Fafda: Crispy Gujarati Pea Flour Chips (ફાફડા)

PEA FLOUR CHIPS (ફાફડા)

PEA FLOUR CHIPS (ફાફડા)

The Gujarati Kitchen

Servings

3

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

15 minutes

A pea flour chip that is enjoyed with a cup of chai for afternoon tea or a quiet drink in the evening. Can be made and stored in an airtight container for snack food to bring out when guests visit.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups pea flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon carom / ajwain seeds, crushed
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1 litre oil, for deep frying

Directions

  1. In a medium bowl, combine pea flour, salt and carom seeds. Make a well in the middle, add oil and water. Use fingers to combine into a sticky dough. Add warm water to dough mixture if dry.

  2. Heat oil in a wok on a high heat. Sit fafra jarda on top of the wok. Portion 1/2 cup of mixture and spread onto jarda with the area between your wrist and palm. Pressing firmly so mixture goes through jarda.

  3. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towel. Scrape excess mixture off jarda and repeat with remaining dough. Serve once cooled and store in an airtight container for 2-3 weeks.

Fafda: the crunchy Gujarati snack made for chai

Some snacks are just made for a cup of chai, and fafda is one of them. These long, crispy pea flour chips are a Gujarati favourite, perfect for afternoon tea or a quiet drink in the evening. Best of all, you can make a batch ahead and keep it in an airtight container, ready to bring out when guests visit.

In Gujarat, fafda is famous as half of a much-loved pair: fafda jalebi. On Dussehra morning, families queue at sweet shops for crunchy fafda and syrupy jalebi, and the salty-sweet combination is hard to beat. Making it at home means you can enjoy it whenever you like.

Tips for crisp fafda

  • A sticky dough is right. The dough should be soft and a little sticky so it presses easily through the jarda. If it feels dry, add a splash more warm water.
  • Use your palm, not your fingers. Press the dough firmly across the jarda with the heel of your hand (the area between your wrist and palm), so the strips drop straight into the oil.
  • Keep the jarda clean. Scrape off any leftover dough between batches so each lot presses through evenly.
  • Cool before storing. Let them cool completely before they go into the container. Stored airtight, they keep for 2–3 weeks.

How to serve fafda

Serve fafda with a hot cup of chai, fried green chillies and a tangy chutney. For a festive spread, pair it with jalebi. It's a lovely addition to a Diwali snack platter too, alongside our dhokla and the other farsan in our family Diwali menu.

Made this recipe? Tag us on Instagram @the.gujarati.kitchen. We'd love to see your fafda!

Love this recipe? You'll find more of our family favourites in our award-winning cookbook, A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That.
Over 100 Gujarati dishes Mum has cooked for our family for decades, finally written down with exact measurements.
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Hands holding the Gujarati cookbook A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That on a table with chai

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