Baked Bhakarwadi

Bhakarwadi is a Gujarati snack which is traditionally made with the combination of chickpea flour (besan/kadala maavu) and Maida and is deep fried. As always, the health freak in me makes me try out all ways in which a dish can be made healthier! So here I present the traditional snack recipe with a healthy twist - Yes, I've replaced maida with whole wheat flour and these cute bhakarwadis are baked and NOT deep fried J

INGREDIENTS For the dough Whole wheat flour Chickpea flour (Besan) Turmeric Powder Baking Powder Salt Oil Water Tamarind Pulp/paste Lemon Juice For the filling Coconut Sesame Seeds Coriander Leaves Green Chillies Ginger Cumin Powder Sugar Salt Fennel Seeds (Saunf) Water

3/4th cup 3/4th cup 1/2 tsp 1 tsp 1/2 tsp 2 tbsp a little less than 1/2 a cup 3 tbsp 2 tsp 1/2 cup, grated 1/4th cup 1 tbsp, finely chopped 2 - 3, finely chopped 1 tsp, grated 1.5 tsp 2 tbsp 1 tsp 1.5 tsp to grind it to a coarse paste (about 3-4 Tbsp)

RECIPE

1. In a large mixing bowl, sift together whole wheat flour, besan, salt, turmeric powder and baking powder and make sure that there are no lumps
2. Add 2 tbsp of oil, mix well. Add water little at a time and make a stiff dough. The dough should be stiffer than poori dough.  Cover and allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes.
3. Mix the tamarind paste and lemon juice
4. Blend together all the ingredients mentioned under “for the filling” and grind them coarsely using about 3-4 tbsp of water
5. Pre-heat the oven to 190 C
6. Divide the dough into 2 big balls. Spread a little oil on the dough ball and roll out to a thin rectangular sheet of about 3mm thickness. Cut of the edges into straight lines if they are not in a level
7. Now spread 2 tbsp of the tamarind-lemon paste over the roti
   
8. Place the filling in the centre of the roti and spread it around, leaving a little gap on the edges
   
9. Start rolling the roti very slowly and keep pressing it gently after every roll to make sure it is tightly rolled. The tamarind paste will help in binding the roti and finally it should resemble a flute
   
10. With the help of a knife, gently cut off the edges, and slice them into cylindrical shapes of 1.5 inches thickness
    
11. Place them on a greased baking tray, and bake for 15 - 20 minutes. Half way through, about 10 minutes from the start of baking, turn over the bhakarwadis so that they baked and lightly browned evenly on both sides
    
12. Allow them to cool on a wire rack
    
13. Once they are completely cooled, they can be stored in air tight container and they would stay good for 4-5 days

Enjoy the healthy snack with a hot cup of tea J

Note: The filling can be varied according to your choice. You could add ajwain/omam or add more spices/garam masala. For a sweet filling, a mixture of coconut, jaggery, cardamom powder can be used.