Shankarpali To Brighten Up The Most Ordinary Day
Shankarpali is a tasty morsel that can be found in so many different cuisines all over India. It is especially popular during Diwali and Christmas. Ajji, my grandmother, learned to make this snack from one of her Marathi friends. My family, however, never waits for special occasions to enjoy this snack; Ajji would prepare it whenever we craved it, which was often. An evening making and eating shankarpali has a way of making even the most ordinary day special. One of my cousins once ate so many at a time, that small bits of shankarpali got stuck in his molars. He spent several good hours contorting his face into the strangest expression, attempting to free his teeth. We never eat shankarpali without giggling at this memory.
Shankarpali is also known as shakkarpara, or just mithai, in different regions of India. It is popular in western and north India. The north Indian variant of shankarpali is called laktho. This is a snack that is also popular with the Indian diaspora.
Shankarpali can be sweet, salty or even spicy, depending on the ingredients you choose to add. Ajji however, has never made them salty or spicy, because the sweet version is best loved in her household.
In the burning summer days of April, soon after exams, it seemed like everyone was craving snacks. Breakfast, lunch and dinner never seemed to be enough — a mountain of snacks were consumed in-between. Shankarpali was one of them.
As everyone munched on shankarpalis in the evening, it led to stories by nightfall — about T who eloped, or about politics or computers. Sometimes, the focus would shift to me playing in the gutter, without a care in the world. Acharappa would passionately discuss Rey Mysterio winning in WWE. I miss him. I miss snack time. I miss the attention that was showered on me, as the youngest child in the house.
Shankarpali just doesn’t taste the same without Acharappa anymore, but now when I eat it, I remember the stories, and those glorious long-gone evenings..
Image credit: Eshwari R
Ajji’s Shankarpali Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup milk (chilled)
1/2 cup semolina
1 cup sugar
2 cups maida
Oil, as needed
2 tbsp ghee or butter
Pinch of salt
Method
In a mixing bowl, combine maida, butter (or ghee), semolina, milk, salt and sugar. Keep mixing until it forms a soft dough. It will look runny in the beginning, but with some patient stirring, it will form a soft dough.
Flour the working surface and transfer the dough onto it.Divide the dough into two and then pat it out into a thick disc.
Cut each of these into small shapes such as cubes, squares, or even diamonds.
In a deep-bottomed vessel, heat enough oil to deep fry.
When the oil is very hot, carefully lower a few pieces of the dough into it.
Turn the pieces so that they are evenly golden.
Transfer to an airtight container once cooled.
Eshwari is a writer who loves discovering stories about people. She blogs at Wholesome Collections.
Banner image credit: Wiki Creative Commons
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