Tribute to a Traditional Snack Thetri

I grew up eating a traditional snack. It has a funny name. Yes, it is called thetri. There are many foods whose names come from onomatopoeia, named after the sound, they make, and I am sure this is one of them.

Thetri is traditionally made with rice flour and urad dal, then deep-fried in oil. When you bite into it, it makes a loud, satisfying crunch. I used to eat it often when I was growing up in India. It was a family go-to snack.

For the last 15 years, after becoming an immigrant in the USA, I rarely got to eat it. Whenever I visited India, I would usually taste it again.

Two years ago, when I went to India, it was for father’s sudden demise and funeral. During such a tragedy, no deep-fried foods are made in the family, so I didn’t get to eat it. That was a quiet disappointment. My mother had hoped to make it for my children, but losing the patriarch of the family was a far greater sorrow than any food could matter.

I had never tried making thetri myself because I believed it was a complex process. Not my cup of tea, with two little kids hanging around. But my little daughter, would sometimes show interest in eating this snack, about which she had heard many fond anecdotes.

Recently, while talking to my mother, she told me there is an easier version of thetri, using semolina and a little rice flour. Both ingredients were already in my kitchen.

So, the other day, I made it. I took some semolina, a few spoons of rice flour, salt, a little hot oil, and some carom seeds. I mixed everything into a dough and let it rest for about 15 minutes until it became slightly sticky. Then the kids and I made small balls from the dough, rolling them between our palms until they became spindle shaped.

I heated oil and fried them until they turned golden. They came out wonderfully crunchy and delicious. I was so happy that the whole family loved them. The best thing is unlike pakoda (a soft chickpea flour delicacy), which can't be stored, thetri can be kept in jars for weeks.

My nostalgia was satisfied. I see myself making more of this snack. Why not? It's easy and requires few ingredients. I am tired of store-bought snacks with invisible preservatives giving me allergies. Almost every time I eat those purchased snacks, my leg skins feel like burning.

Anyway, while enjoying the thetri and scrolling through my phone, a hilarious memory came back to me. Let me share.

I was a child, in rural India. One night after dinner, I was eating thetri and reading a story book. I didn’t finish it. Sleep took over, and I went to bed with the bowl with the leftover thetri on the adjacent table.

Around midnight, I heard crunchy sound near my ear. I shared the room with my sister, and she was fast asleep. Curious, I looked around. What did I see? We had a semi-domestic cat who must have been hungry. Smelling the delicacy, she had squeezed through the window rods and was happily munching on the leftover thetri. Eye contact with me, scared her and she left quick.

This snack is a regional specialty of eastern part of India and is closely related to murukku, which is popular in southern India.

Anyone would love this snack, provided they have strong teeth. Well, I have undergone root canal surgery of a molar few weeks back, and I managed to enjoy the snack.

I hope, you loved learning about thetri.