It's time for festivals and it’s time for some crispy spicy kodubale rings. In Karnataka, Kodubale along with murukku and laddus are prepared on Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi which are coming up in a few days. Festivals or no festivals, kodubale is an evergreen recipe that can be enjoyed even otherwise. It is a favourite tea-time snack for many kannadiga households.
In Kannada, "Kodu" denotes horn and "Bale" means bracelets. The dough is formed into pencil-thin shapes, such as cigars or horns, and then fashioned into circles, such as bangles, before being pressed together.
Kodubale has several versions but today, we have a basic recipe with rice flour, some spices and roasted gram flour. If you need an even crispier ring, then add 2-4 tbsp of extra rice flour to the dough. Be careful not to add more or the dough will become tough and brittle. In the other version, add coarse putani or roasted chana dal to make it even more tasty. Here we have added putani which makes kodubale more soft and crisp. In yet another variation, maida or all purpose flour is steamed before mixing it with the dough. There is also Mysore style kodubale which is prepared with rice flour, fried gram, chiroti rava (or maida) and coconut, Malnad style kodubale and mosaru kodubale recipe made with rice flour and curd.
Thin kodubales turn up more crispy so be cautious. Furthermore, it's crucial to fry them on a low burner because otherwise, the outside will turn dark and the interior will still be soft. To mould the kodubales, a little bit of patience is required. When kept in an airtight container, kodubales stay fresh for a very long period. Also make small batches of kodubale rather than a large quantity and deep fry them first. In this manner, rolled rings would quickly dry. You can prepare your next batch of rings while the first batch is being fried.
Kodubale
• 1/2 cup rice flour
• 1 tbsp roasted gram flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida(hing)
• 1/2 tsp red chilly powder
• 1 tsp ghee
• Oil enough to deep fry
Method:
• In a pan, put ½ cup of water, ½ tsp cumin seeds, 1/4th tsp turmeric powder, ½ tsp red chili powder, 1 tsp sesame seeds, 1/4th tsp salt and asafoetida, 1 tsp ghee and let it boil.
• Add ½ cup rice flour. Mix it well and switch off the flame.
• Transfer to bowl.
• Add 1 tbsp roasted gram or putani powder. Sprinkle some water as needed. Knead it into a moderately stiff dough.
• Let it rest for 15 minutes.
• Take a tiny piece of dough the size of a gooseberry and roll it between your palms and cut at 3 inches.
• Now join the two ends by forming into small circles. Make other kodubale rings in a similar fashion. Keep a batch ready.
• Now deep fry the kodubale in hot oil in batches.
• Fry the kodubale till they turn golden brown and crisp on medium flame. The heat should be high while the prepared rings are being dropped; as they float to the top, lower the flame to medium or medium-low and continue to fry until they are crisp. This is how you will get crunchy kodubales.
• And drain off onto kitchen paper to remove excess oil.
