Chiroti

While chiroti is a sweet prepared for special events, such as weddings, baby showers, and religious ceremonies, the ingredients that constitute this dish are everyday members of ever kitchen—big and small. Chiroti is basically flatbreads (containing layers of all-purpose flour), deep-fried and coated with sugar syrup. The sweet also contains a hint of cardamom for flavor.

Health benefits

• Increased energy levels.
• Considerable amounts of essential minerals, such as phosphorus, zinc and magnesium,
  (from butter and cardamom) which are beneficial for bones and nervous system.
• High protein which aids muscle growth and repairs weak muscle tissue.

Ingredients

all purpose flour or maida: 1 cup

water: 1 cup

clarified butter/ghee: 1 tbsp

salt: pinch

Butter: 2 tbsp

cooking oil: frying

cardamom pods--crushed: 1/4 tbsp

water: 1/3 cup

Sugar: 1 cup

How To Make Chiroti

1. Make a paste of flour and ghee and keep aside.
   Note: you will use this paste later to bind layers of flatbreads.
2. In a bowl, combine flour, ghee and salt, add water as required and knead well. Cover the dough with a muslin cloth and let sit for 10 minutes.
3. Knead the dough again and divide into two balls.
4. Press each ball flat on your work surface and knead into thin rectangle rotis. Use some flour for dusting, if required.
5. Glaze a roti with ghee and flour paste, place the roti over and once again apply ghee and flour paste.
6. Roll layers of rotis into a log and cut into pieces of ½ inch each. 1 cup of flour yields about 18 – 20 pieces.
7. Roll each piece flat and deep-fry until golden on both sides and place on a paper towel to drain excess oil.
8. Dip fried pieces into sugar syrup, transfer to a greased plate and let dry for about 3hours.
9. Serve crisp and sugary chirotis with milk.

Packing this for your kid's snacks box? Make sure you pack it in an insulated lunchbox for kids

How to make sugar syrup:

Mix the sugar, water, cardamom in a pan, bring to boil. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and simmer for 5 minutes or until string consistency is achieved.

Note: just dip a finger into the syrup and dab onto your thumb. When your fingers part, you should see the syrup stretch into a string.

Trivia

• The earliest archeological evidence of wheat flour being used in ancient civilizations dates to 6000 BC.
• Cardamom is the most expensive spice in the world after saffron and vanilla.