Categories: Garam Masala TuesdaysIndianSweets

Garam Masala Tuesdays: Sweet mathri/ Meethi mathri

Things have been quite busy at my end and hopefully its a sign of good things to come. I will be posting about the latest developments on my front in a blog post later but you can get an idea about what has kept me busy here. Today I got some time to breathe so thought I will update this space which has unfortunately and not to my liking taken a back seat.

A few days back I had posted a raw, vegan, gluten free sweet option to give as gifts or just make for yourself during Diwali or otherwise. Today’s recipe is the complete opposite. Its deep fried, gluten loving, clarified butter enriched sweet goodness. Well technically you could make this vegan by substituting the ghee with oil, but unless you are lactose intolerant, I would not recommend you to do so.

The other day my mom got a version of these sweet mathris I am posting today from Phagwara (her sister’s place) and after it got over (which surprisingly did not take too much time) my mom and I decided we will try our hand at making sweet mathris at home. We do like to keep ourselves fat and well rounded.

Mathri is kind of like a pie dough that is deep fried (I bet I got your attention, didn’t I). Generally it is a savory dish but during festivals, especially Karva chauth (you know, the fasting ritual that women keep in India for their husband’s longevity) these sweet mathris are found everywhere. With Diwali just a few days away, I thought it would be a good time to post the recipe for these.

They come together fairly quickly. Only frying them takes a little time. But its mostly waiting time, so if you don’t have your sweet menu decided or are looking for last minute homemade diwali ideas, give these meethi/sweet mathris a try.

There is a video, from where today’s recipe is adapted, which will help you with the visual instructions on how to make these sweet mathris. A slight adaptation to the recipe given there is to add fennel powder to the dough mix. It gives a nice flavor to these sweet mathris.

Also, since this Garam Masala Tuesdays series is my small way of talking about Indian food and a few customs in India, I came across this article recently which explains the scientific reasons behind Indian traditions. If you have time do check it out.

Here’s wishing all my readers a very happy and festive Diwali. And just to be kind to the animals around you make this Diwali noiseless, please!

Garam Masala Tuesdays: Sweet mathri/ Meethi mathri

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 16 mathris

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1-2 tablespoon semolina (lends crispiness to the dough)
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds crushed
1/4 cup melted ghee
Approx. 1/4 cup of lukewarm water
Oil to deep fry
For the Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Instructions

In a bowl mix flour, semolina flour and ground fennel seeds. Add the melted ghee and mix it in. Add water as needed to make a stiff dough. Don’t knead the dough. Kind of like how pie dough is. Cover the dough with a damp cloth. Let it rest at least 15-20 minutes.
Divide the dough into 16 equal parts. Roll the dough between your palms form into balls. With a rolling pin roll each ball into circles. Keep them a little thick. With a knife prick the rolled out dough all around on both sides. This will prevent mathri not to puff while frying.
Heat at least one inch of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. To check if oil is ready put a little piece of dough in the oil. It should cause the oil to sizzle. If the dough floats up instantly the oil is
too hot. To make mathris you do not need too hot.
Fry 3-4 mathris at a time, depending on how big your pan is. Fry the mathris until both sides are a light golden-brown. It should take six to eight minutes. If the mathries are fried on high heat, they will not be cooked inside. Remove from oil and place on a tray lined with a paper towl to absorb extra oil.
For the syrup, boil the water and sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat. Bring it to a boil and let boil for about 2 minutes until syrup is sticky. The video shows that if you take a drop of the syrup and let it cool for a couple of seconds and then pinch it between your fingers two strands should form. The syrup is ready.
Dip the mathri one at a time into the syrup making sure it is coated with syrup all around.
Place the matries on a wire rack to allow the extra syrup drain or over greased plate. Let dry for an hour. You can store the mathris in an airtight container and they should be good for a month.

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