Ingredients:

• 2 cups – Rice Powder
• 1/2 cup – Channa dal/Bengal Gram
• 1/2 cup Sesame Seeds
• 1 tsp – Pepper Powder
• 1 tsp – Cumin Powder
• 1/2 cup – Grated Coconut
• 1/2 cup – Soaked Channa Dal/Bengal Gram
• 1 tsp each – Ghee and Coconut Oil
• For Uppu Cheedai (Salt Cheedai)
• 2 tsp – Salt
• For Vellam Cheedai (Sweet Cheedai)
• 1/2 cup Jaggery
• 1/4 tsp – Cardamom Powder

Method:

1. Roast Chana Dal in slow heat till it turns reddish, cool it, powder it coarsely in mixer and keep it aside.
2. Mix rice powder and little water and knead it with spatula on slow fire till it becomes thick and leaves the sides of the pan (good enough to make laddoos).
3. Cool it for a while.
4. Alternatively, rice can be soaked for 3-4 hours, dried and powdered in a mixer.
5. Now add Chana Dal Powder, Sesame Seeds, Cumin & Pepper Powder and Grated Coconut to the Rice Paste.
6. Add Chana Dal soaked for 1/2 hour to the mix.
7. Addition of Ghee and Coconut not only enhances the taste but also makes the Cheedai’s crispy.
8. Now the basic dough is ready. For Uppu Cheedai (Salt Cheedai) Add the required quantity of salt. Make very small balls or laddoos (i.e. cheedais) with the dough.
9. Be sure to grease your palms with Ghee-Coconut Oil. The dough is sticky.
10. Deep fry the uppu cheedai’s in cooking oil. Cool it and serve. For Vellam Cheedai (Vellam Cheedai)
11. Make a ‘good chashni’ by adding jaggery to 2 cups of water in pot, and keep stirring in medium heat till it completely dissolves.
12. Add Cardamom powder to it. Now add it to the cheedai dough prepared. Mix well. Cool it.
13. Then make cheedai balls as mentioned above after greasing your palms.
14. Deep fry the vellam cheedai’s in cooking oil.
15. Cool it and serve.
16. Good cheedais are well fried cheedais.
17. It should be well cooked on the inside.
18. Be sure not to burn them dark brown.

Recipe courtesy of Vidya