Skip to content

AI-generated image

Share this recipe

Fafadia gathia

Soft gram flour strips

Soft-crisp gram flour gathia, Gujarat's favourite with jalebi. Makes 1 kg

Fafadia gathia are pale, airy strands of gram flour dough rubbed through a gathia jara straight into hot oil. Beating the salt and kharo water until white and frothy, then kneading the dough hard, makes them light and melt-in-the-mouth. Serve with fried green chillies, papaya sambharo or jalebi. For fuli (puffed) gathia, use coarsely ground black pepper instead of white pepper and press the dough through a fuli jara.
Total time
90 min
Difficulty
hard
Serves
20
One step at a time, big text, timers, read-aloud. Your screen stays on.

Ingredients

Serves20

Shop this recipe on Amazon

What you'll need

Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.

Method

0/9 done
  1. Step 1: Boil 1 cup water, 4 tsp salt and 1 ½ tsp papad kharo (alkaline salt) together for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup oil, take off the heat and cool.

    5 min
  2. Step 2: Whizz the mixture in a blender until it turns white and frothy.

  3. Step 3: In a large tray, mix 2 ¼ lb gram flour (besan), ½ tsp asafoetida, 2 tsp white pepper powder and 1 tsp ajwain (carom) seeds.

  4. Step 4: Add the frothy salt mixture gradually and knead into a soft dough.

  5. Step 5: Knead the dough vigorously, pressing with the heel of your hand, until it becomes lighter in colour.

    15 min
  6. Step 6: Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and set the gathia jara on top of the pan.

  7. Step 7: Take a big lump of dough and rub it across the jara with your palm so the strands drop into the oil.

  8. Step 8: Fry for about a minute and lift them out quickly, before they brown. Drain the oil. Repeat with the remaining dough.

    30 min
  9. Step 9: Cool completely and store in an air-tight container.

Nutrition per serving

Calories
430 kcal
Protein
13 g
Carbs
31 g
Fat
29 g
Fibre
6 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

K
Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does fafadia gathia take?
About 90 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?
20 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it vegan?
Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
Can I make it ahead?
Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
What can I use instead of asafoetida?
A pinch each of garlic powder and onion powder (asafoetida stands in for onion and garlic).

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.

Rate this recipe

Sign in to rate and review this recipe.

Yaki onigiriGrilled rice balls

Yaki onigiri (焼きおにぎり) are rice balls grilled until they form a crisp, toasty crust, then brushed with soy sauce glaze. They are eaten all over Japan, at izakaya, at barbecues and from the freezer section, as a snack or with miso soup. The inside stays soft and steamy while the outside crackles. Best eaten hot, straight from the pan. Chef's tip: let the shaped rice balls dry for 10 minutes before they go in the pan. A drier surface forms a better crust and won't stick, and the glaze goes on only at the end so it doesn't burn.

by KrazyBadal 2 views

Paneer biryaniRice and moong dal in coconut milk

A mild, creamy biryani: rice and husked green gram roasted in ghee, then cooked in coconut milk with peas, carrots, potatoes, peanuts and cashews, and finished with soft fried paneer and a fresh coriander yogurt. Serve hot, garnished with more fried cashews and paneer.

by KrazyBadal 2 views

Sabudana khichdiSago with peanuts and potato

Sabudana khichdi is the dish that sees Maharashtra through every vrat (fast), from Navratri to Ekadashi, but it's so good that people eat it any day of the week. Soaked sago pearls are tossed in a pan with crushed roasted peanuts, cubes of potato, cumin and green chilli until each pearl turns glassy and separate, then finished with lemon and coriander. It's soft, chewy, nutty and gently hot. Fasting rules vary from family to family, so check yours; this version uses rock salt and no asafoetida, onion or garlic. Traditionally it's cooked in ghee; use ghee instead of oil if you aren't keeping it vegan. Chef's tip: soak the sago in just enough water to cover by the height of the pearls themselves, no more; too much water is the reason khichdi turns into one sticky lump.

by KrazyBadal 2 views

Perfect for:Diwali