Usually every Diwali I make the usual Omapodi( sev) , Tenkozhal and Ribbon Pakoda. This time I have tried something different. This is called the Ratlami Sev and though we get it at the sweet shops and some brands also market it, I have never tried making it at home. The credit to this recipe goes to @indiankhana.net , where I found this while browsing for something new.
This is a simple recipe( oh yes, I mostly pick simple, as that’s what we all want). Very similar to the Kara Sev of South India, but different in taste because of the masalas used and the Ratlami Sev does not have rice flour, while the Kara Sev does.
This savory gets its name from a place in Madhya Pradesh, India, called Ratlam, where it is famous. As I mentioned it is a quick recipe and difficult to resist munching.
In a mixing bowl take the Besan/ Chickpea flour. To it add Salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and all the other powders like clove, fennel, cinnamon, Ajwain/ carrot seeds, black salt and asafoetida , cooking soda,and 2 tsp of lemon juice. To this add 3 tbsp of hot oil and mix nicely with a spoon( as the oil will be hot), when it turns warm mix nicely with your fingers to form a crumbly mixture. Now adding water 1 tbsp at a time make a soft but stiff dough. Heat oil in a Karahi for deep frying. Grease the Chakli/ Muruku press with oil and put in a little dough into it and squeeze into the oil when it is hot. Oil should be medium hot. Fry on medium heat, until the bubbles subside and the Sev turns a golden brown. Repeat for the whole mixture. The spicy and flavorful Ratlami Sev is ready.
I have combined the Cinnamon Powder, pepper powder, Roasted cumin powder, dry ginger powder, fennel powder, clove powder, Ajwain powder, and black salt, in the given measures and made it as a single powder, and am calling it the Ratlami spice mix.
Some of these powders we might not have at home readily, for which one can roast 1 tsp of all the given ingredients under Ratlami spice mix as a whole and powder them. Use 1 to 1.5 tsp of this for the recipe.
STEPWISE RECIPE FOLLOWS:
1. In a mixing bowl take the Besan/ Chickpea flour. To it add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, and Ratlami spice mix( refer paragraph above). Also, add the asafoetida, Cooking soda, and 2 tsp lemon juice. (I forgot to add salt in the beginning and have added towards the end as you will see in one of the pictures).
2. Now heat 3 tbsp oil in a Kadai ( heat it well, but don’t turn it smoky) and pour it into the Besan and spice mixture. Using a spoon combine well(do not use your hand now as the oil is hot).
3. After it turns a little warm, using your fingers nicely mix the mixture until it turns crumbly. Now adding water one tablespoon at a time start combining it to form a soft but stiff dough. We want a dough that is easy to squeeze through, but also stiff enough to retain shape. I used about 3 tbsp water to make my dough.
4. Heat oil for deep frying on medium-high. Grease the Chakli/ Muruku press with oil and put in a little dough into it and squeeze into the oil when it is hot. Oil should be medium hot. Fry on medium heat, until the bubbles subside and the Sev turns a golden brown. Repeat for the whole mixture. The tasty and spicy Ratlami Sev is ready.
NOTES:
1. Some of these powders we might not have at home readily, for which one can roast 1 tsp of all the given ingredients under Ratlami spice mix as a whole and powder them. Use 1 to 1.5 tsp of this for the recipe.
2. I used 3 tbsp water, one can use more as required as different qualities of Besan absorb water differently.
3. Take care not to use your fingers as soon as you pour hot oil in the mix. Let it become warm and then use your fingers to combine.
If you tried this recipe and liked it please comment below. I would love to hear from you. If you have a query about the recipe email us and ill respond as soon as I can.
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Thattai/Nippatu
This savory recipe is a popular South Indian snack and is made during festivals like Janmashtami and Deepawali. In South India festivals are incomplete without making rice-flour based snacks and homemade sweets.
