Pronounced as Kod-ba-ley.
Recreating a classic dish always is challenging. Because the dish ,with its long history and reputation will already have set a standard. Hence, naturally , we have expectations to meet those standards. These dishes have the signature recipes that have been passed on from generations to generations and hence when we try to make them at home, we inevitably compare them with the original taste.
Classic dishes also are nostalgic. they take us down the memory lane and bring out our best memories of childhood .They remind us of the sweet moments we spent with our family. We tend to recollect and relish the memories of family members or may be a particular person, otherwise whom we may have long forgotten. That is the power of food. It brings people together to share some great moments.
Kodabale is one such classic for me. Whenever I think of kodabale, I think of my little-girl days. Coffee and Kodabale was the most common combination in my mom’s house. At late evening hours, with fresh cup of filter coffee in hand, daddy, amma , my brothers and I used to sit in the patio of our house and enjoy some crisp and spicy kodbales.
My mom often used to make Kodbales at home and it was a great team project. While my mom, kneaded the spicy dough, my dad and the three of us used to help them roll and shape them into rings. we used to make these rings in batches and arrange them on a plate and then my mom would deep fry them in oil.
It was a fun activity for us kids to play with the dough and make funny animal shapes and ask my mom to fry them in oil. Couple of hours later big tall boxes fllled with Kodbales were ready to enjoy. It was a great time for togetherness and laughter.
Coming to the taste and specifications of this snack, there are many variations. As I mentioned before, the classics have certain standards and specifications . However as per individuals convenience and tastes the recipes often gets modified. That does not make it a classic anymore, does it?
Many love coconut in the recipe while many ,including my mom, does not worry too much about adding coconut. Some add Ajwain, while others add jeera(cumin). Some like it crisp while others like it chewy.
Taking all these recipes into considerations I finally have my own version here. Finally a Classic recreated!
What we need:
1 cup of rice flour
1/4 cup fine semolina/sooji
2 tbsp Maida
2 tsp cumin
1 big pinch asfoetida
2 tbsp hot oil/melted butter.
salt to taste.
Oil for deep frying.
To grind:
1/4 cup of fresh coconut
10 dry red chillies
Method:
First grind the coconut and chillies into fine powder without adding any water.
then in a wide bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. add the coconut mixture and mix well. do not add any water yet.
Once all the ingredients mix well, add hot oil or butter. mix again. Now the mixture turns into a crumble. now add salt.
Next slowly sprinkle water and start bringing the mixture together into a pilable firm dough consistency. Caution: sprinkle water, gradually.
Once the dough is formed , knead very well for about 5 minutes.
Set aside.
Rolling into rings:
Take a small amount of dough and roll into a small ball on your palm or any flat surface. then slowly roll the ball into a long string . the thickness and length of the string should be like that of a string bean.
Once the string is is formed, roll it inwards to form a ring.
Make several of these rings and keep them on a plate.
Once the oil is hot, deep fry these into a golden brown /darker brown color on a medium flame.
Enjoy them with coffee.
SIMPLE COOKING SURPRISES 