Call them Chakkalu, Chekkalu, Thattai, Nippattu or just simply Rice Crackers….They are perfect festive snacks and highly addictive that can be enjoyed with your evening tea or coffee. Chakkalu Savoury Rice Crackers are prepared with rice flour, a few spices and the addition of Sago & Chana Dal give a nice crunch to them.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in September 2015 and has been updated with Video and replaced with better edited pictures for comprehensiveness and freshness.
Sweets and snacks do add to the contentment factor in our lives. I’m sure most of you agree with me!! Wherever you go and wherever you are travelling around the globe, you will witness people’s love for sweets and snacks in their different kinds and varieties. Today I’m going to share the recipe for Chakkalu Savoury Rice Crackers. They are named differently in other states of south India like Thattai in Tamilnadu, Nippatu in Karnataka… but the main ingredients remain the same.
Food in India is diverse and one dish alone has a dozens of variations. When it comes to Snacks & Appetizers, Indian cuisine has a special place because cooking is considered as an art in India and also due to its varied variations of mixed cuisines.
Festival is a tool to bring life to a state of exuberance and enthusiasm. We in India have the pleasure enjoying different types of colourful festivals with traditional delicacies. With any festival season coming up, we are always on the look out for different recipes. Chakkalu Savoury Rice Crackers is an amazing festive snack.
What are Chakkalu Savoury Rice Crackers
Also known as Chekkalu/Pappu Billalu/Thattai or Nippattu, these “Savoury Rice Crackers” are really crunchy yummy snacks good to be enjoyed anytime when served with hot tea, coffee or carry while traveling or entertaining guests. It’s an all time favourite snack. They are one of those highly addictive snacks which hardly anybody can stop eating. It takes some time to gain expertise in preparing these fried snacks though it is an easy snack to prepare but if the quality of rice flour is not good, you can easily mess it and end up with hard crackers.
Which Rice Flour can I use for preparing Chakkalu
Traditionally, we prepare Chakkalu using freshly ground rice flour. The preparation of rice flour involves washing and drying the rice in shade or under a fan for a couple of hours and grinding it into a fine powder. Usually this is done in flour mills in India. The flour is then sieved to get only the finest rice powder. That’s a lot of effort, time consuming and it’s really impossible with the weather conditions here in Germany. In spite of all that I managed to do a detailed post on How to prepare rice Flour at home…Do check it out!! But definitely you can also use good quality store bought rice flour instead of that.
Today, I’m using store bought rice flour for preparing Chakkalu Savoury Rice Crackers. Rice flour when added alone will be difficult to bind together. So addition of a little butter or hot oil is very important. It is the butter, which binds the entire dough together. The soaked Bengal gram gives a nice crunch and the sago gives a lovely pearl studded look to the Rice Crackers.
Off to the recipe for Chakkalu-Savoury Rice Crackers!!
Steps to follow for
Chakkalu Savoury Rice Crackers
Prep Work:
- Soak sago for 5 to 6 hours or overnight in milk. This is optional. If you cannot plan well in advance, then skip sago but my suggestion is to try once with sago.
- Soak bengal gram or chana dal for at least 2hours (Longer soaking time is better) and then drain well to use.
- Grind few green chillies, ginger, curry leaves and cumin seeds to a coarse paste in blender.
Let’s make the Dough for Chakkalu Savoury Rice Crackers:
- In a big bowl mix rice Flour with salt and butter.
- Add ground paste to the flour and mix well.
- Drain and add bengal gram or chana dal and sago and mix well.
- Sprinkle few drops of water (1/4 cup approximately) and knead into a dough. You can also use up the remaining milk used to soak sago. Do not add more water, use little amount of water just to combine to form dough.
- Knead well. If you take a small ball and try to flatten on your palm, it should crack at the ends, which indicates right consistency. The dough kneaded is appropriate only when it forms uneven edges when pressed on the sheet.
Deep-Frying Chakkalu Savoury Rice Crackers:
- While you start making the Chakkalu, heat oil over medium heat in a deep pan or a kadai.
- Take a plastic sheet or a butter paper and smear oil over it.
