Chekkalu or Pappu chekkalu is a popular Andhra snack item prepared with Rice flour,Chanadal and split moong dal.
Among all Andhra snack items, Chekkalu is my favorite. Some people prepare them with plain rice flour without adding any lentils. But the real taste comes with Chana dal/split bengal gram and green gram. you need to use split and skinless green gram for this recipe.
My grandmother used to send all the snack items before Pongal every year. even my mom used to prepare them. Now it’s my turn. I can skip eating Rice but not the snacks. I’m too busy ( 😉 too lazy) to prepare snacks. so we go to the nearby sweet shop,mostly Swagruha sweets and buy them for a week. There they sell different variety of chekkalu like plain/saada chekkalu,pappu chekkalu,kaarapu chekkalu,butter chekkalu,nuvvula chekkalu and Telangana pappu chekkalu.Among all my favorite is Butter Chekkalu.So i used butter for this recipe.
main trick of this recipe is how you mix the flour. If you are a beginner,start up with 250 grams of flour. do not add excess water while mixing the flour. use the mixed flour immediately.do not store it for later use. otherwise the mixed flour will lose moisture. try this recipe and give me your valuable feedback…..
Text version of Chekkalu
- Rice flour – 500 grams
- butter – 150 grams
- water – 250 ml
- salt – 1 1/2 teaspoon
- red chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
- finely chopped ginger – 1 teaspoon
- green chilli paste – 1 teaspoon
- roasted peanuts – 1/4 cup
- green gram/moong dal – 1/4 cup
- chana dal/split bengal gram – 1/4 cup
- oil – for deep frying
- soak green gram and split bengal gram in water for 1-2 hours.
- later rinse them,strain out the water and keep aside.
- take a wide mixing bowl.
- add rice flour,salt,red chilli powder,chopped ginger,green chilli paste,roasted peanuts,soaked green gram,soaked split bengal gram and mix well.
- add butter and mix again.
- pour warm water and mix the flour.
- do not pour excess water,try to mix the flour with very less water.
- heat enough oil for deep frying.
- divide the flour into equal portions and make them into balls.
- take a plastic sheet and grease it with oil.
- take each ball and pat it into flat round shape with your fingers.
- make 4-5 at a time and drop them into oil carefully.
- fry them on both sides equally until they turn into nice golden color.
- repeat the process.
Video version of Chekkalu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRLXpi6UcdA
durga
hi
can we try these with store bought rice flour.
BINDU
Hi Durga.Yes, you can use ready to use Rice flour.