Tribal Cuisine: Mandia (Ragi/ Finger millet) Jalebi

Ingredients

1. Mandia (Ragi) flour – 1 cup
2. Maida (all-purpose flour)- 1 ½  cup
3. Curd-1cup
4. ghee-2 tsp(optional)
5. sugar- 2 cup
6. saffron-5 strand(optional)
7. powdered green cardamom-1/2 teaspoon
8. baking soda-1pinch
9. oil- for frying

Preparation Method

• Mix together Maida (all-purpose flour), Mandia(Ragi) flour, and baking soda in a bowl& sieve them to remove any husk or other impurities
• Add ghee in the above mixture.
• Add curd and water to make a thick batter,  Mix well until it is thick but has a slightly flowing consistency.
• Keep it aside for around 1 hour to ferment.
• To make the sugar syrup, heat water in a pan over medium flame.
• Add sugar and mix until fully dissolved. simmer the syrup until it attains one string consistency.
• Add saffron, cardamom powder in sugar syrup, and stir well.
• Heat oil in a pan over medium flame for deep frying.
• Fill the jalebi batter in a muslin cloth and cut a small hole in the cloth.
• Squeeze the muslin cloth to make concentric circles.
• Move from inside to outside to make perfect circles.
• Fry till jalebis are crisp.
• Soak the jalebis in warm sugar syrup for 2-3 minutes.
• Now, remove from the syrup and place on a tray and serve the jalebis hot/ warm.

Prepared by: Sabnam Aferin

Cuttack, Odisha

You can reach her at [email protected]