If you are wondering what happened to me, please don't worry. I am fine and for the past 16 days had a wonderful vacation. I went to Chennai, Pondicherry, Thiruvannamalai and Karaikudi. In every place I had a nice experience and I couldn't take a look at my blog. I missed all the events and challenges in these days. I owe you all an apology. To return back to blogging, I made these uppu seedai which are cute tasty rice flour balls aka little bombs among bloggers. I have always been fearful of seedai. My mom has given me so many examples where these tiny balls explode and spray hot oil all over the kitchen. So from my childhood, I have been thinking of seedai as dangerous bombs. But still I love the taste and always buy it from stores. My mom used to make very tasty seedai until one day it exploded. Then she stopped making it and I was left with the store bought ones. But none of those can be compared with what mom made. As a blogger, there was a small part of brain which was pestering me to try out seedai but I was postponing it. I read so many post on making seedai which doesn't explode but still I didn't have the courage. The only good habit in me is when a recipe is given for a challenge, I try hard to make it. So when Valli asked me for a suggestion for this month's
ICC ( Indian Cooking Challenge), without much thinking I suggested Seedai. Once it is announced in a challenge, there was no looking back. I pushed all my fears aside and tried it not once but twice.
My very first attempt was with store bough flours. As I was in Chennai and was staying at my bachelor brother's house, I had a very few equipments and so I went for the store bought flours. I dropped some 4-5 seedais in oil, covered the oil with a plate and rushed out of the kitchen. I reentered the kitchen after 2 minutes and I din't hear any bursts. Without exploding they were frying beautifully. And when I tasted one, I realised that it was a disaster. We couldn't even have a bite. It was so hard. But still Sruti loved it and finished it within evening. When I contacted Valli she told me that when we process flour at home the seedai turned out very nice. So I waited until I came back home and the same day I made the flour at home and tried this seedai. Again, I covered the oil pan and ran out of kitchen once I dropped the balls in oil. And again it didn't explode. But still I was not going to jump with joy until I taste one. When I tasted one, I was suddenly taken back to my childhood. It brought back mom's memories. Yeah! It was so good, so crispy, not at all oily and super tasty. What more do I want? I was happy and Sruti was happy. I need to thank
Sharmi of Sharmis Passions for the detailed recipe with tips. Without her post It would have been really tough.
Ingredients:
Raw Rice- 1 1/2 cups
Urad Dhal-2 tbs
Grated Coconut-2 tbs
Soft Butter-3 tbs
White Sesame Seeds-1 tbs
Salt-to taste
Oil to deep fry
Procedure:
1. Wash and soak raw rice for 3-4 hours.
2. Drain water and spread it on a clean cotton cloth and let it dry for an hour.
3. Grind it to a fine powder in mixer.
4. Sift the flour and add the granules left over with the remaining rice and grind again.
5. Repeat it until you have a fine rice flour. Discard the remaining granules left over after sifting.
6. Dry roast urad dhal until golden.
7. Grind it to a fine powder in mixer. Dry roast it until golden.
8. Dry roast the rice flour until it is very hot. There should be no water left in the flour.
9. Now combine both the flours and allow it to cool completely.
10. Sift this flour again to get rid of any more lumps. These tiny granules are the cause of explosions. So do not feel lazy about sifting the flour. Sift, sift and sift..
11. Once the flour is ready, you can either make the seedai immediately or make it another day.
12. Dry roast sesame seeds and coconut separately until golden.
13. In a bowl take flour, add butter, salt and roasted coconut and sesame seeds.
14. Mix well until it is crumbly.
15. Add enough water to make a soft dough.
16. Make small balls out of the dough and arrange it on a dry cloth.
17. While shaping the balls, do not press it hard. Make it gently. Keep on rolling until there are no crease lines left on the ball.
18. Leave the balls for 1/2 an hour to dry.
19. heat oil in a pan. Drop the prepared balls in batches.
20. Keep flame medium or low while frying. This gives wonderfully crispy seedais.
21. Once the sizzling has stopped, remove from oil and allow it to cool completely.
22. Store in air tight jar.
Points To Remember:
1. If there are any granules left in the balls, they burst. So sift the flour before mixing it with other ingredients.
2. Air trapped inside may also cause the seedai to burst. So while rolling the balls, do it gently.
3. Any moisture in the balls also cause the exploding. So let the balls dry for at least 1/2 an hour before frying.
4. The dough tends to dry faster. Moisten your hands, use little dough at a time and cover the rest with a damp cloth.
4. The oil should be moderately hot. Keep on changing between medium and low. This ensures crispy and not so brown seedais.
Making the flour
This is the most important part of making perfect seedai...
Wash, soak rice for 3-4 hours and drain.
Spread it on a cotton cloth and allow it to dry for an hour.
Take it a mixer and grind.
Sift the flour.
These remaing granules will go into mixer with the remaining rice.
Roast urad dhal.
It should be golden. Grind to a fine powder.
Dry roast rice flour until it is very hot.
Dry roast urad dhal powder.
Combine both.
Sift it again and the flour is ready.
Mix together the flour, roasted coconut, roasted sesame, butter and salt.
Add water and make a soft dough.
Shape balls out of the dough. They should be slightly larger than peas. Allow it to dry fro 30 minutes.
Deep fry them in batches.
Remove from oil when the sizzling stops.
This was the seedai from my first attempt. Though it looks fine they were hard as stones...
Vella Seedai (click on image for recipe)
Labels: ICC, RICE FLOUR, SNACKS, South Indian, SOUTH INDIAN DELICACIES
