Masala Khakhra

Masala Khakhra is a healthy and delicious snack from the Indian state of Gujarat. It is basically a non-fried, thin cracker made from spiced whole wheat flour. Very little oil is used in making this crisp savory flatbread, which can be served at breakfast with curd or pickle or as a tea time snack and enjoyed by people of all ages. This masala khakhra is vegan, diabetic-friendly, and good for those aiming weight loss. Masala khakhra can be easily made at home and stored for around 2 weeks at room temperature in an air-tight container, thus it also makes up for ideal travel food.

What is Khakhra?

Khakhra is a thin cracker common in the Gujarati and Rajasthani cuisines of western India. It is usually made from whole wheat flour, spices, and oil and served during breakfast. Khakhra can be made of different varieties depending upon the ingredients used. Gluten-free khakhra can be made using pearl millet (bajra) flour. Khakhra can be flavored with different herbs and spices like methi khakhra is flavored with fresh or dried fenugreek leaves, pudina khakhra has flavors of mint, jeera khakhra in which cumin seeds spice the khakhra, garlic khakhra in which minced garlic is used for flavoring the khakhra.

Salt, oil, and spices are added to whole wheat flour or pearl millet flour. Sometimes little chickpea flour (besan) is also added to the whole wheat flour and the dough is kneaded using water or milk. Small balls are made from this dough after resting for a few minutes. These dough balls are then rolled out as thin as possible using a rolling pin and then roasted on a heated skillet on low flame and pressed using a wooden press until it becomes crisp and golden brown from both sides.

What goes into my Masala Khahkra ?

These khakhras are made using whole wheat flour. I have not added chickpea flour to it, however, you may add it in little quantity along with whole wheat flour as a variation. As the name suggests, this cracker is flavored with masala or blend of spices. Here, I have used pounded cumin seeds (jeera), red chili powder and dried fenugreek leaves (Kasuri methi) to flavor the dough along with salt. You may use finely chopped fresh fenugreek leaves also. Turmeric powder gives an appealing yellow color to the Khakhra. Little oil is also added to the flour along with spices, herbs, and salt. I have used only water to knead the dough. You may use milk also if you wish.

The khakhra dough should be slightly tight than what we make for chapati. The dough is then allowed to rest for at least 20 minutes. Small dough balls are made out of it and rolled out individually as thin as possible and further roasted on low flame on a skillet. The rolled-out dough disc is pressed while roasting using a wooden press until it becomes crisp and golden brown from both sides. If you do not have a wooden press, you may use a folded kitchen towel to press the khakhras. Little oil is also added to the khakhra while roasting and then finally chaat masala is sprinkled on the roasted khakhra which makes it all the more flavorful and lip-smacking. The prepared khakhras are stacked after cooling down completely and stored in an airtight container at room temperature. The key to a crisp khakhra is to roll it out into a very thin disc and slow roast it while continuously pressing it with a wooden press or folded cloth.

Wooden Press used to press the Khakhra while roasting

                               
Related event:

My family loves Khakhra to the core. Whenever Kiran is on an office tour to Ahmedabad or Baroda, he makes sure he gets back a variety of Khakhra packets with him. Sadly we do not get khakhras here in Mohali, so I make them at home. So, for this week when #SnackMania was chosen as the theme for 244th week on Foodie Monday Blog Hop, I knew I was going to post this masala khakhra recipe for sure. Foodie Monday Blog Hop is a gourmet group on Facebook where a group of talented food bloggers share recipes each week depending on a predecided theme. Each blogger gets a turn to suggests 2 themes per week and the rest of us vote for any 1 of those. The theme with maximum votes is finalized. This week it was Renu's turn to suggest the theme and thus Snacks Mania was chosen. Under this category, we could share a number of snacks both sweet and savory. The only criteria was that the snack should have a good shelf life so that one could store it in the Kitchen cupboard for at least 2 weeks. Renu further suggested that the snack be healthy and if possibly non-deep fried. We could share baked sweet or savory dishes as well. I already have Makhana Chiwda, Chakli, Aata Namak Pare, Whole Wheat Jeera biscuits, Thekua, Cornflakes Chivda, Bhakharwadi, Baked Ragi Cracker, Baked Methi Mathri, Masala Nimki. The next on my to-do list is Renu's Chocolate Cornflakes, a two-ingredient chocolaty treat that kids can make by themselves and The herb-roasted Chickpeas .

                                         

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 15 Khakhras

Ingredients: Measurements used 1 cup = 240ml

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves / Kasuri Methi
• 1-2 teaspoon red chili powder or as per taste
• 1 teaspoon crushed cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 tablespoon oil
• 1-2 tablespoon chaat masala

Method:

1. In a large mixing bowl, take whole wheat flour. Add dried fenugreek leaves, red chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin seeds, salt, and 2 teaspoons oil. Mix all the ingredients well. Now add little water at a time knead the flour to a semi-tight dough. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes.

2. Apply little oil to the rested dough and knead it once again and make 15 equal portions of it. Take one dough ball and roll it out using a rolling pin into a very thin disk. You may apply little oil or flour if the dough sticks while rolling. I did not add either. Make sure you cover the rest of the dough balls with a kitchen towel while working to prevent it from drying out.

3. Carefully lift the rolled out disc and transfer it to a heated skillet. Lower the flame and roast the disc. You will see small air pockets raising on it. Press it down using the wooden press as shown in the pic below. Flip it and keep pressing and roasting until you get a crisp khakhra that is golden brown in color from both sides. Drizzle little oil at the edges of each khakhra while roasting.

4. Remove the khakhra on a plate and allow it to cool down, Make all the khakhras similarly. Sprinkle chaat masala on both sides of each khakhra while it is still hot. Once all the khakhras cool down completely, stack them and store them in an airtight container and use it as per need.

5. Serve the delicious and lip-smacking Masala Khakhras at tea time or along with some pickle and curd at breakfast and enjoy with your loved ones!

                          

Recipe Notes:

• Gluten-free khakhra can be made using pearl millet (bajra) flour. 
• Khakhra can be flavored with different herbs and spices like methi khakhra is flavored with fresh or dried fenugreek leaves, pudina khakhra has flavors of mint, jeera khakhra in which cumin seeds spice the khakhra, garlic khakhra in which minced garlic is used for flavoring the khakhra.
• Masala Khakhra can be served at breakfast with curd or pickle or as a tea time snack.
• Make sure you cover the rest of the dough balls with a kitchen towel while working to prevent it from drying out.
• The rolled-out dough disc is pressed while roasting using a wooden press until it becomes crisp and golden brown from both sides. If you do not have a wooden press, you may use a folded kitchen towel to press the khakhras.
• The key to a crisp khakhra is to roll it out into a very thin disc and slow roast it while continuously pressing it with a wooden press or folded cloth.

I hope a few of you would love to try out this recipe. If you do so, feel free to share your feedback with us in the form of likes and comments in the comment section below this post. All your suggestions are also more than welcome. If you like my work and feel it is worth following, do hit the follow button at the top right corner of this blog. Your appreciation means a lot to me. For more recipes and new updates follow us on social media.

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For more snack recipes with good shelf life, check out the following from this blog

• Falahari Makhana Chiwda

                                 

• Chakli

                                

• Ata Namak Pare

                                 

• Whole Wheat Cumin Biscuits

                                 

• Thekua

                                 

• Cornflakes Chivda

                                 

• Bhakharwadi

                                 

• Baked Ragi Crackers

                              

• Baked Methi Matri

                              

• Masala Nimki