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10 min
07/08/2026
Chaklis can be made with khapli atta, which is stone-ground from an ancient grain that retains its bran, germ and endosperm. Coming from the word ‘chakra’, chakli is a Diwali favourite that resembles the very wheels they are named after. While deep-fried items can be high in calories, you can make them nutritious by swapping refined flour, or part of it, with khapli wheat flour to add more vitamins, fibre and protein per serving.
Using Aashirvaad Chakki Khapli Atta, which is richer in fibre and perfect for those who love their typical Indian snack with their daily cuppa, will make the chaklis more wholesome. The crunch remains the same, as the other ingredients are not compromised and the steaming and frying techniques remain the same. Chakli also does not have a single recipe, and it changes name, shape and flour almost every few hundred kilometres across India, from Maharashtra's roasted bhajani mix to Tamil Nadu's rice-and-urad murukku to Karnataka's ring-shaped kodbale. So here’s sprinkling the khapli atta magic across the country and the different chakli recipes.
Chakli likely evolved from early rice-flour snacks, created for their longer shelf life, to keep well during the festival season. Over the years, nearly every region adapted the chakli recipe to whatever grain and lentil combination was locally abundant:
Maharashtra developed bhajani, a pre-roasted blend of rice, chana dal, urad dal and spices, giving its chakli a deep, nutty flavour and dark colour.
Tamil Nadu and Kerala call it murukku (meaning twisted in Tamil), usually made from rice flour and urad dal paste.
Gujarat makes chakri, often already using wheat flour alongside rice flour, seasoned generously with sesame and red chilli.
Andhra Pradesh has chakralu or chegodilu, a rice-and-urad version, flavouring theirs with sesame and ajwain.
Karnataka makes both chakli and kodbale, with the latter shaped into rings rather than spirals, and made with roasted gram and coconut.
Because khapli wheat is already part of the everyday wheat basket in several states, using it to make chakli is a return to a grain that would once have sat on the same kitchen shelf.
Traditional chakli relies on rice flour because rice starch fries up light, brittle and glass-like, with almost no chew. Khapli flour, being a wheat variety, behaves differently in three ways:
It carries some gluten: Khapli has less gluten than regular wheat, but more than zero. If that small amount of gluten is allowed to develop through kneading, the chakli can turn tough or chewy instead of crispy.
It's higher in fibre from its bran: This adds a pleasant nutty flavour and nutritional value, but bran can also make the fried dough grainy if the flour isn't hydrated properly beforehand.
It browns faster than rice flour: Khapli wheat's natural sugars caramelise sooner in hot oil, so chakli made with it can look done on the outside while still staying undercooked inside if the oil is too hot.
Read on for some tips that help you adjust to the changes that khapli atta brings with its high fibre content and fragile gluten, which needs time to hydrate.
Steam the khapli flour before kneading: Tie khapli atta in a muslin cloth and steam it for 15 to 20 minutes. This is the same technique used for whole wheat murukku, which gelatinises the starch and neutralises most of its gluten-forming ability, keeping the chakli crisp.
Add some rice flour or besan: Use khapli wheat as the dominant flour, but add 20-25% rice flour or roasted gram flour to restore some of the brittleness and crunchiness of the chaklis.
Don't over-knead: Mix the steamed flour, fat and spices into the dough with light hands and just enough water. Aggressive kneading tends to develop what little gluten khapli has, and will inhibit the crisp texture you're aiming for.
Use hot fat in the dough: A generous amount of melted ghee or hot oil worked into the dough (to create the ‘moyan’ or ‘chaunk’) coats the flour particles to help the chakli remain light.
Fry on moderate heat: Because khapli atta browns faster than rice flour, frying on medium heat ensures the inside cooks before the outside burns.
Cool completely before boxing: This goes for any deep-fried snack, as hot or warm snacks will soften in the airtight container courtesy of trapped steam released by them.
Bhajani chakli is a Diwali faral staple in Maharashtrian homes, made from a roasted mix of rice, chana dal and urad dal. Since khapli wheat is already cultivated across Maharashtra, swapping it in keeps the recipe rooted in the same pantry staples of the region, while adding fibre and a nuttier depth to the classic roasted flavour.
Ingredients
Aashirvaad Chakki Khapli Atta, steamed: 1½ cups
Roasted chana dal flour: ¼ cup
Roasted urad dal flour: 2 tbsp
White sesame seeds: 2 tbsp
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Turmeric: ½ tsp
Hot ghee: 2 tbsp
Salt: to taste
Water: as needed
Oil: for deep frying
Method
Mix the steamed khapli atta with the roasted chana and urad dal flours in a large bowl. Then add sesame seeds, chilli powder, turmeric and salt, and mix well. Pour the hot ghee and rub it into the flour mix until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add water gradually to form a soft, pliable dough. Fill the dough into a chakli press fitted with a star-shaped disc and pipe spirals directly into the hot oil. Fry on medium flame, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and cool completely.
