“Sabudana potato jelabi”, it’s from India, I know that much, since it says “Product of India” on the box. Google isn’t much help, having only passing references to dipping “jelabi” in sugar syrup, deep frying it, and other things. But it doesn’t explain what it IS, what people usually do with it. Is it the Indian equivalent of, say, elbow macaroni?
Ingredients says, “Rice, tapioca flour, potato flour, spices, salt”. It’s hard as a rock, is absolutely tasteless, so it’s not a snack mix of some kind. Half the package is rings and half-rings in beige, the other half is smaller quarter-rings in bright orange.
Is there one standard, traditional thing that folks do with it? I’m not interested in “1001 Exciting New Things To Do With Jelabi”, just the basic approach.
Is it supposed to be tooth-shatteringly hard, for starters? Or was it on the shelf at the health food store for a really long time?
I didn’t buy it, BTW, someone gave it to me, thank you so much.
Jilabi or jilebi is a kind of fritter, sometimes sweet, sometimes savory. The sweet ones are made of potato, rice flour, wheat flour, and are sometimes mixed with dry curd cheese, then fried and dipped in sugar syrup.
The savory ones go good with chutney or soup, and are served as appetizers. What you’ve got is a box of dehydrated, shelf-stable ones. To prepare, heat up some oil to about 275, then plop one in. If it rises slowly, the oil is hot enough. Fry like potato chips–they should puff up. Serve 'em with raita (mint, garlic, shredded drained cucumber and yogurt) or fresh chutney.
Who gave these to you, and where did they get them? Surprising that they’d just hand over something like this without cooking instructions, but maybe they wanted you to put your beloved Google to the test.
All I know is, the Better Half bought it last week and it appeared on the dining room table. “Look what I bought!” He likes buying Weird Foods like that.
I think he was under the impression that it was a fat-free snack mix, like those little rice crackers, which is something I’m always looking for.
But it isn’t. And I already told him, “Don’t worry, I’ll google it and find out how to cook it”, plus he probably bought it at Kroger, in their “Weird Foods” department, and I doubt whether anybody at Kroger would have a clue what it is or how to cook it. Central Illinois does not have a large Indian Sub-Continental presence. (she said dryly).
So here I am.
So, it has to be deep-fried? What happens if you boil it like pasta?
If you boil it like pasta, it’ll probably fall apart. Like I said, they’re fritters, and don’t take well to boiling.
Check Ethniggrocer.com for the rice cracker mixes–they have a good selection.
I’ll ask some of the Hindi teachers tomorrow if they’ve ever heard of potato jilebi, and probably come away with some recipes.
I’m not familiar with the style of Jalebi False_God describes, at least if the allusion is to potato chips. Are you familiar with how funnel cakes are made, by pouring squiggles of batter into hot grease? That’s how I’ve seen jalebis made, at least down on Pioneer in Artesia (suburb of LA, known as “Little India”).
And jalebis are at least as tasty and unhealthy as funnel cakes. Geez, now I’m hungry.