Papari — Banjar, Indonesia

Papari is a fried snack from the Banjar area of South Kalimantan, made from a thin batter of rice flour and coconut milk that is set into a rosette or flower shape before frying, giving a lacy, crisp texture. It belongs to the wider family of Indonesian fried rice-flour rosette cakes known in other regions as kembang goyang. The snack is reported from Banjar, in Indonesia, where it is prepared for markets, snack trays and festive gatherings, and where similar fried batters shaped with a mold are common across South Kalimantan's Malay-influenced repertoire. According to sources, the batter - rice flour, coconut milk, egg and a little sugar, sometimes tinted - is thinned enough to coat a heated flower-shaped mold, which is dipped into hot oil so the batter releases and puffs into a crisp rosette; the shapes are fried until golden, drained, and some are finished with a light sugar syrup or dusting of sugar. Within the wider family of Indonesian fried rice-flour snacks, this version is set apart by its shape and by the mold-dipping technique used to form it, rather than by piping or hand-shaping the batter. Cooks vary the sweetness of the batter, the coconut milk used, and whether the finished rosettes are left plain or coated in syrup.