Murukku, the Tamil and Kerala take on chakli, traditionally uses rice flour softened with a paste of soaked, ground urad dal. Replacing the rice flour with khapli keeps the coiled shape and butter-like snap while adding a mild nuttiness that pairs well with the classic hing-and-cumin seasoning.
Ingredients
Aashirvaad Chakki Khapli Atta, steamed: 1½ cups
Urad dal flour (from roasted, ground urad dal): ½ cup
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Asafoetida (hing): a pinch
Softened butter: 2 tbsp
Salt: to taste
Water: as needed
Oil: for deep frying
Method
Mix the steamed khapli atta and urad dal flour in a bowl. Add cumin seeds, hing and salt, and combine. Rub in the softened butter until evenly distributed. Then add water little by little to form a smooth, non-sticky dough. Press the dough through a murukku press with a star nozzle into the hot oil to form tight coils. Fry on medium heat until both sides turn a light golden colour and the sizzle dies down. Drain and cool on a wire rack before storing.
Gujarati chakri is one of the easiest regional versions of the chakli recipe to use khapli atta in because many Gujarati recipes use whole wheat flour already. If in doubt, mix the rice flour with a part, half or a bit more of khapli wheat for crispy results. Even if not using rice flour, you will still get crispy chakris, but the texture will be different, with the buttermilk, a staple in Gujarati-style doughs, balancing its earthy, nutty flavour well.
Ingredients
Aashirvaad Chakki Khapli Atta, steamed: 2 cups
White sesame seeds: 2 tbsp
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Ajwain (carom seeds): ½ tsp
Hot oil: 3 tbsp
Thick buttermilk or curd: ½ cup
Salt: to taste
Oil: for deep frying
Method
Mix the steamed khapli atta with sesame seeds, chilli powder, ajwain and salt in a bowl. Add the hot oil and mix it into the flour. Use the buttermilk or curd to form a soft dough, adding some water only if needed. Rest the dough for 10 minutes, covered. Pipe the dough into spirals with a chakli press, then fry in medium-hot oil. Turn occasionally and fry until golden. Cool completely on paper towels before storing.
Chegodilu, popular in Andhra Pradesh, is made with rice flour, urad dal and a generous amount of sesame and red chilli powder. Since Andhra Pradesh is also a region where khapli wheat is cultivated, this version retains the fiery and sesame-rich flavour of the original while making the snack higher in fibre.
Ingredients
Aashirvaad Chakki Khapli Atta, steamed: 1½ cups
Urad dal flour: ¼ cup
Sesame seeds: 2 tbsp
Red chilli powder: 1½ tsp
Ajwain: ½ tsp
Hot ghee: 2 tbsp
Salt: to taste
Water: as needed
Oil: for deep frying
Method
Mix the steamed khapli atta, urad dal flour, sesame seeds, chilli powder, ajwain and salt. Add the hot ghee and rub it into the flour mix, and gradually add water to form a soft dough. Take small portions of dough and roll into thin ropes, then join the ends to form small rings. Deep fry in medium-hot oil until golden-red, turning occasionally. Drain on paper towels and cool before storing.
This one is the most unique chakli recipe on this list because kodbale is shaped into thick rings and built around roasted gram flour, fresh coconut and curry leaves rather than sesame and chilli alone. Khapli atta's nutty flavour works especially well here, alongside the coconut, rounding out the snack's richness.
Ingredients
Aashirvaad Chakki Khapli Atta, steamed: 1½ cups
Roasted gram (chana dal) flour: ½ cup
Fresh grated coconut: ¼ cup
Curry leaves, finely chopped: 8-10
Green chillies, finely chopped: 2
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Hot oil: 2 tbsp
Salt: to taste
Water: as needed
Oil: for deep frying
Method
Mix the steamed khapli atta with roasted gram flour, coconut, curry leaves, green chillies and cumin seeds. Add the hot oil and mix through the dry ingredients. Add water gradually to bring the mixture into a soft, non-sticky dough. Pinch off small portions, roll into ropes about the width of a finger, and shape into rings, sealing the ends firmly. Deep fry in medium-hot oil, turning occasionally, until golden brown and firm. Drain and cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
With Aashirvaad Chakki Khapli Atta in your pantry, even chaklis can have more nutrition per serving, with more protein, fibre, iron and vitamin B1 to support energy and add to your daily nutrient count. So, make snacking less of a guilty pleasure by making them at home with mindful swaps that give you the same crunch, a little different flavour, with more nutrition every bite.
Yes. Khapli atta chakli works well once the flour is steamed before kneading, which neutralises most of its gluten-forming ability and lets it fry up crisp instead of dense, much like rice flour does.
