Sel roti

Step 1: Drain 14 oz long-grain white rice well. Put it in a blender with 4 oz sugar, 1 ripe banana, ½ tsp ground green cardamom and half the ¾ cup water and blend for 5–6 minutes, scraping down the sides, until the batter feels only slightly gritty between your fingers, like fine semolina.

Step 2: Pour into a bowl and beat in 2 tbsp vegetable oil and ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda. Add the rest of the water a little at a time until the batter is thick but pourable, like thick pancake batter, falling from a spoon in a heavy ribbon. Cover and rest for 1 hour.

Step 3: Heat 1 litre vegetable oil in a wide, deep pan or wok over a medium-high heat to 170–350°F. Test with a drop of batter: it should sink a little, then rise straight away with lively bubbles and no smoke. If it browns in seconds, the oil is too hot.

Step 4: Stir the batter. Take a fistful in your hand (or fill a squeeze bottle with a 1 cm nozzle) and pour a thin stream in one steady circle about 12 cm across into the oil, joining the ends. Fry one or two at a time.

Step 5: As soon as the ring rises and the base is set, about 30 seconds, push it under the oil with a long stick or chopstick, then flip it. Fry for 1–1½ minutes on each side, until deep golden russet and crisp at the edges.

Step 6: Lift out with the stick, hold over the pan to drip, then stand upright or lay on kitchen paper. Repeat with the rest, keeping the oil temperature steady. The usual mistake is letting the oil cool between rings, which makes them greasy and pale; give it a minute to recover after every two.

Step 7: Serve warm or at room temperature with tea, potato achar or a bowl of yogurt. They keep for 4–5 days in an airtight tin.