Ribbon Pakoda | Ola Pakoda | South Indian Snack

Ribbon Pakoda , also called as Ola pakoda is a south indian snack made with rice flour and gram flour as the base. They resemble the shape of ribbons and hence the name. As a lover of garlic, I add garlic with red chillies and some fried gram ground to a fine paste. A few teaspoons of butter and some sesame seeds for that extra crunchiness makes them more addictive.

It has been a while since I posted something here.. I was a little too busy preparing for the “International Food Fair” here that got over last weekend. We had a great time preparing our south Indian specialties like idly, vada, sambar vada, chicken biryani, poori masala, ladoo, jangiri, murukku , ribbon pakoda and some more.

My friend Kavitha and myself together set up a south Indian food stall this time. We enjoyed the whole process from planning to preparing food pictures and printing them and finally the FOOD and SELLING them out. We had some friends who came home to buy murukku and ribbon pakoda even after the stall was closed. That made us super happy. 😀

I badly wanted to post my Ribbon Pakoda recipe here, so saved a pack of it for clicking pics. They tasted so so good with the garlic and chilly flavor in every crunch. Here is my recipe of ribbon pakoda.

Ingredients for Ribbon Pakoda

• Rice flour – 2 cups
• Gram flour – 1 cup
• Fried gram dal – 1/4 cup
• Garlic – 7 pods
• Dry Red chilly – 5
• Butter – 1 and half tbsp
• Salt – as needed
• Sesame seeds – 3 tsp
• Oil – to deep fry

Method:

1. Grind garlic, red chillies and fried gram dal to a fine paste, by adding little water.
2. In a large bowl, mix the garlic chilly paste with the rice flour, gram flour, butter, sesame seeds and salt. Mix well. Add water if needed and make stiff dough.
3. Oil the inside of the murukku maker and use the Ribbon mould to get the shape.
4. Fill the murukku maker with the prepared dough.
5. Heat oil in a kadai and check if it is hot , by dropping a small piece of dough into it. If it rises immediately, then the oil is ready for frying.
6. Reduce the heat to medium high and start pressing the ribbons directly in the oil. You may also press them as circles on a ladle and then slowly drop into oil. I prefer doing it directly in the oil.
7. Cook well on both sides till light brown and the shhhh sound ceases. Drain on a kitchen towel and store.

Garlic chilly spicy ribbon pakodas are ready to be enjoyed. You can munch them any time of the day !! Start munching and you will keep on munching 🙂

Notes:

• You can also replace sesame seeds with jeera or omam. But I prefer sesame seeds.
• While frying it, if they break too much in oil, it means the fat content is more in the dough. Just add little more rice flour and knead it and then it will come out well.
• Do not fry in very hot oil, it will easily get burnt and dark brown in colour.
• Feel free to add or reduce the garlic and chilly quantities as per your preference. The measurements I have given is quite spicy.
• Always taste it after the first batch is done, and if needed adjust the salt.

There is always scope for correction while preparing snacks of this kind. So never get tensed if they do not turn out right in the first shot. When I learnt this ribbon pakoda, the first time when I tried it, it was just melting in the oil , I got tensed and was almost crying seeing it,  and my friend Heyma was my savior at that time. It was in the middle of the night when I was making them and my whole family was sleeping. I rang up to her and she was the one who gave me confidence and tips to fix it. So from then on, whenever I make these I remember her . Thanks Heyma !!