into bite size pieces and then deep frying them. Also thick tamarind pulp with grated jaggery , clove and Cinnamon powder is mixed together and this paste is applied on the rolled out chapati before spreading the stuffing. I have modified the recipe for ease and as per the taste of my family.
• If you wish to bake the Bhakarwadi instead of frying, add 1/2 tsp baking powder to the flour before kneading the dough and follow same procedure as above and arrange all the Bhakarwadi's on baking tray and bake for 30-35 minutes at 180 degree Celsius. Turn the side in between so that the bhakarwadi becomes golden brown and crisp from both sides.
• You can use grated  dry coconut instead of the scrapped fresh one.