On festival mornings, the lines outside Gujarat's best fafda shops reportedly start forming hours before the shop even opens for the day's first hot batch.
A stiff dough of gram flour, oil, and carom seeds is rolled into flat strips and deep-fried until crisp and pale yellow, then served with fried green chilies, grated papaya, and a side of tangy chutney. It's a fixture of Gujarati breakfast stalls, especially thick on the ground during Dussehra.