- Divide the dough into equal gooseberry size balls.
- Take each ball and flatten it using your palms to a disc, 2-3″ in diameter on the greased sheet. Smear some oil to your fingers if it gets too sticky. This eases the spreading of the dough.
- Repeat the process and make around 6 to 8 for each batch depending on the size of your kadai.
- You can prick (optional) them using a fork to ensure they don’t puff up in oil. I usually do not prick.
NOTE:
The highlight of the recipe for me is the sago puffing up and the Chakkalu look like they are studded with pearls. So consider using big size sago. But unfortunately I got the vey fine sago variety in the Indian shop and you cannot even see the puffing clearly. But use of sago is purely optional.
- Once the oil is smoking hot, remove from the sheet and drop them carefully from sides of the kadai taking care that they don’t lose shape or fold while dropping into oil.
- Fry them until golden brown in colour turning sides in between for even frying. Always ensure to fry in medium hot oil otherwise low heat will result in very hard chekkalu and high heat will result in soft chekkalu. You can taste in between to check whether you are getting the right crispiness or not.
- Once they get the light golden brown colour, drain them onto an absorbent paper napkin to remove excess oil.
- When you fry them they would have light golden colour, which turns out darker in colour once they cool. They also become crunchier later after cooling down.
- Repeat the process with the remaining dough.
- Cool them and store them in an airtight container. They should be good for about a couple of weeks…but, trust me they will not last that long!!
Chakkalu Savoury Rice Crackers | Chekkalu Recipe | Thattai
Ingredients
- 3 cups Rice Flour
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 1 tsp Salt or as per your taste
To Soak:
- ¼ cup Sago soak in ½ cup milk for 5 hours (optional)
- ¼ cup Channa dal soak in 1 cup water for at least 2 hours
For the paste:
- 12 Green Chillies
- 2 inch Ginger roughly chopped
- Few Curry Leaves
- 1 tbsp Cumin Seeds
Instructions
- In a big bowl mix Rice Flour with salt and butter.
- Grind green chillies, ginger, curry leaves and cumin seeds to a coarse paste in blender.
- Add ground paste to the flour and mix well.
- Add drained chana dal and sago and mix well.
- Just sprinkle few drops of water (1/4 cup approximately) and knead to a smooth dough.
- While you start making the chakkalu, heat oil over medium heat in a deep pan or kadai.
- Divide the dough into equal gooseberry sized balls.
- Smear few drops of oil on a plastic sheet or a butter paper. Take each ball and flatten it using your palms to a disc, 2-3" in diameter on the greased sheet.
- Repeat the process and make around 6 to 8 for each batch depending on the size of your kadai.
- Once the oil is smoking hot, slide them carefully into the kadai.
- Fry them over medium heat until golden brown turning sides in between for even browning.
- Once they get the light golden brown colour, drain them onto an absorbent paper napkin to remove excess oil.
- Repeat the process till you are done with the dough.
- Cool down completely and store them in an airtight container.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Prep time give does not include soaking time.
- Good quality Rice Flour is the key factor for the taste and texture of perfect Chakkalu. If the rice flour is very finely ground, it will result in hard chekkalu.
- While frying Rice Crackers, the remaining dough should not be left open, as it will dry out. Instead cover the dough with a moist cloth completely. This is to retain the moisture in the dough and not to dry up. Or you can mix the dough in small quantities for each batch of Chakkalu.
- Adjust seasonings and spices to suit your taste.
- Using sago is optional. You can skip if you have not planned well in advance to prepare Chakkalu because soaking sago needs some time.
- Variations: You can also add a quarter cup of ground fried Gram powder to the dough, which gives a nice taste to the Chakkalu.
- You can also include peanuts, which gives a unique taste.
- Storing: Let the rice crackers cool completely before storing in an air tight container. They keep good for a couple of weeks.
Disclaimer: Approximate Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and can vary depending on the exact ingredients/brands used. If you have health issues, please work with a registered dietician or nutritionist.
Do check out your favourite Quick Bites and here are some festive collections from blog!!
And many more to come!!…..Stay Tuned!!
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Happy Cooking 
Cheers!!
Padma.
