Shankarpali is a sweet and crispy Maharashtrian snack made with 4 basic ingredients flour, ghee, sugar, and milk. These crunchy flaky cookies are usually made for the Diwali festival and make the perfect tea-time snacks!
Sharing how to make shankarpali that is flaky, crispy and just melts in the mouth!!
Sweet shankarpali was always one of the first sweets Mom and Aaji would start making for Diwali faral.
After that, there would always be few more batches made since they would be gone even before Diwali arrived.
There is something so irresistible about these flaky, crispy, bite-size cookies that literally melt in the mouth and you just can't stop! They are that addictive!
These are now my kid's favorite so I make them often and a must-have for Diwali!
This Shakarpara is
- crispy, flaky, and just melts in the mouth
- needs just basic pantry ingredients
- can be made in advance
- stores at room temperature
- will be gone even before you know
Shankarpali is also known as Shakkarpara in Hindi and "god" shankarpali in Marathi where "god" means sweet.
These diamond or square-shaped sweets are crispy and made of flour, ghee, sugar, milk, and flavored with cardamom powder.
Popularly made for the Diwali festival, these sweet shankarpali are really easy to make and have a long shelf life.
You can make shankarpali either sweet or savory. In this post, sharing the sweet version but the spicy one is coming soon.
To make sweet Shankarpali, heat equal parts of milk, ghee, and sugar, and cool it. To this add all-purpose flour (maida) to get a nice soft dough.
Ghee is really important for that khuskhushit shankarpali which is flaky and crispy and not hard so don't skimp on that!
This dough is then divided into equal-sized balls that are rolled out slightly thick (not too thick or thin) and cut into diamond (or square) shapes and deep-fried (traditionally).
These crunchy treats stay fresh for weeks so you can make shankarpali in bulk and store in an airtight container.
So lets see how to make khuskhushit shankarpali.
Recipe Ingredients
- Ghee - don't skimp on this if you want those melt in the mouth (khuskhushit) shankarpali
- Sugar - for sweetness, using regular granulated white sugar.
- Milk - using whole milk. Can be replaced with water.
- Flour - maida or all-purpose flour.
- Flavor - cardamom powder and salt
- Oil or ghee - for deep frying
Step by Step Method
To make the dough
1 - In a saucepan heat milk, ghee, and sugar on medium heat until sugar dissolves. Keep aside to cool. You can also microwave it for 30-45 seconds.
2- In a large mixing bowl, sift the all-purpose flour, salt, and cardamom powder. Mix to combine.
3 - Add the cooled ghee and milk sugar mixture.
4 and 5 - Mix and knead to make a soft dough but not sticky.
Rest the dough for 5-10 mins and not more since the dough will continue to firm up as the ghee starts to solidify.
To roll and shape:
6 - Divide into 3-4 parts and knead each part and form a smooth ball.
7 and 8 - Take one ball and roll into a slightly thick 5-6 inch circle. If the rolled dough looks not smooth, that’s all right, Don't worry. Keep rolling.
9 to 11 - Using a karanji cutter or knife or pizza cutter, make 1 inch apart vertical lines and then horizontal to make squares (or diamonds)
For diamond shape, cut horizontally 1 inch apart at an angle.
12 - Discard the edges and join them to form another ball. Transfer the perfect square or diamonds to a plate lined with parchment paper, make sure they are separated and not sticking.
Keep them covered with wet cloth to prevent from drying.
You can either fry them in batches or make all the remaining balls in similar manner and then fry all at once.
For Frying:
Test oil by adding one small dough. It should rise up slowly if it doesn’t then heat it more.
If it turns brown too quickly then reduce the heat and let the oil cool and bit and test again.
13 - Heat oil on medium heat and fry in batches. Do not overcrowd. If they are browning too quickly reduce the heat to medium-low. Keep adjusting as needed.
14 - Fry until they they are golden brown on both sides,
15 - Drain using a slotted spatula to make sure all the oil drains off.
16 - Remove on a paper towel-lined plate and continue frying the remaining batches.
Khuskhushit shankarpali (shakarpare) is ready!!
Allow to cool completely and then store in an airtight container. These stay good easily at room temperature for a 3-4 weeks but they will be gone way before!
Recipe Tips and notes
Dough:
- My mom's tip is to use equal parts of sugar, ghee, and milk (or water) for that khuskhushit shankarpali.
- Ghee is the important ingredient that makes shankarpali flaky and melts in the mouth but if you are concerned about the fats use 2 tablespoon at the minimum for 1 cup flour.
- Don't add very hot liquid while making dough, cool it to lukewarm, and then use.
- Roll the dough slightly thick not too thick or thin.
Frying:
- Fry on medium-low heat for those crispy flaky shankarpali.
