Sel roti
सेल रोटी
Nepali festival ring bread: a sweet rice flour batter poured in a circle into hot oil until crisp outside and chewy within.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: सेल रोटी.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Rest
- 3 hr
- Total
- 3 hr 45 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Sel roti is a ring-shaped bread fried from a batter of ground rice, sugar, ghee and a little cardamom, somewhere between a doughnut and a crisp rice cake. The batter is traditionally made from soaked rice ground by hand; fine rice flour with a few hours' rest gets close. It is poured from a cupped hand or a squeeze bottle in a thin stream into hot oil, forming a ring about 15 cm across, then turned once until both sides are deep gold. The outside should crackle, the inside should be chewy. Eat with yoghurt, achar or a cup of tea.
What you'll need
10 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
- Rice flour, fine, not glutinous400 g
- Sugar100 g
- Ghee, melted44 ml
- Banana, very ripe, mashed (optional)1
- Cardamom, seeds ground4 pod
- Cloves, ground (optional)2
- Milk, or water100 ml
- Water, approximately, to adjust200 ml
- Salt1 pinch
- Neutral oil, for deep frying1 l
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Mix rice flour, sugar, cardamom, cloves and salt. Beat in the melted ghee, banana and milk, then add water gradually, beating hard, until you have a thick but pourable batter that falls from a spoon in a continuous ribbon.
10 min
Tip: Beat for several minutes. The batter should be glossy and slightly elastic.
Step 2
Cover and rest 3 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge. Stir and check the consistency again; add a spoon of water if it has stiffened.
2 min
Step 3
Heat 5 cm of oil in a wok to 170°C. Test with a drop of batter: it should sink briefly then rise and sizzle steadily.
8 min170°C
Step 4
Fill a squeeze bottle or cup a hand around a ladleful of batter. Pour a thin steady stream in a circle onto the oil, overlapping the start to close the ring. Fry 1 to 2 minutes until the underside is golden, flip with a chopstick or skewer, fry 1 minute more.
3 min
Watch: Too hot and the roti browns before the inside cooks. Too cool and it drinks oil and goes flat.
Step 5
Lift out with a spider, drain on a rack and repeat. Serve warm or at room temperature. They keep 3 to 4 days in a tin.
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 251 kcal
- Protein
- 1.4 g
- Carbs
- 20.3 g
- Fat
- 18.7 g
- Saturated fat
- 3.7 g
- Fibre
- 0.4 g
- Sugar
- 9.8 g
- Sodium
- 54 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Milk
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Shop rice flour → 250 g rice soaked overnight and blended smooth with the liquid
The traditional way. Coarser and chewier.
Tips
- The first ring is for the cook. Use it to judge oil heat and batter thickness.
- If the rings break up in the oil, the batter is too thin. Beat in a spoon of rice flour.
History & culture
Sel roti is Dashain and Tihar food, fried in large batches by the women of the house and stacked on plates for guests and offerings. It travels well, which made it a gift to carry to relatives. In the diaspora it appears at every festival gathering and increasingly as a weekend breakfast.
The bread belongs to the hill communities of Nepal and the Nepali-speaking regions of Sikkim and Darjeeling. Rice ground on a stone and fried in ghee for festival offerings goes back centuries. The ring shape made it easy to string and carry.
Traditional — Fine shop rice flour replaces rice soaked and ground at home, which gives a slightly coarser, chewier roti. The ripe banana is a common addition, not universal. Replace ghee with oil for a dairy-free version.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Sel roti take?
3 hr 45 min all in — 15 min prep, 30 min cook, 3 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 12 pieces. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Nut-free.
9 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Wok, Mixing bowl, Spider or strainer.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 pinch.
How much sugar?
100 g of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Shop rice flour → 250 g rice soaked overnight and blended smooth with the liquid. The traditional way. Coarser and chewier.
What should I watch for?
Too hot and the roti browns before the inside cooks. Too cool and it drinks oil and goes flat.
Any tips from this recipe?
The first ring is for the cook. Use it to judge oil heat and batter thickness. If the rings break up in the oil, the batter is too thin. Beat in a spoon of rice flour.
Can I prepare this ahead?
Cover and rest 3 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge. Stir and check the consistency again; add a spoon of water if it has stiffened.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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