Mathri | Flaky, Savory North Indian Crackers

Sift the flour into a wide bowl. Add the salt, ajwain seeds crushed between your palms, and cracked black pepper. Place the room-temperature ghee in the center and rub it into the flour with your fingertips for five minutes. Squeeze a handful of the mixture, then open your hand: if it holds together without crumbling, the fat is thoroughly incorporated. This fat coating keeps the flour from absorbing water and creates flaky layers when fried.

Add the water in three batches and bring the dough together. Do not knead it for more than two minutes. The dough should be firm and resist a light press with your finger; soft dough absorbs oil during frying and makes the mathri soft. Shape it into a ball and cover it with a damp cloth.

Divide the dough into walnut-size portions. Roll each into a disk 5 cm in diameter and 3 mm thick. Prick each disk with a fork four or five times, all the way through. The holes let steam escape; unpricked mathri puffs up in the oil, then collapses and stays hollow and soft in the center.

Heat the oil in a deep skillet over low heat. The temperature is right when a piece of dough slowly rises to the surface without vigorous bubbles forming around it. Mathri fries slowly over low heat; over high heat, the outside darkens while the inside stays raw. Add four or five disks at a time and fry for six or seven minutes, turning occasionally, until both sides are a light sandy color. Drain on a wire rack and let them cool completely.