Rice Flour Rings

Ingredients

• 2 cup Rice flour (heaped; preparation method given in the Pesalu Kadiyalu recipe)
• 3 cup Water
• 2 Teaspoons Salt
• Oil (as needed)
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Grated coconut
• 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper (coarsely ground)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin (coarsely ground)

Instructions

1. Pour water into a wide bronze or tinned brass vessel and heat it with salt, a spoon of oil, and the grated coconut.
2. Once the water comes to a boil, lower the heat, pour the flour into the center in a mound, poke a hole through it with a ladle handle, and cover with a wide plate.
3. After 2 minutes, turn off the heat, remove the pot, and mix quickly so no lumps form. Add the cumin and pepper. Once it's cool enough to handle, knead the dough thoroughly.
4. Sprinkle in water if needed and knead into a chapati-like dough. Oil your hands lightly so it doesn't stick while kneading.
5. Shape into lemon-sized balls and roll each into a finger-length rope (do this on an oiled surface). Join the two ends together into a ring, like a small chain-link. Shape all the dough this way.
6. Deep-fry in hot oil until pale golden. Serve hot with coconut chutney.