Tuesday

Ribbon Pakkodam


i admit.. this is a crappy photo... i was tired people!!

This is my favorite childhood snack and i remember amma would make dabbas of these at a time and hide them in different places so that my dad and me would not get to them. So, my father and me would go through 10-15 dabbas to find the extra stash... yeah! we both love to eat snacks. I remember being greedy and eating handfuls when i would open the dabba in the store-room where this dabba would be eventually found and then take some on my plate 'formally' for my mom to see ;) this way i would have had waay too much and would skip dinner... which eventually would culminate to ... you know what! me getting yelled at.. well, all that was just like water off a duck's back, because i love pakkodam :)

I am submitting this to Latha who is hosting goodies for Krishna Janmashtami at the
yum blog


This recipe was something i have never written down, but asked my mom a hundred times to repeat and keep telling her 'i am writing amma!!' so this is off my memory. Actually, it is fairly simple and it came out really good... but nothing close to my mom's who is the family pakodam champion ;) i think all of us go thru this, whatever we make, our mom's do better...

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Rice flour - 3 cups
Besan - 1 cup
Chilli powder - 1 to 1/1/2 tsp.
Hing - a pinch
Butter - 1/4 cup (room temprature)
Salt - to taste
Warm water - to make the dough
Oil - to deep fry

Method:

1. Sift the rice flour and besan to ensure they combine well and are free of lumps.

2. Add the red chilly powder, softened butter and salt and mix it in the dough well.

3. Add the warm water and form a dough. It should be thick but not too hard ( your hands will really hurt when you press the dough out, if the dough is too hard)

4. Make big oblongs of this dough and feed it in the pakkodam press.

5. Heat oil and press the pakodam in a circular motion and deep fry till golden.

6. Line tissues in the container you are going to store these goodies and place the pakodams after they have cooled in a strainer/colander.

Notes:

a) if you do not have butter on hand, warm oil can be used instead.

b) the dough should be soft when pressed by hand so that you do not get an arm workout when you are pressing over the oil.(i know people say the dough should be hard...ignore them ;) )

c) trust me, it tasted fine, not crappy the way that photo has come out... but
of-couse nowhere close to amma's :)

30 comments:

Priya said...

My story would be very similar to yours Rajitha :)) Haven't made it after I came here though. And the photo surely isn't as crappy as you make it seem :)

Rajitha said...

same here priya.. this is the first time i have ever made it. all those bakshanams made me want to try them out. By the way.. i did copy the hyd black ribbon from ur site.. thanks once again :)

FH said...

I make it often whenever I heat up the oil to make Sev,make every shape there is in the mold!:)
Looks yum, great entry.

Laavanya said...

I love Ribbon Pakoda too - yours does look good despite what you think.

Anonymous said...

It used to be a favorite at our home too. My dad would bring many packets of this when we were kids.

Kumudha said...

Ribbon pakoda is one of the snack which I used to frequently eat.

The picture looks good!

Happy Gokulashtami!

Linda said...

Hi Rajitha, thank you for visiting my blog :) Am peeking in here for the first time and I would say it's a lovely photo -- look at the delicate edges of the ribbons, just as they come from the press. You're inspiring me to make this for the first time. Thanks for sharing!

BTW that about moms always do it best -- holds true whether it's pakkodam or strawberry jam :)

Kribha said...

This is my MIL's speciality. I just finished the pack I got from India. It's nice of you to share your recipe. And the picture does not look crappy. Ofcourse, moms are moms. It's hard to get their touch.

Unknown said...

Wow, atleast you tried!! Living close to mom/gran//aunts, I have never even tried this...as a child I too have sneaked my stretched up hands into the dabba pulling out pakodam only to realise in a couple of days that my hands are going into an empty dabba.

amna said...

the photo is not as bad as you think :) and i really admire you for trying out something which am sure is very easy to mess up.

thanks for ur interest in the show me your cook book event. feel free to send in as many pics as you want. or, you can even combine more than one cookbook in a pic and rank them and let me know why you like each of them.

looking forward to your entry!

Swaruchy said...

Hi Rajitha
I too make this pakoda....kept the draft copy ready for posting :-)
No dear...its not a crappy pic.....I am sure the taste must be great...Looks crispy :-)

Sreelu said...

Rajitha, I love ribbon pakodi, I usually add a little vamu to the besan mix.Ribbon pakodi with a hot cup of chai anytime baby !!!

J said...

This took me back to childhood days when ribbon pakodas were a favourite and made at home.

Bharathy said...

Clap clap..You tried na?..Thatz great..!!Looks lovely and seems easier!!
My ma in law adds crushed garllc too!!
I have never tried this thinking its all elders' job..:)

Apple said...

