Really simple yet very delicious Diwali sweet recipe Shankarpali or Shakkarpara – mildly sweet maida biscuits that are melt-in-mouth and really addictive! Bombay Ladki or Kalakala recipe with step-wise pictures.

The next recipe in my Diwali Sweets and Snacks is a simple sweet that can be made very quickly. Shankarpali, Shakkarpara, Shakkar Pare, Kalakala, Bombay Lakdi, Diamond biscuits – these are some of the names from various parts of India for a mildly sweet maida biscuits that are deep-fried. Dont under-estimate the ability of these biscuits to sweep you off your feet, for these are really addictive. And the fact that these are not overly sweet means that you can binge on them 🙂 Growing up in Chennai, I always knew them as Kalakala or Sweet Maida Biscuits but the same recipe is called by different names in rest of the country.

Shankarpali or Shakkarpare can be made in multiple ways – my amma always made it plain and then coated them in sugar syrup that formed a beautiful layer on top and the biscuits stayed crisp for 10-15 days. And then I fondly remember the version that one of our neighbor aunties shared with us as part of her Diwali sweets where the maida biscuits were sweet without the coating of sugar. When you mix sugar into the dough, it gets slightly sticky so it is tricky to nail it down. So, I am sharing everything I know about these melt-in-mouth sweet maida biscuits also known as Bombay Lakdi or Kalakala 🙂 These make for a perfect tea/coffee time snack, if not a festive recipe!

The same recipe can be made with salt, red chilli powder for a spicy or savory version of it and I have already shared Uppu Biscuit or Namak Pare recipe, do check it out.

How to make Shankarpali | Shakkarpara | Kalakala | Sweet Maida Biscuits –

📖 Recipe

Detailed step-wise picture recipe of making Shankarpali | Shakkarpara | Kalakala | Sweet Maida Biscuits –

First add sugar and cardamom in a mixer jar. Grind into a smooth powder.

In a large mixing bowl add maida, chiroti rava, salt, cooking soda and the ground sugar.

Pour over warm melted ghee.

Mix it well and the mixture should look crumbly. It should hold together when pressed.

Pour milk and knead the dough, bringing it together. Don’t be tempted to add more milk as the sugar in the mixture will definitely make it runny.

This is how my dough looked with ⅓ cup milk.

I added another tablespoon of milk and brought it together, kneading it as smooth as possible.

Roll it into a log and divide into equal sized portions.

Roll into a circle of thickness 2-3mm, thicker than a regular roti.

Using a sharp knife, cut it into squares or diamonds.

Meanwhile heat oil for deep-frying. As the oil is hot, set it on low or medium flame. If you drop a piece of dough, it should raise up. Drop a batch of cut biscuits into the hot oil.

Stir them around occasionally ensuring that they are getting evenly cooked. If the oil is too hot, the biscuits will get browned very fast without getting cooked. So it is important to fry these at low or medium flame.

As they turn light golden color, remove them from oil. They will continue to cook in the residual heat and turn a shade darker. Drain them on tissue paper.

Repeat this with rest of the dough and fry all the biscuits. As they cool down, they crisp up but are also in melt-in-mouth consistency.

Store in an airtight container to keep upto 10 days.

Note –

Adding chiroti rava gives the required crispness to these biscuits.
Instead of milk, water can also be used.
As the biscuits are thicker, cook them on medium to low flame until they are cooked through-out.

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