I know the great festival of the Nepali people came and went, i know delicious meals were cooked in every household including mine, i know the tunes of deusi/bhailo still lingers for some of us... and i also know that i have been neglecting this page :(
My only excuse is that i've been busy, not glorifying it but just plain, dull, mundane busy with work. So busy that i couldn't even send this recipe which i'm posting today to V when she needed it. I know i'm forgiven (because my girlfriends have massive hearts, specially her!)...nevertheless, this one is for Vaishali/ Falguni.
Selroti is an important fermented rice food of the Nepalis consumed traditionally during marriages, festivals and other special occasions in Nepal, the Darjeeling Hills, Sikkim and everywhere else in the world where you might find Nepalis.
the batter
My grandmother used to insist on using traditional tools while preparing selroti. The okhli and mushli to pound soaked rice, a nanglo to dry the soaked rice, a suiro, which is a pointed bamboo stick to turn the selroti upside down, lift and drain oil to take out the fried rings of selroti.
The tawa, a cast iron frying pan was a must ( as used below)and a thumsey, a wicker made basket to store fresh selrotis.
frying the sel roti swirls in golden glory
My mother still tries to keep the selroti preparation in our family as traditional as possible, besides the grinding part. Of course, we use the blender and i say a silent prayer to the science gods for that wonderful invention...
the suiro from my grandmom's days
Is it just me or do other people also want to know the origin of this delicious bread in the Nepali community? I love stories specially when it revolves around food so after putting in my best to find out,the only conjectures that i could come up with after many queries and online research is that the name could be derived from saela, a Nepali word given to any food item that is lifted by a suiro.Hence, saela roti becomes selroti.
Also, Seli is a local variety of rice grown in the foothills of Nepal so the product prepared from this particular variety of rice could have been called selroti.
Although the nomenclature given to that beloved concoction is still a mystery, am i glad that it's NOT Fox Bread of all the interpretations in the world! I almost cried when i heard that the first time :(
crispy selrotis served with sukha aludum
My Grandmother's Recipe
Come Tihar or a wedding or any festivity, she was the go to person for everyone we knew for the best selrotis in town.People flocked to her house to have it made.
Ingredients:
The estimate i have given is for a kilo of rice which would roughly give you 40-50 pieces of selroti.
Rice
100 gm ghiu / clarified butter
garam masala ( cardamom, cloves, cinnamon etc)
500ml milk ( depends on how thick you want your batter)
2 unripe banana
Heavy Cream to soften the dough
250gm wheat flour
200gm granulated sugar
Oil to fry
Method
Clean, wash and soak rice in cold water overnight.
Drain excess water and spread to dry for 1 hour.
Grind soaked rice into a coarse powder - (this is how we do it at home which ensures the texture of the final selroti is not smooth but rough.To get this texture,you must also make sure that your gas flame is not too high and is kept to a medium flaresre).Some people prefer the surface to be smooth, so for that result, you must grind the rice to a fine paste.
Mash and add unripe banana, spices, ghiu, heavy cream, sugar, wheat flour and knead the mixture to a soft dough.
NOW add the milk slowly to batter the mixture into a thick and luscious paste.
Leave the batter to ferment for at least two hours or more in a cold climate.
Heat oil in a cast iron pan and deposit the batter as rings into the oil and fry until golden. Make sure that your flame is not too high.
Seloti can be eaten warm, hot or cool with aludum, simi ko achar and chiya.
Seloti can be eaten warm, hot or cool with aludum, simi ko achar and chiya.
this photograph was taken by my dear friend, Pranavesh, at his girlfriend's house...and i begged him to part with it...scrappy, ain't i? :)
A little late in the day but HAPPY TIHAR everyone!
x
