Sel roti () is a traditional
Nepalese ring-shaped sweet
fried dough
Fried dough is a North American food associated with outdoor food stands in carnivals, amusement parks, fairs, rodeos, and seaside resorts. "Fried dough" is the specific name for a particular variety of fried bread made of a yeast dough; see ...
made from rice flour. It is mostly prepared during
Dashain
Dashain or Bada'dashain, also referred as Bijaya Dashami in Sanskrit, is a major Hindu religious festival in Nepal. It is also celebrated by Hindus of Nepal and elsewhere in the world, including among the Lhotshampa of Bhutan and the Burmese Gur ...
and
Tihar, widely celebrated
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
festivals in
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
as well as
Sikkim
Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...
,
Kalimpong and
Darjeeling
Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...
regions in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The dish is popular throughout Nepal and among the
Nepalese diaspora. Sel roti is made from a batter of rice flour, water sugar, ghee, and spices which is then deep fried in cooking oil.
Origin and etymology
Dinesh Raj Panta, a professor at
Nepal Sanskrit University
Nepal Sanskrit University (formerly Mahendra Sanskrit University) was established in December 1986 and has its central office at Beljhundi in Dang district of Lumbini Province, Nepal. It is 13 km away from the city of Ghorahi.
Academics
The u ...
estimates this dish to be over 800 years old. According to Madhulika Dash, an Indian food columnist, the dish was made bland many years ago, without sugar and spices. Over the years with intermingling of various ethnicities of Nepal, the dish has reached in its modern form. Dash also estimates that sel roti may have been a modified form of Babari, a Nepalese rice pancake. Babari is made of the same batter but is cooked like a pancake on a shallow griddle while sel roti is ring shaped and deep fried on a
karahi
A ''karahi'' (; as, কেৰাহী, kerahi, bn, কড়া, koṛā, hi, कड़ाही, kaṛāhī, Marathi: कढई, ur, ; also ''kadai, kerahi, karai, kadhi, kadahi, kadhai'' ''sarai'', or ''cheena chatti'') is a type of th ...
.
The name of the dish is assumed to be derived from ''Sel'', a variety of rice that grows in the foothills of Nepal. Roti in Nepali translates to bread. Another theory also suggests that the name of the dish is from ''Saal'', Nepali word for year. Since the dish was developed to be a ceremonial dish made on
Nepalese new year, it may have been called Saal roti, which later had become Sel roti.
Preparation and ingredients
![Sel Roti cooking in progress, Lohorung food](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Sel_Roti_cooking_in_progress%2C_Lohorung_food.jpg)
It is made of
rice flour
Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening a ...
with added flavours. A batter is prepared by adding water,
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
, and
ghee
Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals.
Description
Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from c ...
to roughly grinded rice flour. The ghee can also be substituted by
cooking oil
Cooking oil is plant, animal, or synthetic liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. It is also used in food preparation and flavoring not involving heat, such as salad dressings and bread dips, and may be called edible oil. ...
or
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...
. Spices such as cardamom and clove could also be added to the batter. The ingredients are then let to rest for a couple of hours. Once the batter is set, it is deep fried in cooking oil or ghee. Instead of water,
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...
can also be used to prepare the batter. However, using milk can reduce the shelf life of the dish.
![Sell roti](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Sell_roti.JPG)
The dough is poured by hand in a ring shape into boiling oil and cooked on medium heat (around 348 °F to 373 °F) until it turns light brown on both sides. Two metallic or wooden sticks (known as in Nepali language), each about long, are used for turning the dough while cooking.
Sel roti are cooked in bulk and can be stored at room temperature for least 20 days. Sel roti are often sent as special gifts to family members living away from home or used as
prasada
200px, Prasad thaal offered to Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad ">Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad">Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad
Prasada (, Sanskrit: प्रसाद, ), Prasadam or Prasad is a religious offering in Hinduism. Most o ...
, a religious offering.
Occasions and variations
Sel roti is a delicacy, made mainly for the great Nepali celebration of the Dashain and Tihar festivals. It is unique to Nepal and has become an iconic symbol of Nepali culture and festivities, and is made and served throughout the country during festivals as well as during wedding parties, and other ceremonies.
It is also a traditional food in Nepali-speaking communities in
Darjeeling
Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...
,
Sikkim
Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...
,
Siliguri
Siliguri, ) is a major tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms twin cities, "Twin Cities" with the neighboring district capital of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in the Indian sta ...
and
Kalimpong regions of India and southern
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
. It is an essential food at most Nepalese and
Kumaoni cultural and traditional events.
[Sel Roti](_blank)
We All Nepali Instead of traditional single ring shape, in Sikkim, Darjeeling and Kalimpong areas, Sel roti is also made in double ring shape.
Singhal, a dish from Kumaon region in Uttarakhand state of India, is similar to Sel roti but while Sel roti is made from rice flour, Singhal is prepared from semolina flour.
Gallery
File:Sel roti, Nepalese food.jpg, Sel roti, Nepalese food
File:DUIPIPA LHOTELLINE.jpg, Stacks of cooked Sel roti
File:Nepali Cuisine.jpg, Sel roti with various Nepalese curries and sweets
File:Sel roti.jpg, Sel roti
See also
*
List of doughnut varieties
Doughnuts are a type of fried dough food. The following is a list of doughnut varieties.
Variations and specialties by region
The terms below constitute either names for different doughnut types created using local recipes, or for the local la ...
*
List of fried dough varieties
This is a list of fried dough foods. Many cultures have dishes that are prepared by deep frying dough in many various forms. Doughnuts are a type of fried dough food that are covered separately in the Wikipedia article List of doughnut varieties.
...
*
References
External links
*
{{Doughnuts, state=collapsed
Fried dough
Doughnuts
Nepalese cuisine
Bhutanese cuisine
Indian cuisine
Roti