IndianShankarpali
Fried sweet diamond biscuits
शंकरपाळी: crisp diamond-shaped fried biscuits of flour, ghee, milk and sugar
Every Maharashtrian Diwali faral box has a pile of shankarpali: small diamond-shaped biscuits, flaky and crisp, sweet with sugar dissolved in warm milk and ghee. Families make large batches in the week before Diwali alongside chakli and karanji, and the tin is raided until Tulsi Vivah. The common mistake is frying too hot, which browns them outside before the layers crisp, so they soften within a day; fry slowly until pale golden. Chef's tip: dissolve the sugar fully in the warm milk and ghee before adding flour, or sugar crystals burn in the oil as dark specks.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Serves
- 10
- Per serving
- 270 kcal
Ingredients
For the dough
- ½ cup milk
- 2 ⅛ oz ghee
- 3 ½ oz sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 10 ½ oz plain flour (maida)plus a little for dusting
- 1 tbsp fine semolina
To fry
- 2 ½ cups neutral oil or ghee for deep-frying
Tick what you have; the rest goes in the basket.
Method
0/6 doneStep 2: Add 1 tbsp fine semolina and 10 ½ oz plain flour (maida) gradually and knead to a firm, smooth dough. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
35 minStep 3: Divide into 4, roll each to 4 mm thick, and cut into 2 cm diamonds with a pastry wheel.
15 minStep 4: Heat 2 ½ cups neutral oil or ghee for deep-frying in a kadhai or deep pan, filling it no more than a third of the way, to 300°F; a pinch of dough or batter dropped in should rise in about 5 seconds with steady small bubbles. Never leave the hot fat unattended.
6 minStep 5: Fry a handful at a time over medium-low heat for 5–6 minutes, stirring, until pale golden and the bubbling slows almost to nothing.
20 minStep 6: Drain on paper and cool completely before storing airtight for up to 3 weeks.
15 min
KrazyBadal
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Perfect for:Diwali