Vella Cheedai

Among the cheedais, the uppu cheedai is the notorious one, known for bursting. But vella cheedais are no less. They don't usually burst, but many a times, the vella cheedais just disintegrate as soon as they are added to the hot oil. The reasons for this is mainly the jaggery. The amount of jaggery used should be just right and also no paagu or jaggery syrup consistency is required. The jaggery should dissolve completely and just start boiling. The amount of water is also of importance. Too much water also may lead to disintegration of cheedais.

The method I have given here is how my mother and MIL make and it never fails. My Mother in Law has been making cheedais this ways many years now and each and everytime they turn out perfect. So don't shy away from this delicious snack. 

What you’ll need

1. Rice Flour – 1 cup (Refer Uppu Cheedai) 
2. Urad Dal Flour – ½ tbsp (Refer Uppu Cheedai)
3. Jaggery - 3/4 cup
4. Butter – ½ tbsp
5. Coconut – 2 tbsp
6. Sesame Seeds – ½ tbsp
7. Green Cardamom – 2 to 3
8. Oil to deep fry

Method

1. Dry Roast the rice flour on medium flame stirring continuously for 3 to 4 minutes, without changing its color.
2. Sieve the rice flour and keep aside.
3. Now sieve the urad dal flour as well.
4. Add the powdered jaggery in a Kadai and dissolve it in 1/2 cup of water.
5. Let the jaggery syrup start boiling. Remove from heat. No need to make any paagu.
6. In a wide bowl, add the rice flour, urad dal flour, coconut pieces, sesame seeds, crushed cardamom and butter. Mix well.
7. Now add the jaggery syrup and knead into a smooth dough. Add extra water only if required. The dough should be tight but at the same time you should be able to roll out balls from it.
8. Now pinch out balls, a little bigger than for uppu cheedai, don’t make it too big, else the inside won’t cook properly. The balls need not be very smooth.
9. Rest the prepared balls on a newspaper for minimum 15 minutes.
10. Heat oil to deep fry, once the oil is hot, turn the heat to low and add 4 to 5 cheedais in a batch.
11. Fry on medium flame until dark brown. Drain on tissues. Cool and transfer to airtight container.

Note:

1. The vella cheedais will be slightly cracked. They are indication of a perfectly done cheedai.
2. Sieving both flours after roasting is very important.
3. Don’t add more jaggery than mentioned, the cheedais may disintegrate.
4. Don’t add too much water while dissolving the jaggery. Also, while making dough, add extra water only if required.
5. You can cut coconut into small pieces and add, but I just added grated coconut.