Ribbon (Savory Indian Snack)

Ribbon is a savory, deep-fried Indian snack made from rice flour and other flours that come from different Indian pulses. A dough is made from all the flours, and as the name indicates, it is pressed into thin ribbons that are deep fried. 

My parents are visiting, so we are lavished with good food and attention! My mom made this as an afternoon snack last week, and I hovered around her, recording the recipe. This recipe comes from my mother's aunt - an excellent cook who lovingly sent us a package of this savory from India, and it disappeared in no time!

So, here's the recipe. The proportion of flours used are: 3 parts rice flour, 3/4 part besan (kadala maavu/ bengal gram flour), 1/2 part moong dal flour (payatham paruppu maavu / yellow moong flour), 1/4 part pottu kadalai maavu (roasted gram flour). 

The above results in a big batch of ribbons, so my mother made a smaller batch using the above proportion as a guide. So here are the quantities of ingredients based on the smaller batch.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup rice flour
2. 1/4 cup besan (kadala maavu)
3. 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons yellow moong dal flour (payatham paruppu maavu)
4. 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon pottu kadalai (roasted gram flour)
5. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)
6. 1/2 teaspoon hing / asafoetida
7. 1 teaspoon chilli powder
8. 1 teaspoon salt or as needed
9. 1 tablespoon hot oil (optional, to make crispier ribbons)
10. 3-4 cups oil for deep frying 

Preparation:

1. Add all the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix well. 
2. Add the butter (at room temperature) and mix into the flours. 
3. Slowly add water (almost 1/2 cup of water) and knead to make a soft pliable dough. Let the dough not be too soft like chapathi dough. 
4. Heat oil in a pot on medium-high heat. Test if the oil is ready by adding a small piece of the dough. If it sizzles and rises to the top immediately, then the oil is ready. 
5. Reduce the heat to medium. Add a tablespoon of the hot oil to the dough and carefully mix it into the dough (be very careful while mixing. This step is completely optional). 
6. Put some of the dough into the press (shown in the picture above) with the "ribbon" template. Press, push or operate the device as required to create ribbons of the dough that drop directly into the hot oil. Swirl the device to create patterns of ribbons, or just move the device to drop the ribbons onto different areas of the oil (I did the latter when I tried).
7. Fry the ribbons on either sides until they stop sizzling. When the sound of sizzling subsides, the ribbons are ready to be taken out and drained on paper towels. Do not wait for the ribbons to turn golden brown - they might burn. Make sure the oil is not too hot. 
8. Repeat until all the dough is pressed into ribbons and deep fried. 

Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee for an afternoon/evening snack.