Tihar Ghee Sel Roti with Aloo Achar

Method

1. Wash the rice until the water runs clear and soak it in plenty of water for 8 h.

   Add in this stepWhite rice (long-grain or regular) 140 g

2. Drain the rice thoroughly and pulse it with the sugar in a blender until it looks like fine semolina. Add the banana, ghee, cardamom, cloves and salt and blend for 3 min more, pouring in the milk gradually, to a thick batter with the faintest grain. That slight coarseness gives the crunchy shell. Cover and rest at room temperature for 2 h; it develops a gentle fermented aroma and browns more evenly.

   Add in this stepSugar 35 gRipe banana ½Ghee (for the batter) 1 tbspGround cardamom ¼ tspGround cloves 1 pinchSalt (for the batter) 1 pinchMilk 70 ml

3. For the achar, put the potatoes, unpeeled, in a 18 cm pot, cover with water and boil on high heat for 18 min, until a skewer slides in easily. Drain, peel, cut into 2 cm cubes and leave to cool.

   Add in this stepWaxy potatoes 250 g

   high heat

4. Toast the sesame in a dry pan on medium heat heat for 2 min, until it smells nutty and a few seeds start to pop. In a mortar or grinder, grind the sesame, timur, chilli powder, turmeric and salt to a fine powder. Toss the potatoes with this powder, the split green chillies, the lemon juice and chopped coriander, gently so the potatoes don't break.

   Add in this stepSesame seeds 2½ tbspTimur or Sichuan peppercorns 2 pinchChilli powder ½ tspGround turmeric ¼ tspSalt (for the achar) ¾ tspGreen chillies 1Lemon ½Fresh coriander 8 g

   medium heat

5. Heat the mustard oil in a small pan on medium-high heat heat until it just smokes, turn off the heat, wait a few seconds and add the fenugreek and dried chillies. Within 1 min, as soon as the fenugreek is dark brown, pour it over the potatoes and mix. Thirty minutes' rest lets the flavours soak in.

   Add in this stepMustard oil or vegetable oil 1 tbspFenugreek seeds ¼ tspDried red chillies 1

   medium-high heat

6. Put the oil and frying ghee in a dry 20 cm deep pot and heat on medium heat for 8 min to 170 °C. The ghee gives festive sel roti its nutty aroma and deeper colour. Keep the fat below a third of the pot's depth and never leave it unattended.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil for frying ½ LGhee (for frying) 100 g

   medium heat

7. Stir the batter, fill a squeeze bottle and, holding it close to the fat, pour a 12 cm ring in one movement. Fry on medium-low heat for 2 min, until it floats and the underside is reddish-brown, then flip with a skewer and fry 1 min 30 sec more. The slightly lower temperature and longer frying give a firm, crunchy shell. Fry 6 in total and stand them upright to drain.

   medium-low heat

8. Stack the sel roti on a plate with the aloo achar in a small bowl. A bite of sweet sel roti, then a bite of tangy, spicy achar: that is how it is eaten at Tihar.