Papdi nu lot is a staple in Guju homes, I grew up eating this and it has always been a favorite. It is definitely comfort food to me as it reminds me of my childhood. Growing up I didn’t love Gujarati food at all but now I cannot do without it! I still don’t love everything, but who does? My hubs is not a fan of this dish but he’ll eat a little bit just to please me.
Every time I visit my parents, I ask my mom to make Papdi Nu Lot (or steamed rice flour dumplings? Not sure what to call it in English). My parents being on the east coast and me on the west makes it hard to get out there often. I was craving it and finally called my mom and asked her how to make it. I for some reason always thought this was a super complex dish with all the steaming and everything. Come to my surprise, it is the easiest thing ever!! So after trial and error, I have come up with these measurements.
Some people make it without garlic and cilantro, that’s totally a personal choice. If you like the flavors of these ingredients then keep them, if not then you can omit either or both. It will still be tasty!
This is a small recipe, it makes about six “donut” rings, enough for about 2 or 3 people as a snack.
You will need a steamer for this recipe.
Papdi nu Lot
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups rice flour
1 1/2 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
1 tsp ajmo/ajwain/carom seeds
1 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1/8 spoon sanchoro (Indian baking soda) or regular baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp garlic paste or 6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp green chili paste or 2 green Thai chili's, minced
1/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 cups water
Directions:
1. Get your steamer ready.**
2. Place medium sized pot on stove over medium-high heat. Add jeera, ajmo, sesame seeds, sanchoro and salt to a boil. Everything should smell aromatic as the water kinda turns a murky brown. Boil for about 7-8 minutes.
3. Then add garlic, green chili, cilantro and stir. Boil for an additional 3-4 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, add rice flour and mix thoroughly. The “dough” will look kind of pasty white now. The mixture will be hot to touch when rolling into balls to make the donuts. Take a bowl of ice water and dip your hands in it then take about two tablespoons worth of be rice flour mixture and roll it into a ball, then slightly flatten it, poke a hole in the middle to make it a donut shape and place flat in steamer. Make sure you don’t layer them in the steamer. They should all be flat and lie next to each other.
5. Steam for 20-25 minutes. It will harden up and it’s all done! Serve with oil drizzled on top (I use vegetable), sprinkled with sesame seeds. You can eat this with Indian pickle, red chili powder, or even dry lasan (garlic) chutney on top. My family and I like to do things a little differently so we eat it with Frank’s red hot and it is soo good! Hope you guys enjoy this!
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