Uppu seedai is one of the crunchy and yummy traditional snack prepared as an offerning for Lord Krishna on the occasion of Gokulashtami. It is also prepared as one among the diwali snacks.
Uppu seedai is prepared using rice flour, urad dal flour, sesame seeds, asafoedita powder, grated coconut, butter or ghee and salt. I have used the store bought rice flour.
All these ingredients are rolled gently to small balls and deep fried to get the crunchiest outcome which can be stored in airtight container for days:-) The rolling part is little time consuming but it is worth the result.
We used to make it in South Africa during diwali days and distribute among our friends. Mostly all our friends used to make this. Normally this seedai bursts when deep fried if it is not mixed in right proportion and in right consistency.
Go through all the step-by-step pictures with instructions and the tips carefully. I have explained the process to be followed in detail.
To check the recipe video, click the link below:
INGREDIENTS
1 cup= 200 ml.
Rice flour- 1 cup
Urad dal flour- 1 tbsp
Sesame seeds- 1 tsp
Ghee/ Butter ( softened)- 1 tbsp
Grated coconut- 1 and a half tbsp
Asafoedita powder- 1/4th tsp
Salt- as needed.
PROCEDURE
I have used the store bought rice flour.
To make the urad dal flour, I have taken 4 tbsp of urad dal in a pan to dry roast as it is easy to powder 4 tbsp of urad dal in a mixer. I will use 1 tbsp of urad dal flour for this recipe and store the rest for the other recipes.
Coming to the grated coconut, dry roasting coconut is compulsory if the coconut is wet. As the grated coconut I used was dry, I skipped this step. Or it is important to do.
Dry roast 4 tbsp of urad dal in a pan till the color changes to golden brown in low to medium flame. Then let it cool to normal room temperature.
Move it to a mixer jar and grind it to smooth, fine powder. We are going to use 1 tbsp in this for this recipe.
Though store bought rice flour, it is compulsory to roast rice flour till it turns aromatic. This ensures to remove any lumps if any. This step is very important to prevent seedai from bursting.
After roasting, sieve the rice flour. This step is also very important to prevent seedai from bursting.
Sieve 1 tbsp of urad dal next to remove any lumps. This makes the urad dal flour very fine which prevents seedai from bursting.
Now add the rice flour, urad dal flour, grated coconut, asafoedita powder, sesame seeds, salt and ghee in a bowl.
Mix everything together with the hand.
Now start adding water little by little only as needed to make dough. Do not roll it make a tight dough. Just roll it gently.
Let the dough be pliable. Cracks on the dough is fine, good and important to prevent seedai from bursting.
Now start making small balls from dough. Grease your fingers with oil. Start rolling balls with three fingers as shown above. Do not give pressure when rolling. It need not be rolled to soft. There should be cracks on the balls to let oil enter inside so that it gets cooked from inside. And also there should be cracks on the balls or the air bubbles will get trapped inside which will result in bursting.
Keep all the balls ready in a plate. Roll them to small balls. As I have taken picture from nearby, the size of the balls look little big. After rolling all the balls, heat oil in a kadai. There should be atleast 10 to 15 minutes time gap from rolling to frying.
Heat oil in a kadai. Once the oil becomes hot to deep fry , turn the flame to low. Now start adding the balls in batches with space inbetween the balls. Start from the balls rolled first. Fry the balls in low flame so that it gets cooked from inside. Otherwise the color outside will change immediately and the inside will be soft resulting in a soft seedai the next day.
After some seconds, start moving the balls so that it gets cooked evenly on all the sides. Cooking in low flame will take some time but it is worth the effort.
Once the seedai gets a good golden brown color and cooked completely it is ready to come out. Cooking in low flame is compulsory.
I filtered in kitchen towel. Ready.
TIPS
Both rice flour and urad flour should be sieved before using.
Any impurities in sesame seeds, coconut should be removed before using. Or these will make seedai to burst.
Roasting the rice flour, grated coconut is compulsory.
The proportion of rice flour to urad dal flour should be right to make the seedai crispy.
The dough should be pliable.
The balls should be rolled gently with cracks on the surface. Roll small balls.
If you are doing it for the first time, heat little oil in a kadai and fry one ball to check if it is bursting. After dropping one ball in oil, stand in a distance.
Suvai Manam 