Usually, the rice is soaked, the water drained, dried on a cloth, and then ground to a flour. Nowadays since most of us are busy both at home and work, I have used store-bought rice flour for this recipe, as it saves time. The most important step in this recipe is the proportion of rice flour and Urad dal flour, which I have shared below in the recipe. Regarding the use of Butter and its substitutes please refer to the notes.
In this recipe, Rice flour, Urad dal flour, butter, and spices are combined to form a dough, which is flattened and deep-fried in oil.
To give this recipe my twist I have added another ingredient- a little Pottukadalai/Chutney chana(fried gram)flour. This makes the Thattai crunchy. Grated or sliced coconut can be added, but in this recipe, I have not used them.
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For Urad dal flour–Take a handful of urad dal and dry roast them in a Kadai until light brown and you get a nice aroma. Cool them and grind them to a fine powder and also pass it through a sieve, discard the residue.
For fried Gram flour/Pottukadalai flour- Put a handful in a blender and grind them to a fine powder. Pass it through a sieve and discard residue if any.
Now in a dish take the rice flour and add the urad dal flour and fried gram flour. Add the butter, salt, chilli powder, asafoetida, coarsely broken peanuts, fried gram, curry leaves, white Sesame, and mix nicely. The flours, spice powders, and butter should combine well. Now add water little by little to make a stiff dough.
Now in a Karahi take oil for deep frying and heat. While the oil heats up start shaping the Thattai. Take a plastic sheet or Aluminium foil and grease it with oil well. Grease your palms also with oil. Now pinch a small amount of dough(little bigger than lemon) and place it on the plastic/aluminum sheet and using your fingers flatten the ball to a thin circle. Take a fork or toothpick and prick holes all over the dough. Check if the oil is hot enough. To test take a small piece of dough and put it in the oil. If it sizzles and rises immediately then the oil is ready for frying. Now gently lift the foil in your left hand and ease the flattened dough into your right hand by reversing the foil and gently peeling it away. Now gently drop the flattened dough into the oil and fry flipping both sides. Keep flipping and frying until all bubbles in the oil subside and the Thattai is golden in colour. The Spicy and crunchy Thattai is ready to munch as it is or serve as a tea time snack or to offer guests during festivals. Enjoy. Bon Appetit.
STEPWISE RECIPE FOLLOWS:
1. Assemble all ingredients. Follow the method given above for Urad dal flour and fried gram/Porikadalai flour. Coarsely pulse the peanuts too.
2. In a dish take the rice flour, Urad dal flour, fried gram flour, butter, and all other ingredients excluding water and combine nicely.
3. Now add water little by little and form a stiff dough. Take oil ina Karahi to deep fry and heat. heat should be medium-high.
4. To form the Thattai, take a plastic sheet or aluminium foil and grease it with oil. Grease your palms also with oil. Pinch a small portion of dough, form a ball, and place it on the sheet. Flatten it with your fingers to form a thin circle. Take a fork and prick all over the Thattai.
5. To check if the oil is hot enough drop a small bit of dough in the oil if it rises immediately then the oil is ready for frying. Using your left hand lift the foil and reverse it on your right palm and gently peel away the foil in a backward motion.
Now gently release the flattened dough into the oil and fry flipping both sides, until all the bubbles in the oil subside and the Thattai is a golden colour. Repeat this process for all the dough and store the Thattai/ Nippatu/Chekkalu in an airtight container.
NOTES:
1. Butter is one ingredient that gives the Thattai its crunch and also it’s colour. So do not exclude it. Some recipes suggest using Ghee or hot oil in the dough. I recommend sticking to butter as ghee and hot oil turn the Thattai hard and also the colour turns too brown.
2. Any butter unsalted or salted is fine.
3. Using Pottukadalai/ fried gram powder gives a nice taste and crunch. If you don’t have it handy, carryon with other ingredients. The Thattai will still turn out fine.
