ribbon pakoda

Have you always enjoyed eating the ribbon pakoda that you buy from the shops? And are you craving for them in this lockdown? Then you're in the right place... This recipe is simple and easy to make. So buckle up and get ready to make some crispy ribbon pakodas that taste even better than store-bought ones at your very own kitchen...

Preparation time:40 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
Idly rice-2 cups
Fried gram-1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Garlic-4 cloves
Red chilly-4(long)
Asafoetida-2 pinches
Oil to fry

You will also need a murukku press with a ribbon pakoda plate

Preparation:
Wash the rice thoroughly and soak it in enough water for 2 hours.
In a small mixie jar, add red chillies and garlic. Blend it into a smooth paste with little water if required.
Take the fried gram and powder in a mixie. Sieve it and keep it aside.
In a grinder, grind the soaked rice into a smooth batter adding little water whenever required. Do not add too much water, (add as little as possible)
Pour the garlic chilly paste so that it mixes thoroughly
Once the batter is ready, transfer it to a mixing bowl.

Now add the sieved gram flour into this along with enough salt.
Add asafoetida to this mixture, now mix it all, it will become one lump like murukku dough.

Now heat oil for deep frying, when its hot and ready, grease the inside of the murukku press with some oil.
Greasing your hands also with oil, take a small portion of the dough and put it in the press.

When the oil is hot, start pressing the pakoda into the oil.
Take caution because the oil will be very hot.

Cook it on both sides while flipping occasionally.
When there are no bubbles in the oil, it means your ribbon pakoda is fully cooked and you can remove it.

Let it cool down to room temperature and then you can store it in an airtight container for 7-10 days.

Notes:
When you mix the fried gram dal to the rice batter, if you feel it not in the right consistency like a murukku dough, add a few spoons of basin flour to get the right consistency.
The original recipe tastes good without basin flour only, so only if you make a mistake you should add this.
If you want the pakodas to be golden brown you should make the pakodas immediately after preparing the dough, else the colour of the pakodas will be reddish-brown.