IndianVegKitchen: Mathri | Maharashtrian Mathri

Mathri is an authentic Maharashtrian snack which is similar to the South-Indian 'Thattai'. These crisp savory crackers are perfect anywhere, anytime snack. Traditionally, they are served aside pickles, also known as 'Achaar' in Maharashtrian households. I fell in love with these Ajwain-flavoured crackers which my colleague from Mumbai brought this for us and the taste was at its best. So, without looking around the net for the recipe, I asked for his mom's recipe and tried it. It came out with perfect crunch. As Iam doing the theme of 'Picnic Hampers' for the second week of Blogging Marathon, I chose this Mathri recipe which I took for a hiking with friends and it was relished by all of them. Even kids loved munching this tasty mild-flavoured snack. It can be prepared in large lots and stored in an air-tight container for upto a month. Thanks to my colleague's mom from Mumbai for sharing this perfect recipe for delicious Mathris.

Total preparation time : 1hr
Yields - 40-50 Mathris

Ingredients:-
Maida / All-purpose flour - 2cups
Sooji / Rava - 1/2cup
Ajwain / Omam - 1tsp
Salt - As needed
Oil - 4tblsp + As needed for deep frying
Lukewarm water - 3/4cup

Method:-

1. In a bowl, combine maida, sooji, ajwain, salt and 4tblsp oil and prepare a crumbly mixture.

2. Add water, little at a time and knead for about 5mins into a firm yet soft dough. Cover the dough and let it sit for 20mins or even more.

3. Divide the dough into 5-6 equal parts. Lightly oil the rolling surface and roll it into a big circle, about 3-4mm thickness. One main tip here is not to use flour for dusting, which will turn the Mathris hard. Instead, use little oil and rolling out becomes very smooth ans easy.

4. Prick all over with a fork so that the Mathris do not puff up while frying. DO NOT skip this process. Using any round-shaped cutter, cut out 6-7 smaller rounds out of it.

5. Gently remove each of them and spread them on a tray. Add the left-out portion to the next part and continue the process with the entire portion of dough.

6. While a batch of mathris are getting rolled out, heat oil in a pan. Once the oil reaches the right frying temperature, fry the mathris on medium heat.

7. The frying process takes about 10-12mins for each batch. Mathris are done once the shh... sound of the oil ceases and they turn golden brown. Drain them on a kitchen towel / tissue.