Karupatti Paniyaram

Karupatti Paniyaram is sweet made for occasion like pillayar nombu or for padaippu. its so simple that its ingredients are just raw rice and karupatti.

Ingredients:

• Raw rice - 1 kg
• Karupatti - 4 to 5 molds
• Oil - to fry

Method:

Soak the rice for an hour drain and keep. when it is 3/4th dry run it in the mixie not so smooth, slightly coarse.
break the karupatti into small pieces and with a little water heat it until it is completely dissolved. the karupatti pagu should be thick so carefully add very little water. Leave it to settle and cool. add this karupatti syrup to the flour and make a dough (like that of chapathi).

When you are about to make the paniyaram take the amount of dough you need add little water and karupatti pagu according the to the sweet you need and make a batter. The remaining dough you can store in fridge in an air tight container for a weeks time.

Heat oil in a kadai. beat the batter well and pour a ladle full slowly into the oil. splash the oil over the paniyaram so that it rises, turn it on the other side and cook for few seconds.
Note the outer part of the paniyaram in my picture that is called "karai koodi varuvathu" if the texture is like that then it means you have done a good job !


Note: The ends of the paniyaram will only be crispier and not the inside. If the batter is too thick the insides of the paniyaram will not be completely cooked and you can see the raw batter. in such cases add a little water and make. Before each paniyaram you have to beat the batter well as the rice tends to settle down. If the batter is too thin also the paniyaram will not have a good shape and will start drinking oil. The consistency should be a little thicker than the dosa batter, say like for Adai.

Also if you add too much of karupatti the paniyaram may not be cooked well inside but will become brown soon. so add karupatti little by little. We cannot say the exact measurement for karupatti as some may be less sweet some may be very sweet but less color. the excess karupatti pagu can be stored in fridge for later use, like for aadi kummayam or for karupatti kaapi. People make this in vanaspathi or ghee also but health conscious people should stick to just oil. 

Cheepu cheedai

Cheepu cheedia is again a typical chettinad snacks made of raw rice urudh dhal green gram and roasted bengal gram with coconut milk. When done in coconut oil its taste is doubled. usually made at house hold for snacks and stored.

Ingredients
For the flour

• Raw Rice (Pacharisi) - 8 glass
• Urudh Dhal (Ulundhu) - 1 1/2 glass
• Moong Dhal (Paasi Paruppu) - 1 glass
• Roasted Bengal Gram Dhal (Pottu kadalai) - 1 glass.

To make cheepu cheedai

• Flour - 5 cups
• Coconut - 1 (medium sized)
• Salt
• Water
• Oil

Method
To make the flour

Dry roast urudh dhal. keeping it asaide now dry roast green gram dhal (paasi paruppu). Do not roast till brown just till it is heated slightly. this way of dry roasting to a lesser degree is called "Vethuputhal".
Pick and clean the rice wash and sun dry it. (If the rice is of good quality need not wash and dry).
Now grind the rice urudh dhal green gram dhal and the roasted bengal gram dhal (Pottukadalai) in a flour mill.
Sieve the flour and store in an air tight container for later use.

To make the cheedai.

Grate a coconut. and take milk out of it. Probably 1st and 2nd and keep it together. Heat this coconut milk, turn off the stove when a foamy layer begins to form. see to that you do not boil it as it will curdle the milk and the cheedais will go hard.

take 5 cups of the flour in a basin. dissolve salt in little water. pour this coconut milk and salt water and make a nice dough as that for chapathi (little loose than for chapathi).

Use the cheepu cheedai's mold and pull long strips on a paper. cut it into short strips with a knife. dip the knife in oil so that the dough do not stick to the knife. let each piece be 2 to 2 1/2 inch long.

 Twist it around the finger and press the edges slightly.



Heat the oil in a kadai.When it is hot enough drop the cheepu cheedias carefully and fry well drain and take it.