Spiced Fenugreek Beet Mathri (Baked)

// Spiced Fenugreek Beet Baked Mathri (cracker) is a traditional classic North Indian afternoon tea time snack made with all-purpose flour and wheat flour.



Spiced Fenugreek Beet Baked Mathri . Mathri (cracker) is a traditional classic North Indian afternoon tea time snack. It is made with all-purpose flour aka maida and wheat flour or semolina.

Hooray, it’s a Friday — one of my favorites days.

a stack of pink baked beet mathri with a sprig of green on top

So let’s start the weekend celebration with some AMAZINGLY spiced crackers.

So ladies and gentlemen, here I present to you ‘Spiced Fenugreek Beet Baked Mathri’.

You must be wondering, what are these ‘mathris’?

So here’s a little intro about mathri.

a stack of pink baked beet mathri sitting on a table

Mathri (cracker) is a traditional classic North Indian afternoon tea time snack. It is made with all-purpose flour aka maida and wheat flour or semolina. A generous amount of ghee (clarified butter) or oil is added to the dough to make mathris crispy and flaky.

All purpose flour gives these crackers a nice texture and clarified butter adds the flakiness and crispiness to these.

I kept things really simple, because I feel that all crackers should be pretty SIMPLE. Hehehe, but it does not happen every time. But this one is for sure. So that’s exactly is what I did for this one. I made them SIMPLE.

These are simple and still packed with the flavors in the form of carom seeds and the aromatic fenugreek leaves. Yes, they have fenugreek leaves and carom seeds to take these bites to a new aromatic flavor profile.

It sounds amazing, right? It indeed is.

a stack of pink baked beet mathri sitting on a plate in a cup

Traditionally mathris are deep fried. But if you are not a big fan of fried food like me, then this baked version is for you. It’s THE BEST. These mathris are healthy, delicious and crispy — a perfect snack for munching.

I have never had a beet mathri anywhere. But my exploring self, pampered me to do so. And outcome was these bright pink beauties. So I added beet juice to the flour, which makes it even more healthier. They not only look gorgeous but taste awesome too.

For me, mathris are always darn delicious no matter whether they are fried or baked.

a stack of a stack of pink baked beet mathri sitting on top of a box

Mathris (crackers) are great with a hot cup of tea or coffee. But if you want to give an added flavor punch to your taste bulbs, then eat these with some mango pickle or chutney. Uuummm, the heavenly taste that your taste buds would experience is just beyond YUM.

These also make a great snack for picnics. Basically, mathris are the perfect snack anywhere or anytime.

a tall vase with a stack of red a stack of pink baked beet mathris in it

But why am I sharing this healthy version of the all time favorite Indian snack?

Tomorrow all of my Indian friends would celebrate the festival of Raksha Bandhan aka Rakhi. This is a Hindu festival that celebrates the love and duty between brothers and sisters.

Rakhi itself is the name of a sacred thread of protection adorn with the love and affection of a sister for her brother.

Some wise men say that the thread of Rakhi is considered stronger than iron chains as it binds the most beautiful relationship in an inseparable bond of love and trust.

Others say that the festival of Rakhi has a social significance because of its underlying notion that everybody should live in harmonious coexistence with each other.

So all in all I am sharing these Baked Mathris because of the following reasons:

  1. I wanted to share something healthy and new, yet authentic for this festival.

  2. This time I won over my naughty self and listened to my inner voice and went with this healthy version of mathris.

  3. My real brother doesn’t really like sweet stuff. He is more of a salad kind of guy. So when I gave her two options between sweet and savory he opted for the savory one. Since this is a Brother-Sister celebration, I listened to him. His wish is my command on Rakhi. 😉

  4. I should have shared a dessert (sweet) recipe post, but I felt more like I should share a savory post for this gala.

a stack of pink baked beet mathri sitting on a plate in a cup

And here I am with these Spiced Fenugreek Beet Baked Mathris. When I showed the pictures of these mathris to my brother, he so wanted to eat mathris right then. He’s in India, and I am in Europe. So I could only wish that he could taste these.