- Keep adjusting the heat as needed.
- Frying on high heat will cause them to brown quickly from the outside and inside will remain uncooked.
- Fry in batches and do not overcrowd.
FAQ's
Yes, you can replace the maida with whole wheat flour (1:1) ratio or use a combination of both. But note that the color, taste, and texture will vary with wheat flour. Also, you may need more liquid for kneading.
You can easily replace sugar with powdered jaggery (1:1 ratio). The rest of the recipe remains the same. But note that the color, taste, and texture will vary.
Yes, you can bake shankarpali in a preheated oven at 350°F . Place them in a single line on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for 15 to 20 mins rotating halfway through until golden. Remove and cool on a rack. Once completely cool store air tight.
More Diwali Faral recipes
Hope you enjoy this Sweet Shankarpali recipe or Shakkarpara!! If you give this recipe a try, please rate by clicking stars ⭐️ in the recipe card. Thank you ❤️ ! You can also follow me on Facebook | Instagram to see what’s cooking in my kitchen!!
Shankarpali
Ingredients
- ¼ cup ghee
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour maida
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt to taste
- oil/ghee for deep frying approximately 2 cups
Instructions
To make the dough
- In a saucepan heat milk, ghee, and sugar on medium heat until sugar dissolves. Keep aside to cool. You can also microwave it for 30-45 seconds.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the all-purpose flour, salt, and cardamom powder. Mix to combine.
- Add the cooled ghee and milk sugar mixture and knead to make a soft dough but not sticky.
- Rest the dough for 5-10 mins and not more since the dough will continue to firm up as the ghee starts to solidify.
To roll and shape:
- Divide into 3-4 parts and knead each part and form a smooth ball.
- Take one ball and roll into a slightly thick 5-6 inch circle. If the rolled dough looks not smooth, that’s all right, Don't worry. Keep rolling.
- Using a karanji cutter or knife or pizza cutter, make 1 inch apart vertical lines and then horizontal to make squares (or diamonds)
- For diamond shape, cut horizontally 1 inch apart at an angle.
- Discard the edges and join them to form another ball. Transfer the perfect square or diamonds to a plate lined with parchment paper, make sure they are separated and not sticking.
- Keep them covered with a wet cloth to prevent from drying.
- You can either fry them in batches or make all the remaining balls in a similar manner and then fry all at once.
For Frying:
- Test oil by adding one small dough. It should rise up slowly if it doesn’t then heat it more. If it turns brown too quickly then reduce the heat and let the oil cool and bit and test again.
- Heat oil on medium heat and fry in batches. Do not overcrowd. If they are browning too quickly reduce the heat and until they are golden brown on both sides,
- Drain using a slotted spatula to make sure all the oil drains off.
- Remove on a paper towel-lined plate and continue frying the remaining batches.
- Khuskhushit shankarpali is ready!!
- Allow to cool completely and then store in an airtight container. These stay good easily at room temperature for a 3-4 weeks but they will be gone way before!
Notes
- You can replace all-purpose flour with wheat flour in 1:1 ratio or use a mix of both 50:50 ratio.
- Similarly, sugar can be replaced with powdered jaggery.
- Both these substitutions will cause the color, taste, and texture to vary.
- To bake shankarpali, preheat oven at 350°F. Place them in a single line on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for 15 to 20 mins rotating halfway through until golden. Remove and cool on a rack. Once completely cool store airtight.
- My mom's tip is to use equal parts of sugar, ghee, and milk (or water) for that khuskhushit shankarpali.
- Ghee is the important ingredient that makes shankarpali flaky and melts in the mouth but if you are concerned about the fats use 2 tablespoon at the minimum for 1 cup flour.
- Don't add very hot liquid while making dough, cool it to lukewarm, and then use.
- Roll the dough slightly thick not too thick or thin.
- Fry on medium-low heat for those crispy flaky shankarpali.
- Keep adjusting the heat as needed.
- Frying on high heat will cause them to brown quickly from the outside and inside will remain uncooked.
- Fry in batches and do not overcrowd.
It will be nice if you could share the milk to ghee to sugar ratio - Mine didnt come out well , infact it became really brown
Hi Supriya, the exact measurements are written on the recipe card. please refer to those? In addition, I have also mentioned all the tips including for frying. Frying at high heat will cause shankarpali to brown quickly.
Shankarpare or sweet biscuits as I call it, looks lovely
HAPPY DIWALI.
Looks so delicious to see... Love that healthy food guide
Wow looks so good and easy recipe...
they look so delicious..
looks really yummy.
quite addictive shankarpali,love to munch some.
Lovely and delicious looking snack.
Deepa
wow..
love it, looks perfect and delicious 🙂
Lovely sankarpali... Reminded my childhood days