Kordoi - Deep fried savoury snack from Asaam

As a teenager, I was never that fond of Samosa and Chaat Pakodi, and was heavily inclined towards new emerging trend of having pasta and pizzas. You know.. Ghar ki Murgi Daal Barabar.. But my cravings for Indian snacks enhanced many folds when I stepped out of India the very first time in my life. It was a college trip to London with friends and since it was the first foreign trip for almost all of us, we were very excited. Within first three days ( max) half of our excitement was fractured. Anyone would ask why??? Turned out, we all were missing our own food very much :( 

Obviously, now the scene is different. I have adopted the taste of International Cuisines to a great extent and I like most of it now, specially Thai and Mexican is my hot fav. But back at that time, it was such an unfortunate experience to be out first time and miss our own taste and touch of food that much. Later, we finally managed to search for some Indian Restaurants nearby ( which now I know, are plenty in London) and relished the food there. And we ate such miserly since it was so expensive for our pockets at that time. But after that incident, I realised the fact that most of us ( am not saying this for everyone) really cannot live joyfully without the addition of our own spices and "Tadka" even to the International Cuisine. Well, I love it !!

Other thing which amused me initially was how widely the packaged Indian food is available here. Packaged Chapathi, Parotta, Stuffed Paranthas, even Samosa and Tikkis.. Tasting their stale and bland taste, I then realised the importance of the Original variants... I often cook these things at home now, but since they are all fried .. I turn them slightly to the healthy side.. Sometimes baking, sometimes steaming.,. It has taken me into it.. To cook these fried snacks with alternate cooking methods.. And I love the results.. Almost always !!

But this time, when I had to try this deep fried snack Kordoi, I wanted to have something which is spicy, deep fried yet not completely “unhealthy”. This one snack fits it all… made up of whole wheat flour, hot spices and some greens, this crispy Kordoi makes a perfect accomplishment with evening tea. Specially now when the winters are approaching faster than I anticipated, I am sure I am going to make this quick snack again very soon. This Kordoi is also made sweet, and you will find the recipe here. 

This Assamese snack, Kordoi is generally made during Bihu, especially Magh Bihu and form part of the various snacks that are on offer during this time. It is to be noted that the star fruit is also called ‘kordoi’ in Assamese. 

Unlike many other deep fried savoury snacks, this one doesn’t require much preparation work. Just knead the dough, roll, cut, shape and fry. All in one go.. No extra cooking involved, like making stuffing or chopping/mashing potatoes etc. It’s a quick snack which can be made in a jiffy, since all the ingredients are very basic and can be found easily in the pantry. You may use APF ( *All purpose flour ) to make it more crispy but Whole wheat flour worked just perfect for myself. The benefit of using APF is that, the crisp and crunch of the snack remains intact for a longer time. While with the WWF, it gets soggy after a while and if you try to reheat it, it looses its charm. 

I had it hot with evening tea with guests and then the next day with chutneys for breakfast. So, next time when I am craving for something deep fried ( which is very rare in my case, luckily !) I know I am not going to go for any ready-made stuff..  :)

What you need?
Whole wheat flour - 2 Cups
Finely chopped spinach - 1/4 Cup
Finely chopped onion 1 tblsp
Finely chopped coriander 1 tblsp
Grated carrot - 1/4 cup
A pinch of nigella seeds
Cooking oil - 2tblsp
Hot water - 3/4 Cup
Flour to dust
Oil for deep frying

How to make?

Wash and chop all the vegetables very finely and keep aside.

Rub together all the ingredients with the flour to mix it well, except the water. Add the water gradually and make a firm dough.

Divide the dough into small marble sized portions, shape into balls and flatten them.

Roll each ball into approximately 4 and a 1/2 inches in diameter. With a sharp knife, cut straight lines through the circle , making sure not to cut all the way through. The lines should leave at least half an inch of space from the circumference of the circle

From one end start to make a roll, pinching the ends to bind. Be very gentle in this process, else you will end up crumbling the sides and hence it won’t shape good.

Gently tap the two ends of the shaped kordoi gently to plump the middle. Continue doing the same with the rest and keep them ready.

Deep fry in batches and serve hot with some ketchup/chutney with Indian tea aside. 

My Notes

Take care to ensure the extreme ends are more thinner, as they tend to get softer after being fried.

You may add Kasuri methi to the dough for prominent fenugreek fragrance

Add spices of your own choice into the dough, you may also add a tbsp. of roasted coconut or roasted peanut powder to the dough. This will bring out a very nice crunch and flavour, but don’t over do it else the snack will get soggy very soon. 

Off to Indian cooking challenge for the month