Fafda

Dassana Amit describes Fafda as a crispy Gujarati fried snack made from gram flour, with carom and black pepper. Her recipe uses baking soda in place of the separately mentioned papad khar.

Gram flour is mixed with carom, coarsely crushed black pepper, turmeric, asafoetida, baking soda and salt. Water and oil are worked in until the dough becomes smooth and soft, then it rests.

Small dough balls are pressed forward with the heels of the palms on a lightly oiled wooden board. The elongated pieces are lifted onto a separately oiled plate before frying.

The pieces fry in batches, are turned to cook both sides and are lifted out to drain on paper. The author describes crisp, golden pieces rather than heavily browned ones.

She offers Fafda warm or at room temperature. This selection pairs it with ready papaya sambharo; her other chutney, kadhi and jalebi combinations remain separate serving choices.