Polydish city guide
Best Khichu in San Francisco
“Rice flour cooked with cumin and alkaline salt, steamed into a snack that tastes too good to be a papad base.”
What the real thing tastes like
Khichu is a dough for making papad, however, owing to its taste it is also consumed as a snack or side dish. It is made from rice flour, however, other flours are sometimes used. The snack is prepared by cooking flour in water like porridge with cumin seeds and an alkaline salt known as Papad Khar (An alkaline salt with major components as sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate) and then steaming the lump. It is often served with oil and chilli powder.
0 voices, one story
Khichu starts as a humble rice flour dough—the kind meant for papad-making—but tastes good enough to stand on its own. Cooked down like porridge with cumin seeds and papad khar (that mineral-bright alkaline salt), then steamed into a tender lump, it becomes something altogether different: savory, textured, complete. A finish of oil and chilli powder brings it into focus.
Order it here when it has
- distinctive taste as standalone snack
- adaptable flour base
- textured steamed result
Walk away when you see
Restaurant-level rankings for San Francisco land as the Polydish review engine processes this city's reviews. Explore the dish itself while you wait —
Khichu on Polydish →