Sakinalu

Rice flour alone, trailed into concentric circles and fried.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 500 g rice flour
• 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 teaspoons carom seeds, ajwain
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• about 400 ml water
• oil for deep frying

Method

1. RICE FLOUR ALONE, TRAILED INTO CONCENTRIC CIRCLES AND FRIED -- and the two halves of that are what separate it from every other piped snack. Its article is short and exact: it CONSISTS OF CONCENTRIC CIRCLES MADE OF RICE FLOUR DOUGH, FRIED IN OIL, and is MADE OF RICE FLOUR SEASONED WITH SMALL AMOUNTS OF SPICES, SESAME SEEDS, CAROM SEEDS (AJWAIN), AND SALT. No urad, no besan, no butter. One flour.
2. AND THE SHAPE IS IN THE NAME. Its article traces sakinalu to CHAKINAMU, based on CHAKRAM, WHICH MEANS WHEEL OR CIRCLE, BECAUSE OF ITS CIRCULAR SHAPE. Concentric rings, not a spiral: the dough is trailed round, lifted, and laid down again inside the first ring.
3. THE CAROM SEEDS ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE WITH CUMIN HERE. Ajwain is bitter and medicinal and is the thing you taste. Two teaspoons in half a kilo is restrained and still unmistakable.
4. SCALD THE FLOUR WITH BOILING WATER. Rice flour worked with cold water stays gritty and the circles break as they are laid. Pour the boiling water over, stir it to a mass with a spoon handle, and knead it once it can be handled.
5. KNEAD IT UNTIL IT IS SMOOTH AND SLIGHTLY GLOSSY, THEN KEEP IT COVERED. It stiffens as it cools and a stiffened dough cannot be trailed. Work in batches with the rest under a hot damp cloth.
6. SHAPE THEM ON YOUR PALM, WITH WET FINGERS, OVER A SQUARE OF GREASED PLASTIC. Roll a thin rope and lay it in a ring about seven centimetres across, then two more rings inside it, pressing where they touch so the thing holds together as one piece.
7. LOWER THEM IN ON THE PLASTIC AND LET THEM FLOAT OFF. They are fragile until the oil sets them. Medium heat, four minutes, turning once, until pale gold -- rice flour browns suddenly and late.
8. MADE IN QUANTITY AND GIVEN AWAY, WHICH ITS ARTICLE RECORDS. It is prepared at Makar Sankranti when the fresh paddy is in, and in Telugu custom they ARE GIVEN TO THE GROOM'S PARENTS BY THE BRIDE'S PARENTS TO DISTRIBUTE AMONG THEIR RELATIVES AND FRIENDS.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

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