Chickpea Fennel Crackers (Chana Murmura Mathri). Vegan, glutenfree

Another fun snack! Chickpea crackers.(Chana Murmura Saunf Mathri). with cooked chickpeas(garbanzo beans) ..These munchy crisp crackers are super addictive like the Roasted Garam Masala chickpeas I posted last week and simple too.. Mash chickpeas, add salt, pepper, spice of choice and a binder flour, knead and bake! These keep well in an airtight container for weeks! Or make fun shapes and pack them for a gift basket.

I made these several ways already.. The Wheat flour ones have gluten and are easier to handle in case you want to make some fun intricate shapes.

The first time I added half cup whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup oat flour and nigella seeds to about 1 cup of cooked chickpeas and made these.. I love nigella(Kalonji) in crackers!

The second batch, I had some chana masala leftover.. so I mashed that up with oats and wheat flour and baked them. The crackers had the tang from the tomato sauce and were super fun! Yes we make chana masala/chole in different or same way, every 10 days or so and some days we have leftovers:D.

Then I decided to try a Wheatless version.. and came up with these glutenfree Puffed Rice fennel crackers! recipe below.

the measurements are a bit approximate.. since I adjusted the dough as I was kneading.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chickpeas(garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained if canned, soaked overnight and pressure cooked till tender if using dry beans)
• 1/2+ cup puffed rice (rice krispies)
• 3+ Tbsps chickpea flour
• 1/2+ teaspoon salt(depends on what chickpeas you use, the canned ones will already have a little salt)
• 1/4 teaspoon black salt(kala namak)
• 3/4 teaspoon fennel seeds (Saunf) you can also sub other spices like Cumin, carom or nigella seeds or herbs like thyme, basil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil or organic canola oil

Directions:

Mash the Chickpeas well into a nice pulp.

Pulse the puffed rice to get a coarse flour. Add this flour, salt, pepper, spices and oil to the chickpeas and knead for 2 minutes until well combined. Taste test and adjust salt and spice. (Use Wheat flour to make the dough easier to handle in case you want to make some intricate shapes.)

Now this dough will be sticky but will mostly fall apart when you try to roll it out.

Add some chickpea flour and knead.

Depending on the chickpeas used(canned versus cooked), you might not need extra moisture. If the dough it too dry and crumbles, add a few teaspoons of water at a time and knead into a somewhat holding together dough.

Check by pressing a small portion out into a round disc. If it falls apart while pressing, then add a little more Chickpea flour and drops of water to make the dough smoother and stickier.

Roll this out between 2 parchment papers into a little less than 1/4 inch thick.

Cut out favorite shapes, or just cut parallel lines using knife or pizza cutter. Dont worry if each piece doesnt separate completely.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 25-35 minutes.

After 15 minutes, turn the tray around and move the center ones out.. Keep checking the crackers for crispness. Time depends on the thickness of the crackers. The crackers are done as soon as the centers are not soft.

Snack with your favorite chutneys, hummus or dips! or as is or with soups.

These Crackers are headed to Ricki's wellness weekend, Hearth and soul blog hop and Slightly indulgent Tuesdays. and Vardhini's Bake Fest event hosted by Sangeetha at Spicy Treats, and Radhika's lets cook 10