Instant Pepper Thattai

Thattai is a wonderful evening snack that complements hot coffee/tea. This usually is one of the Neivedhyam (offerings) items prepared for Lord Krishna during Gokulashtami.

Usually, I use raw rice and grind fresh rice flour to make thattai. But, this instant thattai recipe uses store-bought rice flour. So, if you have the rice flour handy, it takes just few minutes to get the dough ready and thattai is made almost in no time. Also, this time I used freshly ground pepper instead of the usual red chilli powder and the flavor was spot-on.

Both my kids absolutely loved this snacks, including my li 'l one whose little bunny teeth just recently showed up :) No wonder why "little Krishna" loved these thin, fried, crispy savory diskettes made from rice flour.

Ingredients

Rice flour - 2 cups (store-bought rice flour)

Urad dal flour - 3 tbsp (home-made)

Channa dal - 2 tbsp (soaked in water for atleast 30-45 mins)

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Pepper corns - 1/2 tsp

Hing - 2 pinches

Butter - 1 tbsp (at room temperature)

Salt - to taste

Oil - for frying
Clean plastic bags (small) - 2 (I used sandwich bags)
Flat bottomed vessel - 1

Method
Dry roast rice flour in a dry pan on medium heat until the color changes to golden brown and a nice aroma comes out of it.

Dry roast 2 tbsp of whole urad dal until golden brown and let it cool. Grind it into fine powder along with cumin seeds & pepper corns using a mixer.

In a large mixing bowl, mix rice flour, urad dal + cumin seeds + pepper corns flour, soaked channa dal, hing, butter, salt. First mix all the dry ingredients by hand and then, sprinkle water little by little and knead it into a tight but soft dough.

Make equal sized balls out of the dough and keep them aside.

Now, lay flat one of the plastic bag on your kitchen countertop and place a dough ball on it. Place the other plastic bag on top of the dough ball and press the ball using the flat bottomed vessel.

Apply even pressure (do not press too hard or too soft) so that the dough is flattened into thin diskettes.

Prepare about 5-6 disks (depending on how much your frying pan will hold) and keep them ready.

In the meanwhile, heat oil in a deep frying pan on low-medium heat and as soon as the oil is heated to the right temperature (check by dropping a small piece of dough and the dough should come up to the surface immediately). Now, carefully drop all the pressed diskettes and fry them until golden brown. Turn sides in between to ensure even frying on both the sides. Transfer them to paper towel for excess oil to be absorbed.

Enjoy this crispy & satisfying evening snacks alongside a cup of coffee / tea.