Cheedai - Uppu & Vellam
Ingredients
Rice Powder - 2 cups
Chana dal/Bengal Gram - 1/2 cup
Sesame Seeds - 1/2 cup
Pepper Powder - 1 tsp
Cummin Powder - 1 tsp
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup
Soaked Chana Dal/Bengal Gram - 1/2 cup
Ghee and Coconut Oil - 1 tsp each
For Uppu Cheedai (Salt Cheedai)
Salt - 2 tsp or per taste
For Vellam Cheedai (Sweet Cheedai)
Jaggery - 1/2 cup or as per taste
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp
Method :
- Roast Chana Dal in slow heat till it turns
reddish, cool it, powder it coarsely in mixer and
keep it aside.
- Mix rice powder and little water and knead it with
spatula on slow fire till it becomes thick and
leaves the sides of the pan (good enough to make
laddoos). Cool it for a while. Alternatively, rice can be soaked for 3-4 hours,
dried and powdered in a mixer.
- Now add Chana Dal Powder, Sesame Seeds, Cumin &
Pepper Powder and Grated Cocunut to the Rice
Paste.
- Add Chana Dal soaked for 1/2 hour to the mix.
- Addition of Ghee and Coconut not only enhances the taste but also makes the Cheedai's crispy. Some may also add 1/4 tsp of Baking Soda for the purpose. But I avoid it. Now the basic dough is ready.
For Uppu Cheedai (Salt Cheedai)
Add the required quantity of salt. Make very small
balls or laddoos (ie. cheedais) with the dough. Be
sure to grease your palms with Ghee-Coconut Oil. The
dough is sticky.
- Deep fry the uppu cheedai's in cooking oil. Cool it
and serve.
For Vellam Cheedai (Vellam Cheedai)
- Make a 'good chashni' by adding jaggery to 2 cups of
water in pot, and keep stirring in medium heat till it
completely dissolves.
- Add Cardomom powder to it. Now add it to the cheedai dough prepared. Mix well. Cool it.
- Then make cheedai balls as mentioned above after greasing your palms.
- Deep fry the vellam cheedai's in cooking oil. Cool it
and serve.
Good cheedais are well fried cheedais. It should be
well cooked on the inside. Be sure not to burn them
dark brown.
Total Time : 30 mins. (using rice powder)
