Happy Krishna Jayanthi to all of you. Krishna Jayanthi (Gokulashtami) is a celebration of the birth of Lord Krishna. It falls in the Aug-Sept month. A lot of snacks that Krishna likes are prepared to celebrate. Young kids dress up as Krishna and Radha and perform dances. In the evening, Prasadam (all food prepared) is offered to God and little steps are drawn from outside to the prasadam to represent the foot prints of little Krishna (symbolic of Krishna coming and eating the snacks).
Uppu Seedai is a very popular snack made in Tamil Nadu for Krishna. Making it is quite easy. The dough balls are made as in the recipe below and deep fried. But it has a small problem. It is quite notorious for bursting while frying in the oil. I had an accident (minor one) last year and so I am very scared of making seedai now. Luckily I saw a message from a friend of mine (latha), who said she made Baked Seedai. So I decided to give it a go. It was really good actually.
Ingredients
Rice Flour 1 cup
Roasted Urad Dal Flour 1 tbsp (see below)
Asafotida 1/2 tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp (or to taste)
Pepper Powder 1/4 tsp
Butter 1 tbsp (Just use oil for a vegan version, butter adds to the authentic taste)
Oil 2 tbsp
More Oil to brush
Method of Preparation
1. Dry Roast the rice flour in a low flame till the colour changes slightly and a nice aroma comes.
2. Dry roast the pealed whole urad dal. Let it cool and powder into a fine flour.
3. In a bowl, mix the rice flour, urad dal flour, asafotida, salt and pepper.
4. Add butter (at room temperature) and oil. Crumble with your hands.
5. Add little water at a time and make a stiff dough. I needed less than 1/2 cup of water. The idea is to make a dough that can be rolled into balls.
6. Preheat the oven to 200C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
7. Make small balls (size of a marble). Arrange on the sheet. Brush a little oil on the balls.
8. Bake on the preheated oven for 20-30 min. I baked mine for 30 min. Check half way thru and give the tray a shake to get uniform baking.
You are looking for a Golden Brown colour for the Seedai.
Uppu Seedai is a very popular snack made in Tamil Nadu for Krishna. Making it is quite easy. The dough balls are made as in the recipe below and deep fried. But it has a small problem. It is quite notorious for bursting while frying in the oil. I had an accident (minor one) last year and so I am very scared of making seedai now. Luckily I saw a message from a friend of mine (latha), who said she made Baked Seedai. So I decided to give it a go. It was really good actually.
Ingredients
Rice Flour 1 cup
Roasted Urad Dal Flour 1 tbsp (see below)
Asafotida 1/2 tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp (or to taste)
Pepper Powder 1/4 tsp
Butter 1 tbsp (Just use oil for a vegan version, butter adds to the authentic taste)
Oil 2 tbsp
More Oil to brush
Method of Preparation
1. Dry Roast the rice flour in a low flame till the colour changes slightly and a nice aroma comes.
2. Dry roast the pealed whole urad dal. Let it cool and powder into a fine flour.
3. In a bowl, mix the rice flour, urad dal flour, asafotida, salt and pepper.
4. Add butter (at room temperature) and oil. Crumble with your hands.
5. Add little water at a time and make a stiff dough. I needed less than 1/2 cup of water. The idea is to make a dough that can be rolled into balls.
6. Preheat the oven to 200C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
7. Make small balls (size of a marble). Arrange on the sheet. Brush a little oil on the balls.
8. Bake on the preheated oven for 20-30 min. I baked mine for 30 min. Check half way thru and give the tray a shake to get uniform baking.
You are looking for a Golden Brown colour for the Seedai.
Wow, thats very interesting baked seedais, will make some soon.
ReplyDeleteMy mother-in-law is going to be astounded by this version of cheedai.(I'll plan to asathify her when she comes over next time). She has had a bad cheedai experience( you know how it goes while frying) and has never attempted seedai since. Her Krishna Jayanthi savouries include oma podi and uniappam.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the healthy version,I'll be sure to try it over a weekend much as I would've liked to do it today.
hmmm.. go ahead and make it Dhan. It was quite good.. even I had a very bad experience. so will never fry it.. Liked the salt ones better than the sweet ones. It will not be as soft and melty as the proper ones. I am going to try it with more butter (less oil) next time to see if there is any difference.
DeleteInteresting and healthy recipe, cheedai looks good.
ReplyDeletenice and healthy. great clicks dear.
ReplyDelete