Faraa : A Chhattisgarhi Snack

Hi! This is Kriti. I live in Raipur, Chhattisgarh and have been promoting the regional and local food of my state from 4 years now. If you are interested in Chhattisgarhi Cuisine and the delicacies of Chhattisgarh, Faraa is a good dish to start with. Undoubtedly, Faraa is the most popular snack of Chhattisgarh which is made with leftover Rice and Rice Flour. Rice Flour and Rice are combined into a dough which is further steamed and pan fried. If you are unaware when it comes to Chhattisgarhi Cuisine, then the first thing to note down here is Rice is a staple food here. So, most of the recipes are from Rice and Rice Flour. Let’s start with one of the most basic rice recipe Faraa, but before that for more such recipes follow me on instagram, the link is mentioned below:

https://www.instagram.com/cookingwithkritivity/

Ingredients

• 1 cup of pre cooked rice (room temperature)
• 2 cups of rice flour
• A tbsp of Kasoori Methi
• 2 tbsps of Oil
• A tsp of sarso/mustard seeds
• A tsp of til/sesame seeds
• 2 dried red chili
• few curry leaves
• Salt to taste
• water for dough and to steam

How to Cook?

• Take pre cooked rice and rice flour in a paraat or any broad vessel. add salt to taste, a cup of water, kasoori methi and knead into a soft dough. One tip here is that before adding water, mix the rice and rice flour really nicely and start adding water in batches according to the requirement so that it doesn’t get sticky.
• Now, rub a drop of oil across your palms and take a small portion of the dough. Shape that into sticks or kind of fries. There is a traditional way and shape to do that which is basically the ends will be thinner and the medium part will be thicker. Refer to images below.
• Meanwhile, start boiling water in a steamer or a pan and when all of the dough is done, steam the Farra for 10-15 minutes in a greased pan. Be gentle while transferring it to the steaming bowl. Also, take sufficient amount of farra in a bowl, do not worry about it sticking together because it gets separated once it cools down.
• Steam for 10-15 minutes and let it cool for 10 minutes. Separate each piece.
• In an Iron Kadhai or a non stick pan, take oil and let it heat. Add mustard seeds, sesame seeds, dried red chili, curry leaves and then add faraa. Fry it on a medium heat until it gets crispy and golden brown.
• And it’s done. Serve it hot with either Tomato or Chili Garlic Chutney.