Thikli

Crispy spiced gram flour discs — besan (chickpea flour) mixed with red chilli powder, turmeric, cumin, ajwain, sesame seeds, asafoetida, salt, and a small amount of oil into a firm, pliable dough, rolled thin and cut into small rounds or diamond shapes, and deep-fried in oil until uniformly golden and completely crisp throughout. The thikli (also called thekua in Bihar) is the Vidarbha dry snack: made in bulk during Diwali, stored in tins, and eaten over the following weeks with chai. The ajwain provides a distinctive anise-like sharpness; the sesame adds nuttiness; the besan's chickpea character makes them more substantive than plain fried flour crackers. A homemade Diwali faraal (festival snack assortment) item made alongside chakuli, rava ladoo, and karanji; the complete Diwali faraal is considered a measure of the household's culinary skill.