Mathri & Papdi

Mathri, or mathi, is a round or triangular fried biscuit made from flour, ghee and ajwain, rolled thick, pricked and fried slowly until flaky. It is a North Indian tea-time classic and a festival snack at Diwali and Karva Chauth. Methi mathri adds dried fenugreek leaves, and tikoni mathri is cut into triangles. Papdi are thinner, crisper discs, made plain for chaat, with besan in the Gujarati style, or spiced with chilli. They belong to snacks and noodles.

The best known way to eat mathri is with a piece of mango pickle and a cup of chai. Papdi is the base of papdi chaat: lay the discs on a plate, cover with boiled potato and chickpeas, whisked yoghurt, tamarind chutney and green chutney, then finish with sev, chaat masala and pomegranate seeds. Masala papdi is also good on its own as a crunchy snack.

Keep mathri and papdi in an airtight tin, where they stay crisp for weeks. Papdi breaks easily, so store the pack flat and away from heavier shopping. For the chutneys, see tamarind and date chutney, and for more chaat, pani puri. For other savoury snacks, try namkeen.