Kodbale | Savory Rice Flour Rings

I've been missing in action, I know. No wonder they call it the holidays out here. Diwali followed by Thanksgiving, I've been doing nothing but cook, eat and repeat!

Do you have memories associated with food? I do. Especially with kodbales. I'm in awe of all those tiny shops in India that churn out these kind of fried snacks, pack them in cellophane bags and sell them. They put a tiny white placard with the name of their store in tiny-er letters, along with details like the price and weight - all the ink smudged and oh-so-soggy with oil after having been snugly wrapped in along with the fried goodies. These little things were'nt fancy like well packaged, loudly colored snack boxes we get today, but they certainly made many memories. As a part of a after-school snack, or just something to much along on holidays,movies or picnics, they were always a hit.

I've tried recreating kodbales at home and this recipe works like a charm always. I made these during Diwali, as a part of the festive spread offered to Goddess Lakshmi. Ever since we got to the US, this has indeed been a mandatory snack because of its easy, although slightly time consuming, preparation.

I think this recipe is good enough, but somehow they did not turn up as crunchy as I intended them to be - Just about 95% there. Any suggestions are most welcome.



Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups Rice Flour
1/2 Cup Maida
3/4 Cup Rava (I used the fine variety)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin seeds
1/4 Cup dry coconut, grated
5 Dried red chillies
1 tbsp Urad Dal
1 tbsp Channa Dal
1 tbsp Ghee
Oil, for frying
And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method
- Place a large non-stick saucepan/wok on a skillet over low flame and roast the dried red chillies, jeera, urad dal, channa dal and grated coconut, adding one at a time in the same order
- Let cool and grind into a paste using minimum water and set aside
- Now in the wok, add the rice flour, maida and rava and roast for about 5 minutes
- Toss in the cooled and ground spice/coconut paste into the roasted flours
- Add salt and mix well
- Melt ghee and pour it over the flour mixture
- Give it a minute or two (the ghee will be hot) and mix it all together
- Add water to bring the flour/spice mixture into a firm and stiff dough consistency, finally add a few tablespoons of oil and smooth it into a ball
- Heat oil in in the fryer/wok and using small portions of the dough, make 'bangles'  and deep fry until golden brown
- Place on kitchen towel to soak up excess oil
- Once done frying, allow the kodbales to cool completely and then store in an air-tight container. These last for over a month, unless they're not eaten up!