Looks yum....you make me feel nostalgic now...my granny used to prepare this...thanks for sharing the recipe...

BTW I've something waiting for you in my blog..please check it :)

http://apple-reflectionsofmine.blogspot.com

Rajitha said...

asha- i have been wanting to try the other shapes too.. but just wanting....

laavanya - thanks.. you are too kind

gini - sometimes when we would keep clamouring for snacks and all the home-made ones are done! my dad would get these for us from shops too :)

kumudha - happy gokulashtami to you too :)

linda - do try it out....and yep! mom's do make everything better.. but if you ask them, they tell no! yours is much better than mine :)

kribha - packet from home eh! soo jealous :)

nandita - ha ha, same here... as kids we forget, it is a dabba not kamadhenu!

nags - thanks, i was thinking if i mess it up, i would just make some shape and deep fry!
and yay!! display more than one cookbook... perfect :)

sirisha - thanks for boosing my spirit.. i was a little guilty on posting a rotten photo :)

sreelu - adding vamu is a good idea, would aid in digesting this faster and gives a nice aroma too.. chai and this.. oh! yeah me too :)

jyothsna- this shows us though brought up in different households, many of us share same memories!!

bharathy - kya.. this is too much ;)you are writing this to a chick you do know that right.. he he.. crushed garlic! that sounds delicious.

apple - aha! nostalgia.. that was my aim when i made this pakodam.. glad to invoke it in so many of the bloggers... and will look into ur blog.. i'm excited :) :) :)

Padma said...

Rajitha, I too agree I feel tired at the end of the day to take beautiful photos....for eg, pls look at my apple crumble dessert. Now After I posted the pic I feel I could have taken it more beautifully...It happens to everyone I guess SAME STORY! But that is called ribbon muruku in Andhra,

Nice recipe, have to try this as its been years I did this! You photo is motivating me to try it out...so u see thats inspirational

Chef Jeena said...

I think your photo looked great! Sounds a lovely snack. :)

TBC said...

I used to love this. Perfect snack to go along with a hot cup of tea. I have never tried making it though. I have the pakodam press, but anything that requires frying,I am too lazy to do:-)

Anonymous said...

Hi Rajitha, Loved the easy snack recipe, never had such kind in my life. And will sometime try it out soon.

www.monaafzal.wordpress.com

Rajitha said...

padma- glad that this is going to make you make some on ur own.. nice to know the name in telugu too :)

jeena - it is a childhood favorite :)

tbc- i hear you.. this was the first time i ever tried it out.. it is painful to deep-fry

mona- try it out, it is easy and yummy

Namratha said...

Hey we used to call this Vote Pakoda..dont ask my why..but that;s how I knew it..hehe..looks yummy..I should muster the patience to try this..make it easier for me na, why don't you send some across :-D

Latha Narasimhan said...

Saw your Ribbon pakodas yesterday! the comments page was not loading! They are looking yummy! Rajitha its nice to have you as my neighbour! I too will get to eat the lovely dishes you prepare!

archana said...

Picture is looking Gr8and not crappy. This is a nice tasty snack. Thanx :)
This is the sixth time I am sending my comment. Each time it says enter the letters, though i have been entering the letters correctly :D)))
I and blogger don't get along I think :D)))

Sig said...

Hey, thats not a bad picture Rajitha... I love pakodas too, and I could snack through dinner as well. :)

BTW I love all your recipes and the photos, they are all beautiful!

Rajitha said...

namratha- sure na.. no problem..give me ur address :)

latha - thanks.. for being the champoion maker of norruku-theeni, i am so happy with ur compliment..now latha, this is settled, we are going to be neighbours if you come to michigan or i move back to india ;)

archana- thanks for ur kind words.. i know blogger sometimes acts up.. you gotta discipline it ;)

sig - well we are all foodies and i love that you said till dineer, which meant u r gonna eat dinner too ;) he he ... uknow i love ur blog too.. not just recipes, lots of gupshup too..

Prema Sundar said...

My favourite snack too. b4 marriage my aunt would make very tasty ribbon pakodas.. After marriage my MIL used to make wonderful ribbon pakodas. looks good ..thanks.

Rajitha said...

prema - thanks..my favorite too

Thanu said...

Hey Rajitha,... Thanx for visiting my blog. i was going through your list of wonderful creations. This particular 'Ribbon Pakoda' is very similar to the ' Pakka Vada' i have on my blog. Do check it out...Lovely blog u have .

Unknown said...

Hi,

thanx.. my pakodams came out really well.