Spiral of Happiness – Chakali!!
Spiral of Happiness – Chakali!!
Shruti Kulkarni
“Shine like sparkles, glow like lamps and burn all the negativity like crackers this Diwali”.
The most awaited festival of the year is here and our homes are bustling with positive vibes, sparkles, new clothes, new belongings and loads of Festival goodies and delicacies. It’s time to sparkle with joy this “Diwali” and tickle your tastebuds with “Spiral of Happiness” with your favourite Diwali snack – Chakali!!
Diwali is also distinctly mentioned in our ancient texts, epic tales and mythological facts as one of the most celebrated festivals in India. Ayurveda, the ancient science of India, also follows the festive clock and brings synergy with the “aahar-vihar” patterns as per the “Ritucharya and Dinacharya”. It believes that the pitta humour aggravated in Sharad ritu starts to decline in Hemant ritu to its normal healthy levels. Jatharagni or digestive fire that has been reduced in Sharad also starts to rekindle and our body’s digestive capacity increases in this season.
The body needs sound nourishment to energise the body tissues ( Sapta Dhatu poshan).
As this is the beginning of winter, the body needs warmth and can digest Guru ahara (heavy-to-digest food) like foods made from Ghee, Dry fruits, Milk & milk products, and deep-fried foodstuffs. As “Diwali- the Festival of Lights” falls during this time we all indulge in extremely rich, heavy and lip-smacking delicacies close to every Indian palate.
We Indians wherever we are always are eager to celebrate Diwali with family, friends, colleagues, and neighbours with great pomp. The whole land is lit up with dazzling diyas, fire-crackers and wholesome Diwali Faral or festive sweets. Big and small boxes of mithais, dry fruits and thalis full of Diwali Preparations are distributed as a token of love and bonding. We wait throughout the year to celebrate, eat and live this festival. Among the array of Indian Diwali delicacies here is a range of the most popular ones: Chivda, Chakli / Murukku, Kadboli, Ladoo, Shakarpare / Shankarpali, Karanji / Ghujiya, Shev / Bhujia, Chirote, Champakali, Anarase, Bhakarwadi, etc.
In this blog, we are going to focus on the most traditional and the most savoured Diwali delicacy – Chakali!!!
Chakli:
Chakli, Murukku & Kadboli are famous Diwali delicacies that have a spiral or chakri shape and were traditionally made by the women folk only during Diwali festival, but nowadays we get them all year long in the market. Still “Chakali” remains one of the most popular, at times difficult to make, savoury and tasty items. Popular with people of all ages and across the world.
The funny thing is that Chakali, Murukku & Kadboli are like twin sisters with slightly different versions from each other. Chakali is the spicy version. The word chakli is derived from the Indian word chakkar which means dizziness or like a maze. Just like its name “Chakali” it has a long and twisted list of ingredients right from 5 grains called as “Bhajani” or the roasted and fine ground flour which is the base of the Chakali dough- Jowar, Bajra, Wheat, Poha, Gram flour and a long list of spices- coriander seeds, carom seeds, cumin seeds, red chillies, hing / asafoetida, turmeric, methi seeds. Finally, they are brought together deep fried to perfection to get those tasty spirals. Chakali is most consumed in the different parts of Maharashtra and Gujrat.
Kadboli:
The heavy version of Chakali called as Kadboli is a dark flour mainly made using Bajra flour, matki and other grains along with more spices. It is made spicier and rolled to perfection using hands instead of a Chakali maker and deep fried to give that crispiness and crunch.
Murukku:
Murukku is the light, crunchy version. The word Murukku is traditionally a Tamil word meaning ‘twisted.’ Hence, making it obvious that the shape of this snack is round and spirally twisted. Murukku in other regional languages are murukulu / jantikalu / chakralu (Telugu), dantkali (Odiya), chakkuli (Kannada) and chakri (Gujarati and Konkani). They are made up of rice flour and have a distinct flavour and crunchiness. Sometimes benne or homemade white butter is added to make “Butter chakli or Benne Murukku” mostly deep-fried in coconut oil. Variations of this recipe and slight changes in the shape along with names are also found in Gujarat, Odisha, Maharashtra and the Konkan region. These spiral forms like Chakali are also found in some South-Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore and Fiji and are savoured during Festive times.
According to some fiction stories, when the first chakli was made, the maker, after eating it, went into a maze of unending happiness and satisfaction so he decided to give it a hypnotic shape of a spiral. It represents the state of the brain when all those exotic Indian flavours explode in your mouth and bind with the taste buds.
The shape is round as the Chakli can be made easily without any break in a round shape instead of a square or triangular shape. The round shape and the texture of Chakli helps to cook it well from all sides and gives that unique crispiness.
At times having too much Chakali can cause acidity or heart-burn, but don’t worry you can enjoy Chakali with home-made white butter or Loni or home-made fresh curds and the taste will enhance ten-folds and you can enjoy this spiral of happiness with your loved ones. So this Diwali don’t shy away from eating this magnificent spiral of Taste and happiness. Enjoy your festival and indulge in Diwali delicacies to the fullest. Keep reading our newest blogs and stay informed to know how best you can indulge in festive foods this year and still stay healthy.
We talk about such interesting facts and give innovative options to our clients through our “Festive Special Diet plans” at “Atreya Innovations Wellness Platform”.
Do visit our websites www.naditarangini.com and www.atreyainnovations.com and know which recipes to consume this “festive season” and still look great and stay healthy as per your Prakruti & Vikruti. You may also connect with us at +91 7774040185, Call to know more Today!!
Author-
Mrs. Shruti Kulkarni (Nutritionist)
Mrs. Archana Patil (Wellness Coach)
Vaidya Shillpa Jamdarkhana (Wellness Coach)
Credits –
Vaidya Tejaswini Bhale (Ayurvedacharya | Nadi Parikshan Expertise)
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