Baked Fafda Crisps

About this recipe

Baked Fafda Crisps are the Gujarati festival snack, traditionally deep-fried but here transformed into shards through baking that snap just as satisfyingly. Fafda is the gram-flour cracker scented with ajwain that you eat on Dussehra whether you planned to or not, part of the seasonal food vocabulary of Gujarat. The dough is simple—besan, ajwain, water, salt, and oil—but proper technique determines whether you end up with crisp snaps or hard biscuits that break your teeth. The black pepper and ajwain are the signature spices, warming and digestive. The critical technique is rolling these genuinely thin—thinner than you think necessary—so they bake crisp rather than chewy. The dough needs proper rubbing (working the oil through the flour) so it distributes evenly and prevents the crackers from becoming greasy or oily. A firm dough that holds together requires patience and a light hand; too much water and you've made batter instead. The fork-pricking prevents puffing during bake, keeping the crackers flat and crispable. Bake at 200°C flipping halfway through for even browning and crispness. The moment they start turning golden they will crisp further as they cool, so remove them when still slightly pale rather than fully colored, or you'll end up with hard rather than crisp. Dust with Kashmiri chilli powder while hot so it clings to any remaining oil. Serve these with fried green chillies and a sweet chutney (jaggery-tamarind) for the full Gujarati festival effect. These keep in an airtight container for up to a week, though they're best eaten fresh and crunchy within the first few days. Any staling can be reversed by warming in a low oven for a few minutes. This is vegan, baked instead of deep-fried, yet completely satisfying as a snack.