Diwali Recipe- Chettinad Style Seepu Seedai

Seepu Seedai is a Chettinad style special type of murukku made by pressing stripes with comb on the murukku dough & deep fried. Seepu Seedai is also called as Seepu Murukku and commonly relished as a snack for teatime and made during Diwali at homes.

Ingredients

1 cup raw rice
1/4 cup whole urad dal
1/8 cup fried gram dal
1/2 cup thick coconut milk
2 tsp butter
salt to taste
oil to deep fry
hot water as required

Method

- First rinse the raw rice twice, and soak it in water for 1 hour.

- Drain water completely and then spread the raw rice in a soft towel and allow it to dry say for 30-45mins. It will be slightly moist only. Then transfer this to a mixer.

- Then spread the raw rice in a soft towel and allow it to dry say for 30-45mins. It will be slightly moist only and few rice will stick to your hands when you touch and see, this is the perfect stage. Then transfer this to a mixer.

- Grind to a fine powder. Transfer to sieve.

- Sieve it well.

- Take coconut in a mixer, add little water and grind it.

- Now extract coconut milk, use a strainer to do this. Then dry roast urad dal till golden brown.

- Cool down and transfer urad dal to a mixer and grind it a fine powder, set aside. Take fried gram dal in a mixer.

- Grind it to a fine powder and Sieve both the flours together. Discard the rava mixture and collect the sieved flour alone.

- Heat coconut milk for a minute till it gets hot, don't boil just heat it up.

- Take rice flour, urad dal flour and fried gram dal flour in a mixing bowl, add salt and butter mix well with your hands.

- Then add hot coconut milk little by little. Add hot water if coconut milk isnt enough.

- Form a smooth nonsticky dough without any cracks. Take your seepu seedai press...Now fill the murukku press with little dough.

- Now start pressing them into long tapes then cut them into small strips (around 10 cm) on a big board or your kitchen counter. I used my wooden board.

- Join the ends of the strips around your forefinger to make cylinders. Gently remove it and place it. Repeat the same till the entire dough gets over.

- Heat oil, to check if the oil is hot just add a pinch of the dough....if it raises immediately then oil is ready...

- Now carefully add the prepared seepu seedai's may be 6-7 at a time and fry till golden brown. Drain in tissue paper. Seepu Seedai ready!

Alternate Method if you do not have press :

- This is an alternate method if you dont have the seepu seedai press....but this method using comb is sure time consuming.

- First grease the board with oil...take a small portion of dough and roll it to 2mm thikness...then use a new unused comb and press it slightly so that the impression is on the thumb.

- Cut into strips and roll it as mentioned before. Cool down and store Seepu Seedai in an airtight container.