Soak rice for about 12 hours or overnight.

Drain on a cloth and roughly blend or use the pestle and mortar as was done traditionally. You need to feel the crunchy bits of rice when you bite into a jalebie

Add the warm water and yeast to the blended rice and stir. Rest for 15 minutes. 

Gradually add flour to a smooth batter. Stir until there are no lumps and a thick batter is formed. The batter needs to flow slowly through the pipping bag or funnel with little pressure. If the batter is too thick, add a little water at a time until you reach the correct consistency. Some rice may absorb more water that others.

Cover with a cloth and let rest for another 30 minutes to allow the yeast to start working. You will soon start to see small bubbles appearing in the mix.

While the batter is resting start preparing the syrup as detailed below.

Add sugar and water to a pan and bring to a boil.

Turn the heat down until it is just barely bubbling. 

Cook the syrup until it reaches the single thread stage. This should take around 10-15 minutes on medium-low heat

Watch the syrup carefully to make sure it doesn't burn

Once ready, remove from heat and keep. You will need it to be warm when you start soaking your jalebies in it.

Heat oil in a pan or wok

Ensure the oil is not too hot. To test for the right temperature, drop a small amount of batter into the oil. If it sizzles and rises to the top of the oil, the oil is hot enough. Keep the flame on medium at all times to ensure all round cooking of the jalebis.

Give the batter a quick stir with a spatula, but do not over-mix. Then pour it into a piping bag or a clean squeeze bottle or a condiment dispenser. The nozzle should be close to .75cm nozzle.

Pipe some of the batter into the oil in coils or spirals working closely from the center out. The jalebies should about 9cm wide containing about three thick coils. Only make 3-4 jalebies at a time to avoid crowding the pan. Great care is required here because you have to operate very close to the hot oil. The steam which is created by the the frying process, as well as any splash of oil, may burn you. Forming the jalebies is the tricky part, and does take a bit of practice. You may find that the coil tends to open up if you are too slow.

Fry the jalebies until they are crisp and golden brown. The batter will first sink to the bottom, but will quickly pop back up and float to the top.

After a minute or two, flip the jalebi over so they cook on both sides. Then remove them from the oil and drain for a moment on paper towels.

Then transfer each jalebie into the warm syrup . Start your next batch of jalebi cooking while the first is soaking the syrup.

Place the jalebi into the syrup while they are still hot, and let them soak for at least a minute, turning it over once. The jalebies should become thoroughly saturated with sugar syrup.

Some people prefer to soak them longer, in this case you will end up with a very syrupy sweet.

Remove the jalebies from the syrup and serve. If you wish to serve them warm, place the jalebie on a platter, or in bowls with a bit of syrup. Otherwise, remove them from the syrup and let them dry on a rack for several hours until the syrup forms a crust.