Arsa

Before you start

• The dough must rest overnight at room temperature, covered. This is not optional — the rest is what gives arsa its chew, and same-day dough fries hard and flat.
• If you are grinding your own, soak the rice 6 hours, drain, dry in the shade for 2 hours until just damp, then grind coarse and sieve.
• Have a bowl of cold water beside you for wetting your palms while shaping. The dough is very sticky.

Method

1. Melt the jaggery with 120ml water over low heat, stirring, until it dissolves, then strain out the grit through a fine sieve.
2. Return the syrup to the pan and boil until it reaches one-thread consistency — a drop lifted between finger and thumb pulls a single strand, about 6 minutes.This is the make-or-break step. Under-cooked syrup gives soggy arsa; taken too far it sets hard and the dough will not come together.
3. Pour the hot syrup over the rice flour in a wide bowl, add the sesame, fennel, cardamom and salt, and mix with a wooden spoon.
4. Once it is cool enough to handle, knead 4-5 minutes into a soft, sticky dough that just holds together.
5. Cover and rest at room temperature overnight, 8-10 hours.
6. Next day, wet your palms and shape walnut-sized pieces into flat discs about 6cm across and 1cm thick.Keep re-wetting your hands. Dry palms tear the discs apart.
7. Heat the oil in a kadhai to medium-low, about 160C — a scrap of dough should rise slowly after 4 seconds.Hot oil browns the outside while the centre stays raw. Low and slow is the whole technique.
8. Slide in 3-4 discs at a time and fry 6-8 minutes, spooning hot oil over them and turning once, until deep reddish brown.
9. Lift onto a rack and press each one gently with a slotted spoon to squeeze out oil. Cool completely before eating — they firm up as they sit.

Storage

Keeps 2 weeks in an airtight tin at room temperature, which is why arsa is made in batches for weddings and Diwali. Do not refrigerate; it goes hard and loses the chew.