Sweet Maida biscuits, also known as mixture biscuit. Kala kala sweet, sweet diamond cuts, Gala gala sweet in Tamil nadu are crispy, mildly sweet and crunchy diamond cuts that make a delightful festive snack. With simple ingredients like maida, butter and milk, here is how to make traditional South Indian style sweet shankarpali easily at home with step-by-step photos!
Maida biscuits is an easy sweet recipe which is loved by all in our family. My mother-in-law usually makes this sweet maida biscuits / sweet diamond cuts in a different way. I’ll share that version in my next post. But this recipe is much more easier than my MIL’s version. Most of you would have seen these biscuits in South Indian mixture recipe. I am not a big fan of mixture. So I take the mixture in a bowl and I pick only these biscuits and peanuts from it and enjoy munching.
You can also use this to make crunchy South Indian Madras Mixture for Diwali.
When I was browsing to see the variety of maida biscuit recipes, I saw this one in Nalini’s cooking. I immediately bookmarked this recipe as I wanted to try this on my own for a long time since before marriage. I made some slight changes and tried yesterday for the first time. I am completely happy with the results. It came out crunchy and tasty with mild sweetness. Thank you so much Nalini. I would suggest all the beginners to try this easy sweet and snack recipe. Sendhil and Raksha loved this biscuit a lot. I am sure all the kids would love this to munch watching TV. Try and let me know how you liked it dearies..
Quick Notes for US & Abroad Kitchens
- Flour & Butter: Regular unbleached all-purpose flour (such as King Arthur or store brand) works great. Use unsalted melted butter at room temperature for the best flaky texture.
- Stovetop Heat Control: On electric coil or smooth ceramic cooktops, keep heat strictly on medium-low. This allows the diamond biscuits to cook completely through to the center without turning dark too quickly on the outside.
- Even Rolling & Cutting: Roll the dough evenly to 1/4 inch thickness on a silicone pastry mat or lightly floured surface so each square cooks at the exact same rate.
- Cooling for Crispness: The biscuits may feel slightly soft right after lifting from hot oil, but they turn crisp and crunchy once completely cooled to room temperature.
Sweet Maida Biscuits Recipe (Shankarpali / Mixture Biscuit)
Ingredients
- 1 cup All purpose flour / Maida (approx. 125 g / 4.4 oz)
- 2 tbsp Melted Butter (approx. 30 ml / 1 fl oz)
- 3 tbsp Powdered sugar + 2 tbsp to sprinkle on top (approx. 40 g / 1.4 oz)
- 3 tbsp Boiled Milk at room temp (approx. 45 ml / 1.5 fl oz)
- ¼ tsp Cardamom powder
- pinch Cooking soda
- pinch Salt
- Water as needed
- Cooking oil to deep fry
Instructions
- In a bowl, take melted butter, sugar, salt, cooking soda and beat well with your hands till it becomes creamy.
- To this add maida, cardamom powder and milk. Mix well to make a crumbly mixture. Lastly add water gradually and make a soft, stiff dough like we make for chapathi. Knead well for few minutes and set aside covered for 15 minutes.
- Make 5 even sized balls out of the dough and dust it well with maida. Roll 1/4 inch thick chapathi and cut them into small squares using a knife. Allow the squares to dry for 15 minutes before deep frying.
- Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry the square biscuits in batches. You can put all the biscuits together in oil (no need to put one by one). They get separated in oil as they cook. The most important thing is you should deep fry these biscuits in low to medium flame for even cooking and browning. Else they turn brown quickly without cooking inside. While frying, turn it twice or thrice only. Do not flip often as it may break the biscuit. Remove when the bubbles cease.
- Drain them in a paper. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Mix well. Allow it to cool completely as these biscuits taste super crunchy only after cooling down. It tastes soft when hot. Store in an air tight box after it cools down. Enjoy!
Notes
- Sprinkling sugar on top is optional. It is not mentioned in the original recipe. This biscuit tastes sweet by itself.
- Frying in medium heat oil is more important to get the crispness and uniform browning. Remove the biscuits after the bubbles cease well. But some bubbles may still be there. No problem!
- You can make diamond biscuits instead of squares. It is your choice!
Sharing is caring
Allow it to cool completely and store in an airtight container. Enjoy these crunchy sweet maida biscuits with your evening tea or coffee!
Wow, I love this too a lot, as well as moms version. But as u said, this is the only ingredient I eat in mixture ;)
so far i have seen only thin version of maida biscuit this is absolutely the perfect one in mixture , i am doing it today but mine is slightly vary from yours
Nicely presented.This is one of my fav snack from childhood.
awesome treat for diwali…nice loving it…love ur clicks more
looks yumm..this is a addictive snack..
crunchy… crackle…
wow these biscuits looks awesome ….My mom used to make these for me n these were one of my favorite snacks….lovely
love this biscuit ….perfectly made and yummy..love that cute pot…
wow awesome diwali snack…and easy to make as well..nice clicks…
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Want to make this on on diwali.. thanks for sharing the recipe..
awesome snack dear
Delicious and yummy biscuits.
omg so perfectly made maida biscuits .. feel like grabbing some right away :) looks super delicious !!
i used to love this as a kid but then forgot all about it until recently when i spotted this in a shop. Quick to make and quick in vanishing too. Yumm chitra!
Can have some anytime, makes me nostalgic..Quite an addictive maida biscuits.