Schezwan Mathri Recipe (Twist to a traditional Mathri)

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A delicious twist to the traditional Indian tea-time snack recipe - this Schezwan Mathri is flaky, crispy and so easy to make!

With very minimal preparation and the right ingredients, festive recipes can be tasty, and hassle-free. This recipe is easy to pack and carry along during travels and also makes a great Diwali or any festive gifts too.

Today I am going to show you to make the best mathri recipe with a new shape and a healthier air-fried version with step-by-step photos and video. Make a batch this festive season and enjoy with a cup of masala chai.

Schezwan mathri in a plate, masala tea on side

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About this recipe
These schezwan mathri
Ingredients required
Step by step process
Notes, pro-tips, and quick FAQs
More Indian Tea-time Snacks recipe
Schezwan Mathri

About this recipe

Mathri is a traditional North Indian style crispy crackers and it's one snack that almost everyone makes at home for Diwali.

There are two varieties of mathris made – plain or masala types. Masala mathri is made with spices or herbs added to make it more flavorful and savory.

It is usually made with all-purpose flour, carom seeds, black peppercorn, Kasuri methi, cumin seeds, and lots of fat.

Mathis has a crispy yet flaky texture. To achieve this texture, the proportion of the ingredients should be perfect. And the slowly deep frying part plays a major role in this recipe.

Last year, I have already shared the Masala Mathri recipe so thought of making it with unique flavors. The Flavors which everyone enjoys to the fullest.

So I came up with a mathri recipe with Schezwan flavors. Yes, I have used schezwan sauce in this recipe to give a yummy twist.

Almost everyone love recipe made with schezwan sauce in Indian homes. You can make your own schezwan sauce or can be purchased from the Indian store.

I tried making this Schezwan Mathri last month and to my surprise, it came out so well and the flavors were top-notch. So thought let me share this with you all to brighten up your Diwali festival. 🙂

And to make this recipe even more exciting, I shaped them just like crescent rolls. Of course, you can roll them just like puri (regular shape) but rolling them into different shapes makes this recipe unique.

The process of shaping looks quite lengthy but it’s quite easy. I would highly recommend you to watch the video given in the recipe card for better understanding.

This version of the mathri recipe is made with only 5 ingredients, and just like any other deep-fried snack, this schezwan mathri has a very good shelf life and can be stored for a couple of weeks. So this is a great snack to carry while traveling too.

I also tried to make it in an air-fryer and it came out so well. Check the picture below. No one will believe that it’s an air-fried version. It is very good for a low-fat option. So weight-watchers, you can also enjoy mathris this festive season. 🙂

These schezwan mathri

are flavored with Asian condiment - schezwan sauce
are crispy, crunchy, and flaky
looks very cute, so its hit among kids.
requires only 5 ingredients and is super easy to make
are very filling snacks and make the perfect chai time snack

Ingredients required

Flour - I have used both all-purpose flour (Maida) and whole wheat flour (atta) in this. You can use only whole wheat or all-purpose flour too.
Schezwan sauce - The hero ingredient. You can make schezwan sauce at home or use a store-bought one.
Fat - Fat is the most important ingredient to make the mathri flaky, crispy and perfect. I have used ghee here, but you can use oil too. I would highly recommend not cutting down on the fat.
Black Sesame seeds - For the crunch. You can use white sesame seeds too.
Other than the above ingredients, you will also need salt and water.

