This is a tasty and visually very pleasing snack. It can be made with very few easily available ingredients. What is more, it is steamed and so uses very little oil. It is chiefly made in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, but should also have variations in other states and regions. Do share your recipes!
I have called it Mini Rice-Flour Balls. But it is known as Ammini/Mani kozhukkattai in Tamil and Unde/undi in Kannada.
Ingredients:
- Rice flour 1 cup
- Water 1 1/4 cup
- Oil 1 tsp
- Salt 1/4 tsp
Method: (Rice Balls)
- Boil the water in a heavy-bottomed pan or kadhai.
- Add the salt and oil to the boiling water and mix well.
- Now reduce the heat and slowly add the rice flour, mixing as you add.
- When all the water is absorbed, give it a good mix and cover the pan.
- Swtich off the flame and let it cool down for 5-10 minutes.
- When it is still slightly hot, mix it with a spoon and then knead it well into a smooth and soft dough.
- Apply some oil to the palms, take small quantities of the dough and roll into marble-sized balls.
- Apply oil to a colander or idli plates and steam the rice balls for 10 minutes.
- Remove and cool a little. If you take them out when hot, they will lose shape.
- Add one of the tadkas given below or you can make your own tadka too.
- Serve hot with chutney or as it is. It is very tasty and filling.
For the tadka:
- Green chilli tadka:
- Mustard ½ tsp
- Urad dal 1 tsp
- Chana Dal 1 tsp
- Turmeric Powder 1/2 tsp
- Hing ½ tsp
- Green chillies 2-3 (cut into small bits)
- Grated ginger 1 tsp
- Curry leaves 10-12
- Oil 2 tsp
- Fresh grated coconut For garnishing
- Salt as required
To prepare spicy rice balls:
- Heat the oil in a kadhai, add the mustard and when it sputters, add the dals.
- Let the dals turn golden brown add the green chillies, ginger and curry leaves.
- Sauté for 10 seconds and then add the hing and turmeric powder. Mix well
- Add the cooled rice balls to it and mix well taking care not to break them. They are quite firm and bouncy, but do be careful. Adjust the salt to taste.
- When the balls are coated well with the tadka, switch off the flame.
- Garnish with grated coconut and serve with chutney of your choice or as it is.
- Milagai podi (Gun Powder) tadka:
- Mustard ½ tsp
- Urad dal 1 tsp
- Chana Dal 1 tsp
- Hing ½ tsp
- Curry leaves 10-12
- Milagai Podi (Gun powder) 2 tsp
- Fresh Coconut (grated) 2 tbsp
- Oil 2 tsp
- Salt as needed
- To serve:
- Prepare the tadka in a kadhai. Add the cooled rice balls to it and mix well
To prepare Gun Powder rice balls:
- Heat the oil in a kadhai, add the mustard and when it sputters, add the dals.
- Let the dals turn golden brown add the curry leaves and hing.
- Add the milagai podi to the tadka and mix well.
- Reduce the flame and drop the rice balls into the tadka and mix gently for a minute till the masala coats them well. You can drizzle some ghee at this point (optional).
- Switch off the flame and serve, garnished with coconut.
Easy Rice Balls:
- In the kadhai, add 2 tsp oil and make the green chilli tadka (Follow the steps 1,2 and 3).
- Now follow the steps 1-9 in the method for making rice balls.
- Adjust the salt.
- Make slightly bigger balls and steam for 10 minutes.
- Garnish with coconut and serve.
- In this method, you don’t have to worry about the balls breaking while mixing!
