Kodbale are a delicious deep-fried snack enjoyed throughout Maharashtra state. They are spirals of crunchy goodness made from rice flour. My family is from the Indian city of Belgaum (now located in Karnataka state) & we always add sautéed onions to our kodbale – they add a delicious flavor that we all love, so I highly recommend adding them. But you can always omit them if you wish, but in my house – kodbale just isn’t kodbale without the onions. ☺

Kodbale are usually served along with tea, but they can be enjoyed at anytime as a snack or eaten with breakfast. They can be a bit time consuming to make, so I usually make them on holidays or special occasions – but they are well worth the effort.


KODBALE (Maharashtrian Spiral Snacks)

Ingredients:

1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cups of rice flour
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chili powder
½ tsp ground cumin powder
salt to taste
½ stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
½+ cup cold milk, as needed to make a thick dough
enough oil for shallow frying (I use peanut oil)


METHOD:

In a medium size sauté pan, with a little oil on medium high heat, sauté the onions until golden brown. Don’t forget to season them with a little salt as they cook. Remove the onions from the sauté pan & drain well on paper towels. Set aside until needed.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice flour along with the turmeric, red chili powder, ground cumin powder & salt to taste. Combine the dry ingredients & then add in the melted butter and sautéed onion. Knead everything together into a thick dough by slowly adding enough cold milk, until it comes together to form a ball. Cover the bowl & let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes.

Now knead the dough for a few more minutes. Take enough dough & roll it into a ball (ping pong ball size), then make it into a long thick rope or snake (about 3-4 inches in length). Then coil the rope around itself to form a spiral. Keep repeating until all the dough is finished. I usually keep the ready-to-fry kodbale on a parchment lined baking sheet that I keep covered with a clean kitchen towel.

In the meantime, heat enough oil to shallow fry in a deep vessel. Carefully, slide in the kodbale. They should start bubbling right away, do not overcrowd the pan. This can be done in a few batches, depending upon the size of your vessel. Fry the kodbale on medium heat until golden brown on both sides. They should be crispy on the outside & cooked all the way through. Remove & drain well on absorbent paper towels.

Store in an airtight container when cool. These never last very long in my house, but they should keep for at least a week or so.





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