Step by step process

Make dough

Take whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, black sesame seeds, and salt in a big mixing bowl. (image 1)
Now add Ghee and schezwan sauce to it. Mix everything evenly in the flour with your fingertips. (image 2)
The whole mixture should resemble breadcrumbs. The more you do this, the better texture the mathri will come out.
Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water each time and mix it. Combine the water with the flour mixture and mix only. Don't knead like a roti or paratha dough. Only mix the water in the dough and bring it together. We need to make the dough soft and but still a touch dry. It should not appear too wet. (image 3 to 5)
Cover the dough and keep it aside for 30 mins. (image 6)

Roll the dough

Once the dough is rested, divide it into 8 equal parts. Cover them with a damp cloth. (Image 7)
Now take a dough ball flatten it and start rolling it with the rolling pin. Roll it into 7-inch diameter discs. (image 8)
Keep it aside (covered) and roll 7 more discs the same way.
Now take one disc on the working surface, brush it with ghee or oil on top, place another rolled disc on it, again apply some oil or ghee, place 3rd disc, apply oil or ghee and place 4th disc on it. (image 9 to 12)
Now roll layered disc into not too thick or not too thin disc, about 12 to 13-inch diameter circle. (image 13 and 14)
Same way to layer the other remaining 4 discs and roll them into a 12 to 13-inch circle. Keep it aside.

Shaping the mathris into crescents

Take one rolled disc. Using a pizza cutter, divide it into four and cut them up into 16 wedges, just like we cut the pizza. Similar way, make 16 wedges from other rolled discs. So in total, we got 32 triangle wedges. Keep them covered. (image 14 to 16)

Now take one triangle wedge on a working surface. To shape this schezwan mathri in the shape of the crescent, start at the wide end of a triangle and roll your way along, all the way to the point. Apply some water at the end of the tip and carefully tuck it under the roll. Please refer to the video given below for a better understanding. (image 17 to 22)

Tip - make sure you seal the tip well with the help of water or else it will open while frying.

Fold all 31 remaining triangles the same way and cover them with the towel.

Frying the mathris

Heat oil in a frying pan until medium-hot. To check the perfect temperature of the oil take a small piece of dough, add it to the oil. The dough will stay at the bottom for some time, after few seconds the dough will come on top. Meaning oil is ready for frying.
Once the oil becomes hot, reduce the flame to low to medium heat.
Now slide a few schezwan mathris in the oil. And fry them on low to medium heat turning over as needed until crisp and golden. It will take about 9 to 10 minutes to fry each batch (batch of 6 to 7 mathris) so be patient here.
Once they are golden brown and perfectly cooked through, take them out on a plate lined with a paper towel.
Fry all the remaining in batches this way.
Keep frying on a low flame. This ensures the mathris are cooked evenly through the inside too.
The high flame just burns out the outside of the mathris but does not cook the inside.
Let them cool completely and when cooled store them in an airtight container.
Enjoy these cute schezwan mathri recipe with masala chai or hot milk.

Air-fried version (I am using Instant pot air-fryer)

Pre-heat air fryer at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Once the air fryer is preheated, take out the basket; place 5-6 uncooked mathri (or as many as you can accommodate leaving some space in-between each) and air fry at 350 F /180 C for 25 minutes until the mathris are evenly golden brown, flipping sides in between.
Take them out and similarly, air fry all the mathri and cool completely before storing them.

Notes, pro-tips, and quick FAQs

I would highly recommend not cutting down on the ghee/oil in the dough.
Don’t knead the dough too much like while you make roti. It should be gently kneaded for not more than a minute.
Resting the dough for 30 minutes is necessary to develop the gluten in the dough.
Make sure you roll the dough not too thick or not too thin.
You can shape the dough just like regular puri.
One batch takes around 9 to 10 minutes for frying. So be patient and fry on low-medium hot oil.
The temperature of the oil should be low to medium. If the mathri comes too quickly on top, then the oil is very hot and the mathri will brown from out but remain uncooked from inside and will become soft.
While frying mathris, do not overcrowd the pan.

How to store them?

These can be stored in an air-tight jar for at least a couple of weeks only if you can wait that long and not finish them sooner.

Is this vegan?

I have used ghee in this recipe. But it can be easily substituted with oil to make it vegan.

I hope you guys give these a try because they are seriously very good! Enjoy some with a cup of masala chai this festive season!