Papchi (a Chhattisgarh sweet snack)

My blog will not be complete without posting gems from such parts of India which are hardly ever mentioned.Chhattisgarh is a State located in the centre east of the country.It borders the states of Madhya Pradesh in the northwest, Maharashtra in the south west, Telangana in the south,Odisha in the south east, Jharkhand in the north east and Uttar Pradesh in the north.In this case the State is bound to share similar cuisines and cultures as far as specific areas are concerned.

Papchi (“pap” pronounced as “pup” and “chi” pronounced similar to “cheat”) is a delicious snack which can be prepared in less than an hour.The theme for the Shhhhh Secretly Cooking Challenge was Chhattisgarhi Cuisine and I was paired with Archana Gunjikar Potdar who blogs at :

http://themadscientistskitchen.com

I gave Archana rice and Masoor Dal and she gave me wheat flour and sugar with which I made this tempting snack!

Preparation time : 1 hour

Makes : 15 pieces of Papchi

INGREDIENTS

For the dough :

1/2 cup wheat flour (atta)

1/8 cup/2 tbsp rice flour (chawal ka atta)

A pinch of salt

Ghee as required

Water as required

Oil for frying

For the sugar syrup :

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp Cardamom powder (optional)

1 – 2 drops Kewra essence (optional)

METHOD

Make the dough :

Sift wheat flour and salt in a bowl.Add ghee 1 tbsp at a time mixing thoroughly into the flour with the tip of your fingers.After each addition of ghee,mix well and try clamping the dough in your palm.If it does not clamp and form a lump in your palm add approximately 1/2 tbsp ghee,mix and try again.You should use approximately 2 tbsp ghee for 1/2 cup wheat flour.

After the wheat flour starts clamping,add the rice flour and mix again very well with the tips of your fingers.Add 1/2 tbsp ghee and try clamping the dough again.It should clamp now but if it does not,add 1 tsp ghee at a time,mixing very well till both the flours clamp beautifully in your palm.Add Cardamom powder (if using) and mix well.

Add water 2 tbsp at a time and make a semi hard dough.Work the dough around the bowl swiping it clean and knead well.Rest the dough for 5 – 10 minutes.

Frying the Papchi :

Knead the dough again and roll out into a big circle.With the aid of a cookie cutter,a bottle lid or a small bowl,cut out small discs from the dough.Pierce the discs on both sides with a fork so that it does not bloat while frying.

Re roll the trimmings and cut out more discs out of the dough. You will get 12 – 15 discs out of the quantity of dough made in the recipe.

Heat oil for frying on medium heat in a pan and when sufficiently hot,slide the discs 5 – 6 at a time.You may decrease the heat here if the oil is too hot as the Papchi requires a low – medium heat to fry.Excess heat may cook it from outside leaving it uncooked on the inside.It will take 10 minutes to fry one batch of Papchi.

Drain the discs on a sheet of kitchen paper and leave to cool.

Make the syrup :

Heat sugar with 2 – 3 tbsp water on medium heat and make a syrup of 1 string consistency.The syrup should froth and bubble and turn very sticky.Add Kewra essence (if using) and mix well.

Coating the discs :

Gently slide the Papchi discs into the syrup and flip them over.They will soon become coated with the syrup and it will dry on the discs with a white coating.Remove them carefully and place them on a greased plate to cool completely.

See the crispiness of the Papchi…

After the Papchi comes to room temperature,store them in airtight containers.Serve with tea or coffee!