Chorafali Recipe (Gujarati Choraphali)
Crisp Gujarati chorafali made with chickpea flour and urad flour, beaten until fluffy, cut into sticks, and served with chorafali chutney.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Rolling Pin
- Kadai or heavy pan for deep-frying
- Slotted spoon
- Blender or mixing jar
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
For the chorafali
- 2 cups besan (chickpea flour)
- 1 cup urad flour (black gram flour)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- salt to taste
- water a spoon at a time, until a stiff dough
- oil for deep-frying
For the dry masala
- red chilli powder to taste
- black salt (kala namak) to taste
For the chorafali chutney paste
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves
- 2 tablespoons mint leaves
- 2 inch ginger chopped
- 4-5 green chillies spicy
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
- salt to taste
- ice cubes a few
- cold water as needed to grind
For the besan slurry
- 2 tablespoons besan (chickpea flour)
- pinch salt
- 1/8 teaspoon limbu na phool (citric acid crystals)
- 1 cup water
Instructions
Beat the dough
- In a bowl, combine the besan, urad flour, baking soda, and salt. Add water a spoon at a time and mix until you have a stiff dough. It should hold a ball and feel firm, not soft like chapati dough.
- Beat the dough until the surface looks smooth. Fold it over, slap it against the bowl, and beat again. The more you beat it, the fluffier the chorafali. If it softens too much while you beat it, knead in a spoon of besan.
Roll, then cut
- Divide the dough into balls of the same size.
- Roll every ball out thin. Do all of them before you cut.
- Cut each round into sticks.
Fry
- Heat oil for deep-frying over medium. The oil is ready when a small test stick rises and colors slowly. If it browns in a few seconds, lower the heat.
- Fry the sticks in batches until golden and crisp. Drain on a rack or paper so they stay dry.
- Mix red chilli powder and black salt, and sprinkle the dry masala over the chorafali while it is still hot.
Make the chorafali chutney
- In a mixing jar, add the coriander, mint, ginger, green chillies, black pepper, salt, and a few ice cubes. Grind to a chutney, adding a splash of cold water only if the blades need it. Set the paste aside.
- In a pan, add the 2 tablespoons besan, a pinch of salt, the limbu na phool, and 1 cup water. Mix until smooth, with no dry lumps.
- Set the pan on medium and stir the whole time until the slurry thickens slightly. It should coat a spoon, not turn into a dough.
- Turn off the heat and let the besan mixture cool.
- Stir the ground paste into the cooled slurry. Taste for salt and tang.
Serve
- Eat the chorafali the day you fry them or keep store it in airtight container. Serve with chorafali chutney, with green chutney, or plain.
Notes
Water is not a fixed cup here. Flours drink differently. Stop when the dough is stiff.
1/4 teaspoon baking soda is for 2 cups besan. More soda will not make them fluffier. Beating will.
Roll all the rounds, then cut. Sticks cut early dry out and split in the oil.
Sprinkle the dry masala while the chorafali is hot.
Limbu na phool is citric acid crystals. Do not swap in 1/8 teaspoon lemon juice and expect the same tang. If you only have lemon, start with 1 teaspoon and taste.
Eat the chorafali the day it is fried. An airtight tin holds them until the next day, but they will not be as crisp.
Chorafali chutney keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days. It thickens as it sits. Loosen it with a spoon of cold water.
For a milder chutney, use 2 green chillies instead of 4 to 5.
For gluten-free, use besan and urad flour labeled gluten-free.
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