PREPARATION

Making Bhakarwadi Dough

1. In a mixing bowl or large tray or plate, take gram flour (besan), all purpose flour (maida), turmeric powder, asafoetida (hing) and salt.
2. With a spoon mix everything well.
3. Next add 3 tablespoons oil. with your fingertips, mix the oil with the flours, till you get a bread crumb like texture.
4. Take a portion of the flour and press it. It should be able to hold itself and not crumble.
5. Next add water in parts. Amount of water to be added depends on the quality of besan and maida, so add in parts and add as required. Overall you can add 4 to 5 tablespoons water or add as required.
6. Adding water in parts, begin to mix and knead the dough.
7. Knead to a semi soft dough. In case the dough becomes sticky, then add some maida. If it looks dry, then sprinkle some water and continue to knead. Cover the dough and keep aside.

Making Bhakarwadi Stuffing

1. Heat a heavy pan or kadai. Add 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds.
2. On a low to medium-low flame, stirring often roast sesame seeds till they crackle. Do not brown them.
3. Keeping flame to a low, add ½ cup desiccated coconut (40 grams) and 1 tablespoon poppy deeds (khus khus). Mix very well.
4. Then Add ½ teaspoon fennel seeds. Mix again and roast on a low flame.
5. Stirring non-stop, roast till coconut is light golden.
6. Switch off flame and keep the pan down.
7. Add the following spice powders one by one – 1 pinch asafoetida, 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, 1 teaspoon cumin powder and ½ teaspoon garam masala (or ½ teaspoon goda masala).
8. Also add salt as per taste. The spice powders will get cooked with the residue heat from the pan and the coconut mixture.
9. Mix very well and let this mixture cool.
10. Then take all of the roasted stuffing mixture in a grinder jar. Add 1.5 to 2 tablespoons sugar. You can add less or mores sugar as per your taste buds.
11. Grind to a semi fine powder. Do not grind fine as then oil releases from coconut and sesame seeds. Use pulse option and grind or grind in intervals of a few seconds.
12. Take the stuffing in a bowl.
13. Add ½ tablespoon lemon juice. For a more tangy taste in bhakarwadi, you can add 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Alternatively add 1 to 2 teaspoons dry mango powder or 1 to 2 teaspoons of tamarind pulp (note: not tamarind paste). The sourness can be made less or more, by adding less or more of the souring ingredient.
14. Mix very well. Check taste and if required add more salt, sugar or spice powders or lemon juice.

Assembling And Making Bhakarwadi Spirals

1. Take the dough and roll it into a log. Cut the log in 4 to 5 equal parts.
2. Take one part of the dough and roll between your palms to get a round shape. Flatten and keep the dough on a rolling board.
3. Sprinkle some besan before you begin to roll the dough.
4. Roll to a medium thick round or square or rectangle (whatever suits you ☺️). Make sure that the dough is not rolled thinly or thickly.
5. Now brush lightly with water all over the rolled dough.
6. With a spoon spread masala on the dough, leaving a space of ½ to 1 inch at the edges.
7. Then lightly press the stuffing masala with a spoon.
8. Now begin to tightly roll the dough. roll to a tight and neat log. Then join the edges.
9. Cut the rolled log in equal parts.
10. You will get the bhakarwadi spirals or pinwheels. Place them with the pinwheel surface facing you.
11. Gently press each bhakarwadi pinwheel with the heels of your palm.
12. This way make bhakarwadi pinwheels with the entire dough and stuffing mixture. Keep them in a bowl. Cover the bowl.

Frying Bhakarwadi

1. Heat oil in a kadai or pan. Keep flame to medium-low or medium. To check if the oil is hot, slid one bhakarwadi in the oil. If the bhakarwadi comes up gradually to the surface of oil, you can begin frying bhakarwadi.
2. Add the bhakarwadi pinwheels in the oil. Do not over crowd the pan or kadai with bhakarwadi. Begin to fry at medium low to medium flame. Do not fry on a high flame as then the center of bhakarwadi can be slightly soft and uncooked.
3. When one side is light golden, turn over with a slotted spoon and fry the second side of bhakarwadi.
4. Continue to turn a couple of times to get even golden color.
5. Fry them till the crust becomes crisp & golden and the oil stops sizzling.
6. Remove the fried bakarwadi with a slotted spoon draining extra oil in the kadai itself.
7. Place on kitchen paper towels to remove the extra oil. Similarly, fry the remaining bhakarwadi.
8. When they cool down at room temperature, then place them in an air-tight jar or box. This recipe yields about 25 to 26 bhakarwadi. Serve them as a tea time snack.