Thattai

Thattai are flat, disc shaped savoury. These are also called nippat.







Ingredients:

Processed rice flour ---- 1 cup( see below how to make processed rice flour)
Roasted urad dal flour--- 1 spoon
Jeera ----- 2-3 teaspoon
Butter ---- 50 gms
soaked channa dal----- 1 spoon
white til(sesame seeds)--- 1 spoon (optional)
crushed roasted peanuts(optional) - 1tablespoon
Salt and asafoetida to taste

(if you want it spicier you can add 1 tea spoon of chilli powder/black pepper powder)

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients with butter and enough water to make a tight dough.
Take a big marble sized dough and pat them into circles (dia of 2inch).
Transfer them on to a paper/white cloth to absorb excess moisture.

Fry the circular patterns and flip them both sides in cooking medium. Remove from the oil when the hissing sound drowns. When cool, store them in air tight containers.


Processed rice flour:
This is the base flour for making traditional tamil savories like thattai, kai suttu murukku, cheedai and a sweet called adhirasam.
Raw rice is washed well and the excess water is drained through a colander. After a resting time of 30 minutes, the wet rice is spread on a clean cloth like dhoti and dried under shade. After an hour when the rice is still wet, It is ground finely in a mixer. This wet rice flour is then roasted lightly on an wok. It can be stored in air tight containers when dry and can be used as and when required.
hattai

Vella cheedai

Vella cheedai is the sweeter version of cheedai . Vellam in tamil is jaggery.




Ingredients:
Processed rice flour ----1/2kg( see below how to make processed rice flour)
Jaggery water ----- 375 gms of jaggery dissolved in 1 cup of water
Roasted urad dal flour--- 2 table spoon
Small pieces of coconut ---- 1 ladle (optional)
Butter ---- lemon size
Cardamom powder for flavour

Mix all the above ingredients with butter and jaggery water to make a dry scrambled dough. Make marble sized balls of even size and fry them in cooking medium. Remove from the oil when it turns slightly brown. When cooled, the cheedai’s are crispy.

Processed rice flour:
This is the base flour for making traditional tamil savories like thattai, kai suttu murukku, cheedai and a sweet called adhirasam.
Raw rice is washed well and the excess water is drained through a colander. After a resting time of 30 minutes, the wet rice is spread on a clean cloth like dhoti and dried under shade. After an hour when the rice is still wet, It is ground finely in a mixer. This wet rice flour is then roasted lightly on an wok. It can be stored in air tight containers when dry and can be used as and when required.

Uppu Cheedai

Uppu Cheedai is a marble sized fried savoury especially made on Krishna Jayanthi. Vella cheedai is the sweeter version made with jaggery.

Ingredients:
Processed rice flour ----1/2kg( see below how to make processed rice flour)
Roasted urad dal flour--- 1 ladle
Gratings of coconut ---- 1 ladle (optional)
Soaked channa dal ---- 1 table spoon
Jeera ----- 2-3 teaspoon
Butter ---- lemon size(50 gms)
Salt and asafoetida to taste

Mix all the above ingredients with butter and sprinking of water to make a scrambled dough. Make small marble sized balls of even size and fry them in cooking medium.

Note: If the dough is watery , the cheedais are likely to burst while frying, also while making the balls ensure all are of the same size.

Processed rice flour:
This is the base flour for making traditional tamil savories like thattai, kai suttu murukku, cheedai and a sweet called adhirasam.
Raw rice is washed well and the excess water is drained through a colander. After a resting time of 30 minutes, the wet rice is spread on a clean cloth like dhoti and dried under shade. After an hour when the rice is still wet, It is ground finely in a mixer. This wet rice flour is then roasted lightly on an wok. It can be stored in air tight containers when dry and can be used as and when required.

kai suttu murukku

Kai suttu murukku – These savoury patterns are made with hand and not in an extruder, hence the name kai suttu murukku which means "hand twisted murukku".

Kai suttu murukku reminds me of summer vacation at my grandparents home in Chennai. All of us cousins from various parts of India would descend for vacations to my grandparents home at Mylapore in chennai. To keep the brood of 10 growing kids was a huge task for our patti. She would make tins and tins of snacks and sweets in the wooden almirah which had a net door. When we wanted to snack in between our games while playing in the terrace( mottai maadi) , we  would rush down  the stairs and stand panting  in front of the netted door and one of our elders would reach out to the tin kept above to dole out sweets like adirasam, scoops of  jackfruit halwa and savories. One of the savory was kai suttu murukku. Patti would make the rice flour from scratch by soaking in water for a while, drying it on a veshti (dhoti) in the shade, pounding it and then roasting the flour lightly, the process was laborius and she did it so diligently, it was more like worship. Extruding this murukku is another art which comes only with practice.





Ingredients:
Processed rice flour ----1/2kg( see below how to make processed rice flour)
Roasted urad dal flour--- 4 spoons
Jeera ----- 2-3 teaspoon
Butter ---- 50 gms
Salt and asafoetida to taste

Mix all the above ingredients with butter and enough water to make a pliable dough.
On a non-sticky surface like plastic paper/cloth make small twisted patterns in a circle with the help of your thumb and fore finger. ( This is an art and comes only with practice). The cloth/newspaper helps absorb the excess water.


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Fry the circular patterns and flip them both sides in cooking medium. Remove from the oil when the hissing sound drowns. When cool, store them in air tight containers.






Processed rice flour:

This is the base flour for making traditional tamil savories like thattai, kai suttu murukku, cheedai and a sweet called adhirasam.
Raw rice is washed well and the excess water is drained through a colander. After a resting time of 30 minutes, the wet rice is spread on a clean cloth like dhoti and dried under shade. After an hour when the rice is still wet, It is ground finely in a mixer. This wet rice flour is then roasted lightly on an wok. It can be stored in air tight containers when dry and can be used as and when required.

Neivedhyam to Sri Krishna

The below items are neivedhyam offered to Lord krishna yesterday on Krishna Jayanthi. Kai suttu murukku, thattai, cheedai,vella cheedai, vella avul,vella appam, payasam, vennai, thayir, pal and assorted fruits. All favorites of Lord Krishna. Done with lot of care and devotion(prepared after having bath and fasting by reciting prayers while preparation) by mother in law and ably assisted by shreya and sharun.




The coming blogs will feature the preparation of the above items. the base flour is processed rice flour.