Annapurna: Baked Meethi (Sweet) Mathri / Karva Chauth Special / Healthy Tea Time Snack Recipe

Karva Chauth is a ritual of fasting by the married Hindu women for the well being, longevity and prosperity of their husbands. The one day festival is more popular in Northern States of India , where married women fast from sunrise to moon rise. The festival falls on the fourth day after the full moon, in the Hindu lunisolar calendar month of Kartik. The fast begins at dawn. Fasting women do not eat or drink during the day and open the fast after worshiping the moon at night. Many traditional food items are prepared for the occasion. Mathri being one of them.

Mathris are deep fried Punjabi savory snack made from refined flour. To make them a guilt free affair, i always make the mathri using whole wheat flour instead of refined flour and bake them instead of deep frying. Now if you know me in person or have been following my blog, you know that i am a typical Maharashtrian girl. So what makes me follow Karva Chauth..well i worship lord Ganesha and fast on Sankashti Chaturthi of every month. (This is an auspicious day dedicated to Lord Ganesha. The day celebrated in every Hindu calendar month on the fourth day of Krishna Paksha (dark lunar phase or the waning phase). Thus Karva Chauth and Sankashti Chaturthi happen to fall on same day. I have always been surrounded by North Indians since i got married and hence celebrate Karva Chauth every year with them and fast to get blessings from Lord Ganesha. I make Modak for lord Ganesha as bhog along with the Matris on Karva Chauth. I have already shared the recipe of baked Baked Methi Mathri (savory fenugreek flavored snack) earlier in my blog. (Click on the words in red for the recipe)

Today i am sharing the sweet version of the mathri- meethi mathri. Meethi mathri is traditionally made from refined flour and deep fried. The deep fried mathris are further dipped in sugar syrup. To make this dessert a healthy affair, i have replaced refined flour with whole wheat flour, They are sugar free as i have added little jaggery powder to the flour while kneading the dough. And finally they are baked to cut down the calories of deep frying. These refined flour and sugar free meethi mathri are flaky and crispy crackers which are perfect tea time accompaniments . They also make a guilt free and delicious mid day snack. They are mildly sweet in taste and can be flavored with sesame seeds or fennel seeds. I have made half batch of mathris using sesame seeds and half batch with fennel seeds. These mathri can be prepared in bulk and kept in an air tight container for about 15 days provided they last until then. The matri are so addictive that mine vanish within 2-3 days, no matter how large a batch i prepare ..but then since they are so healthy i do not have to worry at all :)

Preparation Time :45 minutes

Cooking Time : 12-15 minutes per batch (baking time)

Serves : 4 dozen

Ingredients : Measurements used 1 cup = 200 ml

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoon semolina / suji
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoon oil / ghee
1/4 cup jaggery powder (add up-to 1/2 cup if you prefer sweet mathri .These are mildly sweet.)
2 tablespoon white sesame seeds(optional)
2 tablespoon fennel seeds (optional)

Method :

In a mixing bowl, take the whole wheat flour , semolina, salt and baking powder. Mix the dry ingredients very well with a spatula and set aside.

2. In a sauce pan or microwave safe bowl take 1/2 cup water and add 1/4 cup jaggery powder to it. Allow this mixture to boil either on gas-top or in microwave oven.

3. Meanwhile add hot ghee /oil to the flour and mix well to get a crumbled mass.

4. Strain the jaggery syrup . Add this syrup little by little to the flour and knead a tight dough. I did not require any extra water apart from this jaggery syrup to knead the flour. But since the flour differs, if you require, add little hot water to do so.

5. Cover and allow the dough to rest for about 20-30 minutes.

6. Meanwhile preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius for 15 minutes. Divide the dough into 4 parts. Take one part and roll it into a large thin round chapati. Keep the other parts covered as they may dry out. Sprinkle sesame seeds or fennel seeds over the rolled out dough and again roll it so that the seeds stick to the dough. Make impressions with a fork throughout , so that it does not puff while baking. Now with a cookie cutter cut the rolled out dough into desired shapes.

7. Gather the remaining dough and roll out again and cut out shapes. Arrange the mathri on a baking sheet. Bake per batch in a preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for about 12 -15 minutes. Keep a watch after 10 minutes as the temp and time may vary from oven to oven. I flipped the mathris mid way to ensure even browning from both the sides.

8. Similarly use the entire dough to make the mathri. Flavor them as per ypur choice with sesame seeds or fennel seeds. Alternatively, you may add either of the seeds or both to the flour itself before kneading the flour.

9. Allow all the mathri to cool down at room temperature , before transferring them to an air tight container. Serve them with tea or enjoy these guilt free crackers as it is.