Kichu | Papdi Nu Lot (Guest Post by Pretty Polymath)

Hi The Nish Kitchen readers!

My name is Hetal and I blog over at Pretty Polymath, where I blog about food, traveling, crafting and whatever else catches my fancy. When Rosemary asked me to do a guest post about a unknown Indian meal I immediately thought of kichu. Kichu, also known as papdi nu lot, is my favorite Gujarati comfort food dish. Gujarati food is typically vegetarian and the diet is mostly based on grains, lentils and lots of interesting vegetables like okra and bottle gourd (my favorite!).

Onto today’s recipe! Kichu is basically steamed rice flour dough that is cooked with cumin and ajwain seeds. Kichu has a mochi-like consistency, where it’s sticky but not as chewy. You typically serve it with a sprinkle of red chili powder, minced green chilis and a nice helping of oil. Oil makes everything taste good in this world. The texture of sticky, warm, gooey, and oily with spicy goodness makes it a snack that really highlights how texture and flavors of foods can work together to make something amazing. I hope you enjoy this recipe from my home to yours!

The best way to eat this is with your hands, nothing beat getting your hands all greasy and sticky with kichu. It’s actually one of the reasons why I love kichu so much! Enjoy!

Also if you’d like (only if you want to), follow me on Twitter, Instagram or Bloglovin!

Hetal

Yield: 4

Kichu | Papdi Nu Lot (Guest Post by Pretty Polymath)

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A classic Gujarati snack made with rice flour.

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cups rice flour
• 2.5 cups water
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• ½ tsp carom seeds (ajwain,ajmo)
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp green chili paste
• 2 tsp oil
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• Pinch asafoetida (hing) powder
• Pinch of red chili powder
• Additional oil for serving

Instructions

1. Boil the 2.5 cups of water in a saucepan (preferably a non-stick one). Once the water starts to boil add the cumin seeds, carom seeds, green chili paste, salt, and asafoetida and boil for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add the baking soda, oil, and rice flour. Stir with a dampened wooden spoon until it’s as smooth as possible. You might still have a few lumps here and there, don’t worry about it! Once all the water and flour is incorporated, cover and cook on low heat for 3 minutes.
3. Transfer the kichu to a large bowl and let it cool to the touch. Grease your hands with oil and knead the dough until it’s nice and smooth!
4. Steam the dough on a well-oiled tray until a knife inserted comes out clean. This should take about 30 minutes.
5. Serve while hot with a pinch of red chili pepper, dash of oil and additional green chili (if you like it spicy!)

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 201Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 0mgSodium 305mgCarbohydrates 32gFiber 1gSugar 0gProtein 2g