Thattai (a crunchy savory snack)

This is my favorite snack ever! Uses very simple ingredients but you won't be able to stop with one.

I have used Meenakshi ammal's Pachai Arisi Thattai recipe here.

Two main ingredients are Rice flour and Urad flour

Ready made rice flour is easily available everywhere now.

Urad flour is available too, if you don't find it, just dry toast some urad dal and let. lol, grind to a fine powder and run through a sieve.

I made two kinds today

Regular Thattai made with red chili powder. 

Makes 50 thattais (approx)

Rice flour - 2 cups

Urad Flour- 2 tbsp

Ghee- 2 tbsp

Salt - 3/4 tsp and a pinch

Red chili powder - 3/4 tsp

Water- 1 cup and two tbsp 

Chana dal (soaked for half hour) - 1 and 1/2 tbsp 

Curry leaves - 7 or 8

Oil- enough to deep fry

Start by sieving both the flours and the chili powder through a strainer or a sifter. Add the ghee, chili powder and salt, ghee, Chana dal and curry leaves. Mix it well. Add the water in and make it a moist dough. 

Cover it with a wet cloth so the dough won't get dry.

Heat the oil in a thick bottomed pan. If you have an electric fryer set the temperature to 400 deg.

Once the oil is hot you are ready to start making it.

Take a plastic sheet (I used a used ziploc bag)

Oil it well. Keep some water in a small bowl near by. 

Make about a dime sized ball from the dough. Dip your fingers in the water and flatten the dough to a round circular shape. Make a batch of 6 or 8 and slowly drop them one by one in the hot oil. 

After a minute or two, turn them and let them cook. The Thattai is ready when it is a nice Holden red in color and it makes a hard noise when you lift it with your ladle.

Repeat the same process until you run out of dough.

You can make a different variation of this using Black pepper. Coarse grind about 1 tbsp of black pepper in a mortar and use it instead of red chili powder. Everything else stays the same.

The ones on the left is made with black pepper. 

Happy Snacking!! 

KaraSev (Spicy Savory)

Kara Sev! 

This is a spicy kind of savory that tastes so good just by itself or with tea 

It is very crunchy and yummy!

This recipe is from Meenakshi Ammal's 'Samauthu Par'. 

The proportion of Kadala mavu (Chick Pea Flour)  to Arisi Mavu (Rice Flour) is 4:1

You need 

Kadala Mavu (Chick Pea Flour/ Besan) 2 cups 

Arisi mavu (Rice flour) 1/2 cup

Fennel Seeds 1 tsp

Black Pepper 1 tablespoon (more if you like spicier)

Red Chili 7 big ones 

Butter (melted) 1 table spoon

Salt 1 and 1/2 teaspoons 

Garlic cloves 2 (optional)

Water as needed

Oil to deep fry 

Method

Start by making a coarse powder of black pepper and red chillies in your mixer

Then make a paste of the garlic, you can add a bit of water to this. If there are any big pieces, remove them by hand so they won't get stuck and close the hole of the achu

Mix the dry stuff first and then add the fennel seeds, the salt and the spices

And then add the water, little by little to make a thick dough.

I also added a few drops of hot oil to the dough. 

Add some oil in a thick bottomed pan and keep on a med hi flame

Make sure the heat stays steady through out the process 

Pinch a small ball of dough in to hot oil to check if the oil is ready.

If the oil is hot enough, it should rise back  up to the top instantly.

You are now ready to start making 'kara sev'!

I used a 3 hole 'achu'  and just press the dough on to the hot oil.

Once it's in the oil, take a. Stainless steel ladle and break off the kara sev in to pieces 

This will make it crispier

And the Kara Sev is done when it turns golden brown and is 'silent' 

Remove and let cool 

For the measurement I used, it filled up a 6 cup box.

 

RibbonBakoda

 

(Ribbon Bakoda pictured with kesari)

Ribbon Bakoda is also called ribbon for obvious reasons! It's an easy to make snack. It's crunchy, salty and deep fried. Now how can it not taste great!

I followed the recipe from Meenakshi Ammal's 'Samaithu Paar' which translates to 'Cook and See'. It is a bible for Tambrahm Cooking.

Here goes!

You need

Oil to deep fry and this 

Gadget called achu for pushing the dough on to the oil. It's available for $15 dollars at any Indian store. It comes with different achus to make all kinds of snacks from the book!

I have two kinds, the one on the left is easier to handle. The one on the right is a traditional achu.

The dough you make has to be made a little dry but not too dry. 

You need:

2 cups Kadala Mavu(Besan/Chickpea flour)

1 cup Arisi Mavu (Rice flour)

1 1/4 tsp Salt

1 heaped tsp Kara Podi (Chili Powder)

3 pinches  Perungayam (Asafoetida)

1 tablespoons Ghee or Unsalted Butter

 

Put the salt and chili powder in 1/4 cup water and let the salt mix well in the water

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl

Add the salt and chili powder to this

Keep some extra water on hand and knead until the dough becomes a bit thick like puri dough

In a thick bottomed pan, add oil.

On a medium flame, let the oil become hot.

To check of the oil is ready insert a wooden spoon in, you should see bubbles coming out or put a small ball of dough in the oil and you should see it rise to the top. 

Keep the flame in the same temperature.

Put the dough in the achu and push some out in to the oil.

It's done when it's a nice golden brown all over. 

Makes a great evening snack!

In my house we also have it as a side for curd rice!! 

Tips

Make sure you have time to make the ribbon once the dough is done. 

Is the dough rests for a while the Bakoda might become oily

Monitor the oil temp through out. If the oil gets too hot then the ribbon will become black.