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!!