Thengol/Thenkol

Thengol/Thenkol

Ingredients:

• 1 cup urad flour
• 3 cups rice flour
• 2 tbs sesame seeds
• 2 tbs cumin seeds
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 tbs room temperature butter
• 1/8 tsp baking soda (optional)
• 1/8 tsp powdered hingh(optional)
• 1/2 gallon oil to fry

Prep:

Wash and dry the thengol mould.

One small dish of water to keep the mould moist in between making batches of thengols.

One small bowl or dish of water to moisten hands.

One hand towel to wipe hands as need be.

One large bowl lined with paper towel to place the fried thengols.

Method:

Using a thick bottomed pan, dry fry urad flour on medium heat. Meticulously fry till the flour is slightly browned here and there or the raw flour smell disappears. Turn the heat off and add the rice flour to it. Mix everything together for a couple of minutes and pour the contents into a mixing bowl. When cool add the remainder of the ingredients to the bowl and thoroughly mix everything together. Then, slowly add about 2 cups of water and knead everything to form a soft dough. Divide dough into smaller pieces that fit the thengol mould.
Then, heat oil thoroughly in a wide mouth pan (wok, bandalae) making sure the oil does not over heat.The oil is hot enough to fry when a tiny piece of dough added to the hot oil, rises to the surface quickly. Now, moisten your hand (dip your hand in water) and pick up a small piece of dough and shove it into the lower thengol mould. Squeeze the dough carefully into the hot oil. Thengols are made using a clockwise motion and cutting the dough being squeezed with fingers. Several of thengols can be squeezed into the hot oil. Cook for several minutes, till most of the bubbling stops. Remove the thengols from oil using a long slotted spoon(jara) and place them in a bowl. Repeat the process till all the dough is done. Store in air tight containers when cool.

Cooking tips:

Keep hands and the mould as dry as possible while squeezing the wet thengols into hot oil, to prevent oil splashing. Add thengols in a single layer in the hot oil, a little overlap is OK. Turn and push the thenglos around every now and then while cooking. Keep the mould moist (inside portion) by placing it in water in between making separate batches of thengols.

Serving tips:

Serve as snack anytime.