Shakarpara Recipe (Flaky & Crispy!)
May 15, 2024
You only need a handful of ingredients to make crispy and flaky shakarpara at home! No Indian festival in my home is complete without a batch of these!
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No Indian festival in my home was complete without a batch of Shakarpara. This was one tea time snack which mom always made for Holi & Diwali. Crunchy, flaky, this deep fried, this sweet snack is known by different names in different parts of India. It’s made with simple ingredients like flour, sugar but whatever you call it, you can count on it being 100% addictive and always delicious!
Shakarpara is a popular Indian snack which is made with basic ingredients like flour and sugar. You can’t go wrong with fried dough and shakarpara is no exception. It is the sweet counterpart to namak para (shakar=sugar and namak=salt). Both shakapara and namakpara are made in most Indian homes during Diwali. My mom always made them for Holi too.
This snack is known by different names in different regions of the country. Some call it shakarpara, some call it shankarpali. In my house, we also made a similar snack which is called khurma. It is made by deep frying unsweetened dough pieces and the pieces are then coated with a sugar syrup. Making khurma definitely takes more time and so while I do make it, I definitely lean towards this simple shakarpara recipe more because of just how easy it is.
There’s no sugar syrup and syrup consistency involved here. You just mix the sugar with water and then knead the dough with it and fry. It’s that simple!
Ingredient Notes
This Shakarpara recipe requires only a handful of ingredients.
- All purpose flour/maida: The classic shakarpara in my house was always made with maida/all purpose flour. You can make this with whole wheat flour (atta) as well, they will just be a little denser.
- Sugar: You can adjust the amount of sugar in the recipe to taste. These are lightly sweetened, for a sweeter shakarpara, use 2/3 cup of sugar in the recipe.
- Ghee: I like adding ghee as the “moyan” in the dough, but you can also use oil. Make sure to use a neutral/flavorless oil.
How to Make Shakarpara
Start by taking 2 cups (270 grams) of all purpose flour/maida in a paraat or any large bowl. Add a pinch of salt and then start adding melted ghee to the flour. I added 4 tablespoons of melted ghee to the flour, you can also use oil.
Mix the ghee with the flour by rubbing the flour between your palm until the ghee is well incorporated with the flour. This step is important as it helps in making the shakarpara flaky.
You know the ghee is enough and well incorporated when you press some of the dough between your palm, and it holds its shape. Set this aside.
Now, take 1/3 cup water and heat it up a little. To this warm water, add 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar.
Stir until the sugar dissolves. Since the water is warm, the sugar dissolves easily.
Once the sugar has dissolved, add the water-sugar mixture to the flour mix.
Start mixing everything together to form a dough. This will be a smooth and soft dough.
Once the dough comes together, cover the dough with a cloth and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Once the dough has rested, divide it into 2 or 3 equal parts. Take one part and roll it into a dough ball. Meanwhile keep the other dough balls covered. Now roll this dough ball into 1/6 inch thickness using a rolling pin.
Using a pastry cutter or a sharp knife, cut the shakarpara into squares (1/2 to 3/4 inch squares) by cutting the dough vertically first and then horizontally. You can cut this in any shape you like. Cut all the dough similarly. Keep the cut shakarpara covered with a cloth until you are ready to fry them else they will dry out.
Heat oil in a kadai on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot (check by dropping a little bit of the dough into the oil, if it comes up within 10 seconds, the oil is hot), add the cut shakarpara to it. Immediately reduce the heat to low-medium. This is important, if you fry them on high heat they will not turn crispy.
Fry for 3 to 4 minutes on medium-low heat until the shakarapara is golden brown in color. Fry all the shakarpara in batches. Make sure to increase the temperature of oil a little after frying every batch. Then add the shakarpara and reduce the temperature again and repeat. Drain on a paper towel. They will crisp up as they cool down. Store in an airtight container and they should be good for 2 weeks.
Air Fryer Option
If you want to air fry, preheat your air fryer according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Then arrange the cut shakarpara in a single layer in your air fryer and spray with an oil spray. Air fry at 370 F degrees for 8 to 10 minutes until they are crisp and golden brown in color. Every air fryer is different so this might take more or less time depending on the air fryer you have. I will start checking at the 7 minute mark.
I personally prefer the traditional deep fried version as the air fried ones become pretty hard after a while.
Baking The Shakarpara
If you want to bake them, preheat your oven at 375 F degrees. Arrange the cut shakarpara on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush them lightly with oil. Bake at 375 F degrees for around 10 to 12 minutes, flipping them once in between at the halfway mark. Each oven is different so keep an eye after the 9 minute mark.
Manali’s Tips
- The most important thing in this recipe is to fry the shakarpara at medium-low heat. If you fry them at high heat, they will not turn crispy.
- You can adjust the amount of sugar as per your preference. With this measurement, the shakarpara are mildly sweet, which works perfectly for me.
- The shakarpara can also be flavored with different things. Like add some cinnamon powder to the dough for cinnamon shakarpara, or you can also add some cardamom powder. You can also add some saffron to your sugar-water mixture and that will give them this saffron flavor. You can also add some vanilla extract to the water-sugar mix to flavor the shakarpara.
- If you wish to make these with atta (whole wheat flour), you can do 50% atta and 50% all purpose flour. If you do 100% atta, that’s fine too but they will not be this light and flaky.
- Keep the dough covered at all times else it will dry out.
Shakarpara Recipe (Flaky & Crispy!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour maida, 270 grams
- 4 tablespoons ghee melted
- pinch salt
- 1/3 cup water 80 ml
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar 100 grams
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Take all purpose flour/maida in a large bowl and a pinch of salt to it. Then add melted ghee to the flour (or use oil).
- Mix the ghee with the flour by rubbing the flour between your palms. This helps in incorporating the ghee well with the flour and makes the shakarpara flaky. Take some flour and press it between your palms. If it hold it's shape it means the ghee and was enough and well incorporated. Set this aside.
- Meanwhile, take 1/3 cup of water and heat it up a little. Then add sugar and mix until the sugar dissolves in the water.
- Now, add the water-sugar mixture to the flour mix. Start mixing everything together and form a smooth and soft dough. Cover the dough with a cloth/plate and let it rest for 20 minutes.
- Once rested, divide it into 2 or 3 equal parts. Take one part and roll it into a dough ball and then using a rolling pin, roll the dough into 1/6 inch thickness.
- Use a sharp knife or pastry cutter and cut the rolled dough into squares (1/2 to 3/4 inch squares) by cutting the dough vertically first and then horizontally. Roll and cut the remaining dough similarly. Keep the cut shakarpara covered until ready to fry else they will dry out.
- Heat oil in a wok or kadai on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot (check by dropping a little bit of the dough into the oil, if it comes up within 10 seconds, the oil is hot), add the cut shakarpara to it. Immediately reduce the heat to low-medium. This is important, if you fry them on high heat they will not turn crispy.
- Fry for 3 to 4 minutes on medium-low heat until the shakarapara is golden brown in color. Fry all the shakarpara in batches. Make sure to increase the temperature of oil a little after frying every batch. Then add the shakarpara and reduce the temperature again and repeat.
- Drain the fried shakarpara on a paper towel. They will crisp up as they cool down. Let them cool completely and then store in an airtight container. They should be good for 2 weeks at room temperature.
Air Fryer Option
- Preheat your air fryer according to manufacturer's instructions. Air fry at 370 F degrees for 8 to 10 minutes until they are crisp and golden brown in color. Every air fryer is different so this might take more or less time depending on the air fryer you have.
Video
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
