Thattai | Rice Flour Snack

Thattai is a traditional South Indian deep fried snack, made of rice flour. It is mainly prepared for festivals like Krishna Jayanthi and Diwali. Apart from rice flour, urad dal flour, chana dal, sesame seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves are added for flavor.

This crispy snack is really addictive and you can't just stop eating it! Making thattai is really easy, the only difficult part I would say is flattening the thattai, which is bit time consuming. The thinner we flatten, the crispier the thattai. These thattai are a great snack with a cup of tea. Now let's see how to make them.

THATTAI RECIPE

{ Deep fried snack made of rice flour, urad dal flour, chana dal and spices }
Yields 18-20

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Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour
2 tbsp urad dal flour
½ tsp asafoetida / hing
½ tsp red chilly powder
1 tbsp channa dal / kadalai paruppu
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 sprig curry leaves, chopped
15 g / 1 tbsp butter, softened
Salt to taste
Water as required
Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Wash and soak channa dal for 1 hour or until it is soft. Drain the water and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix rice flour, urad dal flour, asafoetida, red chilly powder, sesame seeds, curry leaves, chana dal and salt.

3. Add the butter and mix with hands into the flour until well incorporated. Add warm water little by little to form a stiff and smooth dough. Cover and set aside for 5 minutes.

4. Heat oil for deep frying. Meanwhile divide the dough into gooseberry-sized equal balls and keep them covered.

5. Take two zip-lock or milk covers and lightly grease one side with oil. Take one ball and place on the first cover and place another cover on top of it.

6. Press with a flat-bottomed vessel like davara or steel glass. Then flatten using fingers as thin as possible. Prick with a fork to prevent puffing.

7. When oil is hot, carefully take the thattai and slide into the oil. Cook on low-medium heat until the thattai becomes golden and crisp and the bubbles cease.

8. Remove and drain on a tissue paper. Once cool, store in an airtight container.

Notes and Tips

• To make urad dal flour. roast urad dal until nice aroma comes. Cool and grind to a fine powder. Sieve it atleast 3-4 times.
• The consistency of dough should be like poori/chapathi dough. It should not be sticky.
• Flatten the thattai as thin as possible. You can also flatten them using your fingers, instead of pressing with flat-bottomed vessel.
• Lightly grease the ziplock covers everytime to avoid sticking.
• The oil should be hot when you drop the thattai. After dropping, it should be cooked in medium-low flame, otherwise the middle part will not be cooked.