Snack Time | How to make Tepalantu

Tapelentu (a snack from Andhra Pradesh)

Ingredients ([X] I used ;-) | [O] Optional | [I] Innovate)

(approximate, please use your judgment based on your experience in cooking!)

[X] Rice Flour (250 g)
[X] Channa Dal (2 table spoons)
[X] Salt (to taste)
[X] Red Chilli powder (if you are used to eat a little spicy stuff)
[X] Green Chillies (4/5 finely chopped)
[X] Onion (1 large; finely chopped)
[O] Onion stems (½ bunch finely cut)
[O] Coriander leaves (few leaves; finely chopped)
[I] Green leaves (few leaves; in case kids do not like greens push them in!)
[I] Curry leaves (few leaves; finely chopped)

This is how I did!

I put all that marked [X] and put them in a plate to make the dough with warm water (I used normal water, but I remember my mother using warm water) just like what you would do to roll a roti.

Make them into 10-12 balls (these usually dry up very fast so cover it with a wet handkerchief).

Get a round bottom tava (the usual kadai). Heat it a little. Pour some oil along the sides so that the surface is greased and some oil settles at the bottom of the tava. Low flame.

Unlike roti, you will need to take a handkerchief and wet it and place it on a surface (I used the roti rolling surface) and place one of the ball on the wet handkerchief. Use your fingers to flatten it by tapping the ball uniformly. It should be a little thick (the dough is such that you can not make it thin!) Make small hole in the middle with your index finger.

Now slowly with your left hand lift the handkerchief and get the flattened stuff onto your right hand fingers (it should not break and should be one circular piece). Now slowly put it on the side of the tava (not in the center where there is oil but on the side surface). Usually you should be able to put 3 or 4 such flattened balls in single tava. Close the tava with a lid or a plate.

The oil in the middle heats up and steam is created, this falls on the visible side of the flattened stuff (this remains white / reddish if red chilli powder is added) and the other surface (not visible) gets brown because of the greased surface of the tava. You can put some oil between the flattened dough and the tava and also at the hole (in the middle) area.

Keep it on for a while keep checking if the visible side seems done | cooked. Low flame is better for control of the invisible side becoming brown. These things can be removed easily from the tava with the help of a spoon or whatever you use to stir vegetable or remove dosa from a pan (I used my figures – a little hot but manageable!)

If there is sufficient salt and chilli you can eat just that, else some pickle or ketchup will go along great.

If all goes well, your effort should look something like (or better than) this!

The usual mixing of dough. Make them into round (to the best of your ability!) balls

It is essential that you cover it with a wet cloth. The dough quickly dries up!

You place a wet cloth and then then ball on the cloth and give it a tap with your fingers. Should turn out something like this. The hole in the middle is a good idea because you can put some oil in this hole while cooking.

Cooking a combination of slow and high flame. Your judgement and you time at hand and if you are alright if some portion of the snack becomes dark especially on high flame.