Uppu Seedai - Oval Shaped

Seedai is a special South Indian Savory. Seedai is a small ball shaped snack made with rice flour and deep fried in oil. It is made for many different occasions like Krishnajayanti, Diwali etc. And is available in many shops in Tamilnadu. It is normally ball shaped but the ones we make are a little oval shaped. And my elders often say the size of seedai often matters the taste.

There are different methods to make seedai. This one is our traditional way, easy and tasty way of making seedai and needs less ingredients.

Uppu Seedai
Ingredients
Boiled Rice - 4 cups
Roasted Gram Flour - 1 1/4 cup
Coconut Milk - 2 cups
Butter/Ghee - 1 t.sp
Salt to taste (about 4 t.sp)
Method
Soak the rice for 1 to 2 hrs. Drain of the water & grind it in the grinder.. While grinding use the coconut milk first instead of water. And then later on add water if required.  Grind it to a smooth & fine paste. Remove it from the grinder and add sieved roasted gram flour to it. Add warm melted butter/ghee & salt to the mixture.Knead it to form a soft dough. There is quite bit of water in the dough at this stage. So spread out the dough in a clean, thick cotton cloth and keep it covered for sometime till the cloth sucks in the water from the dough. The resulting dough should be a smooth dough without much of water.

Now relax a little bit. If you have children or if your hubby dear is at home, you can take their help a little bit. :). Take a tiny portion of the dough and roll it into small balls with your palm & finger. Then slightly press it to get oval shaped seedai. Place all the seedais on a clean cloth or maybe some thick paper. As far as possible do not put them one above other.

Now you are ready for frying. Heat oil in a pan. The oil should be at the right heat not too hot. Fry the seedais in small batches till they are slight pink. When the sound of the frying stops remove them. Do not over fry them.

Crispy & Tasty seedais are ready. Keep them in a air-tight box.

Note :
It may happen that you Diwali in your kitchen while making seedais. So please keep a lid ready near you. Stand a little far away from the oil. If it starts spluttering close it with the lid, put of the stove. I think it happens because of trapped water molecules in the dough. That is why try to remove them as far as possible before making the dough into seedais.
Though this is a safe method since I have used coconut milk instead of grated coconut, but still being careful is always better.

This is post is going to the JFI - Festival Treat Event guest hosted by Srivalli of Cooking 4 All Seasons. JFI was initially started by Indira Of Mahanandi

and
To the event Festive Food : Diwali hosted by Priti of Indian Khana