Going on a honeymoon is very common – what is not very common is going on a holiday after an important religious occasion like the initiation ceremony every little Brahmin boy undertakes around the age of 8 or so. In the olden days, this ceremony actually marked the young boy’s send off to the Gurukul or his guru’s school where he spent the next ten years or so attaining the knowledge that would make him into a man. Today’s Boarding school would be the closest to this system where a boy is sent off for his secondary school education. This religious ceremony which is conducted by priests normally concludes like all occasions with a big feast for friends and family. Apart from the sacred thread and the sacred mantra that is whispered into his ear, the boy also receives lots of gifts in cash or kind from those who attend the function. This event (known as the Munja in my part of the world) is almost like a wedding : so after my brother’s Munja, the family decided to go on a holiday. While we drove through the countryside, we had a special game – who could read the signposts/milestones as the car went past. Things were fairly easy till we were in the State of Maharashtra but the moment we entered Karnataka, we got lost. The closest we could come to identifying them was “chakli” and “kadboli” the savoury tidbits that we made specially for Diwali.

But special food for special occasions has completely lost its significance in today’s day and age where birthdays and festivals are celebrated on convenient holidays rather than on the day itself. So making “chakli” is now no longer confined to Diwali or weddings or even special events. However, my attempts at making “chakli” have always been disastrous so it is with great trepidation that I try to make this dish. Yesterday my mom gave me a quick never fail recipe which I tried,  and wonder of wonders – I did get the perfect “chakli” or at least as near perfect as possible.

I took a cup of moong daal which I cooked in a pressure cooker along with 250 g of flour. After the pressure came to normal, I pounded the lump of flour back into a powder and added it to the cooked daal. To this I added salt, chilli powder and some cumin seeds. Then I pressed out the chakli with a chakli maker and deep fried them to a golden brown crisp.They were definitely yum