Spicy diamond cuts recipe. Learn how to make these savory diamond cuts that are crisp & crunchy long after you make them without going soft or becoming soggy.
Usually, most of the people who make these diamond cuts always complain that they were crisp after you took them out of the pan but after some time they have become soft & not crunchy anymore.
Follow these tips and tricks to make one of the most wonderful tea-time snacks to perfection that you can eat by handfuls.
Table of Contents:
About
These Spicy Diamond cuts are also known as maida khara biscuits or thukkada or thukkudi in Tamil that is made during the Diwali festival.
This is also a very easy snack that you can prepare for Diwali if you are a beginner. These are usually made to be added in South Indian Mixture along with other snacks to add to the crunch effect.
Other than that they make a wonderful tea time snack as well. Make them ahead and store them in an air-tight jar and enjoy at leisure or whenever you get a snack attack.
Ingredients
Flour: Makes the base for the spicy diamond cuts. I have used all-purpose flour or maida to make these diamond cuts.
Flavorings: To prevent the diamond cuts from being bland and to add flavor & aroma to them, red chili powder, asafoetida & cumin seeds are added.
Ajwain: This is called Omam in Tamil, Bishop’s weed, or carom seeds in English. It enhances digestion, adds aroma, and prevents bloating.
Salt & water: Salt is added to taste & water for kneading the flour & other ingredients into a dough.
Oil: Use refined groundnut oil for deep frying to get a good taste & for the snack to remain fresh longer.
Instructions
To make spicy diamond cuts,
Mix together all the dry ingredients - flour, chili powder, ajwain, asafoetida & salt.
Make a well in the center and add hot oil. Bring the flour from the sides and mix with your fingertips till it resembles bread crumbs.
Add water little by little and make it into a smooth and stiff dough. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 30 mins.
Take golf ball-sized dough and roll into a thin disc or circle.
With a fork prick all over the surface. This is to prevent puffing up while deep frying.
Using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, make lines horizontally and vertically resembling diamond shapes.
Deep fry them over medium-low flame till golden brown and drain on a kitchen paper.
Spicy diamond cuts are ready.
Let it come to room temperature before storing it in an air-tight container.
Special Tool
There are spoons with ribbed wheels available in the market that are called 'Somaas Cutter' which are usually used to draw the lines. They give a ribbed edge while cutting.
If you do not have it use a pizza cutter like I have done or even a sharp knife will do the job neatly.
Recipe Notes
1. Make sure that the dough is stiff. If the dough is soggy the diamonds will drink more oil while deep frying.
2. After separating the pieces, arrange them on kitchen paper or a clean dry cloth instead of a plate. As it sticks, you have to separate them once more while picking them up for deep frying.
3. Add the pieces only till the pan holds and do not overcrowd.
Top Tip
Adding hot oil to the flour mix makes the diamond extra-crisp & crunchy.
FAQ's
Yes, you can. But I would recommend using 50% of each flour for best results.
Instead of omam, you can add 1 teaspoon garlic paste for garlic-flavored diamond cuts.
You can also use crushed kasuri methi for methi flavored savory cuts.
You can add either softened butter or ghee instead of hot oil while making the dough.
Let the deep-fried diamond cuts come down to room temperature first. Then store in a clean & dry airtight container.
These diamond cuts stay crisp & crunchy for even a month. Store only at room temperature.
Related Recipes
see more Diwali Recipes
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Recipe
Spicy Diamond Cuts Recipe | Savory Diamond Cuts
Ingredients
- ½ cup All Purpose Flour or Maida
- ½ teaspoon Red chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon Ajwain or Omam
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- ⅛ teaspoon Asafoetida
- 1 tablespoon Hot oil
- Water to knead
- Salt to taste
- Oil to deep fry
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add maida, chili powder, ajwain, cumin seeds, asafoetida & salt together.
- Make a well in the center and add hot oil.
- Bring the flour from the sides and mix with your fingertips till it resembles bread crumbs.
- Add water little by little and make it into a smooth and stiff dough.
- Cover the bowl and let it rest for 30 mins.
- Take golf ball-sized dough and roll into a thin disc or circle like a chapati.
- With a fork prick all over the surface. This is to prevent puffing up while deep frying.
- Using a somaas cutter or a pizza cutter or sharp knife, make lines horizontally and vertically resembling diamond shapes.
- Separate each piece and arrange it side by side on kitchen paper or cloth.
- Heat a pan with oil and when hot add the cutouts till the pan holds.
- Deep fry over medium-low flame till golden brown and drain on kitchen paper.
- Spicy diamond cuts are ready.
- Let it come to room temperature before storing it in an air-tight container.
Shaji shaju
Very much Helpful
Keep Rocking
All the best
Anonymous
can we replace some quantity of maida by rice flour/wheat flour/besan for a healthier version ? how will that affect the crispiness ? your feedback will be very useful as i am planning to make and send it to my son who is in hostel.kindly suggest the ratio also.
regards,
valli.
Anonymous
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I've been searching this for years and finally found yours. It came out very well, just like how I wanted it to be. My kids loved it and my son (3 years old) said amma it is delicious and its my favourite and so did my daughter :O) Thanks again.
Anonymous
Hi Radhika, These were super crunchy even after a week. Earlier when I used to make them it used to lose the crisp. Never knew by using oil while kneading could keep them so crisp. Thanks for the wonderful tip. BTW, have you changed the commenting form. Earlier I could not comment, as it asked me to log in or something. Have a good day. - Pavitra.