Masala Mattri

Contributor: Radha

For the dough
1 cup plain flour (maida)
2 tablespoons melted ghee
salt to taste

For the filling
1/4 cup Bengal gram flour (besan)
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds)
1 teaspoon chilli powder
3 teaspoons oil
salt to taste

Other ingredients
oil or ghee for deep frying

For the dough
1. Combine the plain flour, ghee, salt and enough water to make a semi-soft dough. Knead well.
2. Cover the dough with a wet muslin cloth and keep aside.

For the filling
1. Combine all the ingredients and saut� over a slow flame till the gram flour turns golden brown in colour.
2. Cool completely and divide the filling into 5 equal portions. Keep aside.

How to proceed
1. Divide the dough into 5 equal portions.
2. Roll out each portion of the dough into a 50 mm. (2") diameter circle.
3. Place one portion of the filling in the centre of each rolled dough circle and bring the ends together so as to seal the filling inside completely.
4. Roll out the stuffed dough circle to make a 100 mm. (4") diameter circle taking care to ensure the filling does not spill out.
5. Pinch the sides of the mathri using your finger tips.
6. Pinch the surface of the rolled out mathri so as to form a design.
7. Prick the mathri all over with a fork.
8. Repeat steps 2 to 7 with the remaining portions of the dough and filling.
9. Deep fry the mathris in hot oil till they are half cooked. Drain.
10. Once all the mathris are half-cooked, deep fry them over a slow flame till they are golden brown in colour. These take a long time to fry as the crust is thick and needs to be cooked on the insides also.
11. Drain on absorbent paper.
12. Cool and store in an air-tight container.
13. Serve with pickle or masala tea.