Khasta Dhaniya Mathri | Flaky Coriander Mathri

Mathri is a deep fried savoury snack from North India. Its a flaky biscuit made of all-purpose flour and spices, served with tea, along with pickle or chutney. Mathri is prepared during festivals and served along with some sweet when guests arrive. There are two types of mathri -  one is thin, mildly spiced and crispy while the other is thick, spicier and flaky. 

I made the latter one as part of this month's SNC. South vs North Challenge is a monthly event where South and North teams challenge each other with traditional regional dishes. The theme for this month was snacks and Nupur of UK Rasoi challenged us with this dhaniya mathri and Priya challenged the North team with cashew pakoda. The mathris were delicious and we enjoyed with our evening tea with some pickle.

KHASTA DHANIYA MATHRI RECIPE

{ Deep-fried flaky biscuits with coriander and spices  }
Yields 15-18

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Ingredients:

2 cup all-purpose flour / maida
½ cup whole wheat flour / atta
¼ cup oil
2 tbsp ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds / jeera
½ tsp black pepper, crushed
½ tsp carom seeds / ajwain
Salt to taste
½ cup tightly packed coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves / kasuri methi
Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. In a large bowl, add the maida, atta, coriander leaves, jeera, ajwain, black pepper and salt. Mix well.

2. Add oil, ghee and mix with hands until well combined. Now add warm water little by little and knead to a hard dough. Cover with a damp cloth and keep aside for 30 minutes.

3. Knead the dough again for a minute. Divide the dough into small lemon-sized balls. Flatten them gently between your palms. Repeat for all balls and keep them covered.

4. Now heat oil for deep frying. When the oil is hot, reduce the heat to low. Fry the flattened balls in small batches until all sides turn golden brown.

5. Drain the excess oil in a tissue paper. Once they are cool, store them in an air-tight container.

Notes and Tips

• You can make mathri with all-purpose flour only. Also adding atta makes it less crumbly.
• Since the dough is hard, there will be slight cracks on the sides while flattening them. If the dough is too soft, it might break apart while frying.
• It is important to fry them in low heat otherwise they will be uncooked inside.