Bangladeshi food is very versatile and many of the dishes we make are surprisingly good for people with food intolerances. People who avoid gluten or dairy products can enjoy lots of the Desi nashta (snacks) that we make; for example Dali Bora (lentil fritters), Nunor Bora (salted rice flour snacks) and Soi Fita (rice flour dumplings), these recipes involve no wheat flour, so are gluten free and are also suitable for vegan diets.

I don’t recall my mum making Soi Fita very often in our house growing up, however my mum enthusiastically would make Nunor Bora all the time and we would enjoy them with a nice Lamb Curry. This dish is something I learnt to appreciate as an adult, after marriage, it involves very simple ingredients but is just so moreish and delicious to eat. This dish is usually made for breakfast or as an afternoon snack, it’s quick and easy once you have made the Soi Fita.

I love to use ghee in place of oil as I love the taste ghee adds to this dish, use oil if you prefer. Browning the onions PRIOR to adding salt is of the utmost importance when it comes to this dish if you ask me, the browned onions add so much flavour and colour to the dish. Once you have the desired colour on the onions, add the fita and salt to taste and continue to fry till crunchy, it’s when you get those really crunchy bits in the pan that you appreciate this dish the most!

I hope that you give this vegan and gluten free recipe a try, it will definitely be one that you come back to time and time again!

Serves 4 – 6

You will need: for Soi Fita Biran

Soi Fita (Click here for the recipe, I am using a large bowl of fita)
3 – 4 tbsp ghee
2 medium onions (adjust depending on how much soi fita you are preparing)
1 – 1.5 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
4 green chillies
handful of fresh coriander

Method:

Start by slicing the soi fita, slice them into discs and then slice into strips.

Peel and finely slice two medium sized onions – we like lots of onion in our soi fita biran so I like to use a fair bit, but you can use less depending on how much soi fita you are preparing.

Chop the green chillies and the fresh coriander.

In a large wok/frying pan, heat up 3 – 4 tbsp ghee (clarified butter), adjust depending on the quantity of your ingredients.

Once the ghee has melted, add the sliced onions and fry over a high heat.

Do not disturb the onions too much as they fry, you want the onions to brown, so stir occasionally.

Once you have a golden colour on the onions you can add in the sliced soi fita.

Add 1 – 1.5 tsp salt, adjust as needed, and continue to fry over a medium heat and stir occasionally to prevent anything burning at the bottom of the pan, you want to allow some parts of the fita biran to fry until crunchy in places.

Once the soi fita is crunchy in places the fita biran is almost done, lastly add the green chillies and coriander and stir through.

Fry for 1 – 2 more minutes and then remove from the heat.

Tuck into your Soi Fita Biran while it’s piping hot and enjoy every crunchy morsel with a hot cuppa!

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