But I made a promise to my brother to make these for him the next time I visit him in India. He liked the idea! 🙂

Store these in an air-tight container at room temperature, and enjoy them for the next couple of weeks. Mine doesn’t last that long though. I have a mathri crazy family, so no matter how many pieces I make, they disappear in thin air very soon.

a stack of pink baked beet mathri sitting on a table

Alright, let’s learn to make these gorgeous, healthy and delicious bites.

three bowls of food are shown with different ingredients in them

Take a large mixing bowl. Add all purpose flour, wheat flour, carom seeds, black pepper, salt, fenugreek leaves, baking soda and 3 tbsp oil. Mix everything well while rubbing the oil evenly in the flour with your fingertips.

The whole mixture should resemble breadcrumbs. Add 1/4 cup of beet juice at a time and knead the dough. Knead into a stiff dough. Add more juice and water if needed.

red doughnuts in a bowl and a bowl of red doughnuts

Cover the mathri dough with the damp cloth and set aside for 30 minutes. Divide the mathri dough into small balls and roll out all the balls into small circles of 2-3 inch diameter and about 1/2 inch thickness. Don’t worry about the perfect shape.

Prick them evenly with a fork, to prevent them from puffing while in the oven.

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Arrange the mathri dough circles on a greased baking sheet.

Bake for 25-30 mins or till they nice are crisp. Turn over the mathris and bake them for 10 more minutes.

Once cooled, store the baked mathris in an airtight container. Remove the mathri’s out of the oven and allow them to cool on a wire rack.

a stack of pink baked beet mathri sitting on top of a glass

Recipe Card


Spiced Fenugreek Beet Mathri (Baked) [Recipe]

Recipe Image
Spiced Fenugreek Beet Baked Mathri (cracker) is a traditional classic North Indian afternoon tea time snack made with all-purpose flour and wheat flour.
★★★★★
(Rating: 5 from 35 reviews)

Prep time 🕐 Cook time 🕐 Total time 🕐
50 mins
Category ☶ Cuisine ♨ Serves ☺
Snacks Indian 24-28pcs
Nutrition Info ⊛ Serving size ⊚
227 calories 1 serving

INGREDIENTS

For Spiced Fenugreek Beet Baked Mathri
  • all purpose flour (maida) - 2 cups
  • whole wheat flour - 1⁄2 cup
  • olive oil, or ghee - 3 tbsp
  • fresh beetroot juice - ½ cup
  • warm water, if needed
  • carom seeds (ajwain) - 2 tsp
  • ground black pepper - 2 tsp
  • kasuri methi or dry fenugreek leaves - 2 tbsp
  • a pinch of asafoetida
  • a pinch of baking soda
  • salt as per taste
  • oil for brushing - 2 tbsp

INSTRUCTIONS:

Making Spiced Fenugreek Beet Mathri Dough //
  1. Take a large mixing bowl.
  2. Add all purpose flour, wheat flour, carom seeds, black pepper, salt, fenugreek leaves, baking soda and 3 tbsp oil.
  3. Mix everything well while rubbing the oil evenly in the flour with your fingertips.
  4. The whole mixture should resemble breadcrumbs.
  5. Add ¼ cup of beet juice at a time and knead the dough.
  6. Knead into a stiff dough. Add more juice and water if needed.
  7. Cover the mathri dough with the damp cloth and set aside for 30 minutes.
  8. Divide the mathri dough into small balls and roll out all the balls into small circles of 2-3 inch diameter and about ½ inch thickness.
  9. Don't worry about the perfect shape.
  10. Prick them evenly with a fork, to prevent them from puffing while in the oven.
Baking //
  1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C.
  2. Arrange the mathri dough circles on a greased baking sheet, and brush them with little oil.
  3. Bake for 25-30 mins or till they nice are crisp.
  4. Turn over the mathris and bake them for 10 more minutes.
  5. Once cooled, store the baked mathris in an airtight container.
  6. Remove the mathri's out of the oven and allow them to cool on a wire rack..
  7. Once cooled completely, store the Baked Mathri's in an airtight container.
  8. Enjoy these delicious Baked Mathri’s with a mango Punjabi and tea.

NOTES:

  1. No notes for this recipe.


Subscribe to our mailing list and collect recipes wherever you are. It's FREE + You'll also get a BONUS EBOOK about INTERESTING COOKING TIPS.

Share this Recipe with your friends: