Pune's special Bhakarwadi recipe

Bhakarwadi is a popular snack with a perfect balance of sweetness, tanginess and spiciness. Bhakarwadi from Pune is the most famous and especially the one from Chitale Bandhu.

When you badly miss it during lockdown make it at home. Follow the simple recipe given below.

Ingredients:

For dough

1. 1 cup maida (all purpose flour)
2. 2 tablespoon besan (gram flour)
3. 1 tablespoon salt
4. 1/2 tablespoon roughly crushed ajwain (carom seeds)
5. 2-3 tablespoon hot oil
6. Pinch of hing (asafoetida)
7. 2-3 tablespoon water

For masala

1. 1 tablespoon jeera ( cumin seeds )
2. 2 tablespoons til (sesame seeds)
3. 3-4 tablespoons khobra (grated coconut)
4. 2 tablespoon coriander seeds
5. 3 tablespoon red chilli powder
6. 1 tablespoon sugar
7. 1 tablespoon khas khas (poppy seeds)
8. 2 tablespoon rice flour
9. 1 tablespoon kasturi methi ( dried fenugreek )
10. 1 tablespoon saunf (fennel seeds)
11. Pinch of hing (asafoetida)

For bhakarwadi

1. Mixture of tamarind pulp, 1/2 tablespoon red chilli powder and 2-3 tablespoons of grated gul (jaggery)
2. 1/4 cup thin sev

For frying

1. 2 cups oil

Servings: 10-12 bhakarwadis

Cooking Time: 40-50 minutes

Cuisine: Maharashtrian, Gujarati(Indian)

Method:

Dough preparation

1. In a large bowl take one cup maida.
2. Add 2 tablespoons besan, a pinch of hing and 1 tablespoon salt to the bowl.
3. Crush ajwain with your palms and add it to the bowl.
4. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a pan.
5. Crumble the mixture and make sure the oil makes the flour moist.
6. Add water slowly and knead the dough. The dough should be tight as we prepare it for Puri.
7. Grease the dough with oil. Cover it and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

Stuffing preparation

1. Heat a pan on medium flame.
2. Roast jeera, coriander seeds, fennel seeds for 1 minute till you get a nice aroma and keep aside.
3. Roast sesame seeds and poppy seeds for 1/2 minute till they begin to crackle and keep aside.
4. Roast grated coconut till it turns into golden color.
5. Once the maslaa cools down, mix kasturi methi, hing, red chilli powder, salt, sugar, rice flour with roasted masala and grind into coarse powder without adding water.

Bhakarwadi preparation

1. Knead dough slightly and prepare medium size balls as we prepare for chapatis.
2. Grease rolling board and rolling pin with oil.
3. Roll the dough ball into round shape slightly thinner than chapati keeping the edges thick as compared to the center.
4. Cut two vertical sides of the round to give a nice shape to bhakarwadi.
5. Apply the tamarind mixture leaving the sides.
6. Spread the stuffing over the tamarind mixture.
7. Using the rolling pin spread the stuffing evenly.
8. Add sev over the stuffing.
9. Grease water on the sides to seal the ends.
10. Start rolling very slowly and carefully from one end of cirlce to other end to form a cylindrical roll pinching the masala inwards.
11. Gently press the roll in clockwise direction so as to get proper binding.
12. Trim the edges.
13. Cut the roll into 6-7 equal parts using knife and separate out each part carefully.
14. Press the ends of round so that the masala does not come out.
15. Heat oil in a kadhai and deep fry the bhakarwadis on slow to medium flame to make it crispy. Flip the bhakarwadis when they turn golden brown.
16. Drain excess oil by placing the bhakarwadis on tissue paper.
17. Let the bhakarwadis cool down and then store them in an air tight container.

Enjoy these delicious bhakarwadis with a nice ginger tea.