4. Using white sesame also gives a nice taste to the recipe. If you have it handy add some for sure
5. Coconut gratings or small bits of coconut are also added, but this time I have not added them.
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Kothimbir Vadi
Kothimbir Vadi is a savory Maharashtrian snack. It is made of Fresh coriander leaves and Besan/gram flour. Coriander as I have mentioned in my previous posts is my favourite herb. So when there is a recipe predominantly with coriander leaves how could I let it go and hence the post.
This recipe is very simple, flavourful( this word is used many times across this blog if you notice, as I believe the flavour is a very important entity to any food.) and healthy. This snack has a strong resemblance to Gujarath’s Muthias( will blog this soon).
Traditionally this snack is deep-fried, but now one can shallow fry or saute in a small amount of oil too. This dish is cooked twice as it is steamed first and then shallow fried. It is soft and moist when steamed and develops a nice crunch when fried. It goes very well with the sweet chutney and garlic chutney and makes for a great tea time snack. Made to bite-size pieces can be served as a starter in get-togethers. I have really wanted to try this recipe for a long while and I’m happy I did. Everyone at home was pleased by this dish????.
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Get the steamer/ pressure cooker ready for steaming. By the time the batter gets ready, the water would have heated and the batter can be steamed immediately, after mixing.
Make a coarse paste of green chillies, ginger, and garlic(if using).In a dish take the Gram flour/besan, add the ginger-green chilli paste, followed by salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, jaggery, tamarind pulp. Mix nicely. Now add the curd and stir with a spatula. It will be a semi-wet mixture. Add in the chopped coriander leaves followed by a little water( around 1/2 cup) and make a thick batter. The batter should not be runny, so add water little at a time. Grease a plate or flat vessel with oil and before pouring the batter into the greased plate/ vessel add the cooking soda and stir nicely so that the soda combines well with the batter. Immediately pour the batter into the greased plates, tap the plate lightly, so that the batter settles evenly and place it into the steamer. Steam for 15 minutes. After steaming, remove and cool completely. Cut them into squared or diamonds and keep aside. Heat sufficient oil in a flat pan and put in the tempering of mustard and cumin seeds. As they splutter, add asafoetida and place the cut vadi pieces and fry until they turn brown. Keep turning sides for equal cooking. Remove when all sides are lightly brown and crisp. In the same pan drop the grated coconut and seame and roast until they turn light brown. Now scatter this on the fried Kothimbir Vadi for nice flavour. Kothimbir Vadi is ready to serve with garam chai…Enjoy. Bon Appetit.
STEPWISE RECIPE FOLLOWS:
1. Assemble all ingredients. Wash the coriander leaves well and drain all moisture, chop them finely.
2. Pour water into a steamer and get it going, so that by the time the batter is ready the steamer is ready. Make a coarse paste of the chilli and ginger(and garlic too if using) and keep ready.
3. Now in a dish take the besan and add the green chilli and ginger paste, salt, followed by turmeric powder, red chilli powder, jaggery, tamarind pulp. Add the curd and mix well with a spatula. It should be a semi-wet mixture.
4. Now put in the chopped coriander and mix well. Add water little at a time to make a smooth, yet thick batter. The batter should not be runny. Grease a plate or a flat dish with oil.
5. Now just before pouring the batter into the plate, add the cooking soda and mix well. Pour the batter into the greased plate and set it in the steamer for 15 minutes.
6. After steaming, remove the plate and cool completely. Cut into squares or diamonds and set aside. In a flat pan, pour sufficient oil for shallow frying. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafoetida and place the cut Vadi pieces into the oil. Fry each side until light brown and crisp. Remove from pan. Repeat for all the pieces.
7. Now in the same pan put in the grated coconut and Sesame seeds and saute until light brown. Put this on tempering on the vadi for a nice flavour. The Kothimbir Vadi is ready.
NOTES:
1. The ratio of coriander leaf to Besan is 2:1, stick to that. More quantity scale up the measures in the same proportion.
2. Wash and drain the coriander leaves well before chopping.
3. I have not used garlic, but it can be added.
4. If you like the Vadis deep-fried, go ahead and fry them.
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