A LESS SPICY AND KIDS FRIENDLY SNACK

  THENKUZHAL 

 Another popular snack item from a “ Tamilian “ kitchen is “ Thenkuzhal”

In one of my earlier snack recipes I had mentioned about the “ Rice flour “ as the main ingredient for the preparation of snacks .

I had also mentioned that , Rice powder serves in two ways .

It takes less oil in comparison with snacks prepared with , Gram Flour and Maida , 

And for the same reason makes digestion easy .

Another speciality of “ Thenkuzhal” is , it is very mildly spicy ,

Also ,it had “ Roasted Urad Dal Powder “ , 

Thus it is “ Kids friendly “ too !

INGREDIENTS

 1 cup of dry roasted Urad dal powder ,very fine in texture.

4-5 cups of Rice powder .

Hing -If solid ,then dissolve a big piece of a Kabuli chana size otherwise 1 teaspoon powder Hing 

2 Tablespoon of Pepper-Jeera powder 

2 -2 ½ tablespoon ButterCooking oil 

Salt as per taste .

 Oil for deep frying 

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THE MOULD , 

METHOD

Dry roast the Urad Dal , till it turns golden .

Once cooled down , make a very fine powder ,using the mixer  grinder .

Sieve this and , if there are coarse particles , repeat it again , til you get all powdered completely .

Here I would like to warn you  . 

Make sure that there is not a single coarse particle , because , even one coarse particle is capable of bursting , when it gets into the hot oil .

So , please be extra careful about this .

Sieve the rice flour too and mix both of them .

Heat equal measures of Pepper and Jeera in a pan , for a minute and make a powder of this too.

The same warning for this too , as there should not be any coarse particles in it too .

Add the powder , as per the recipe .

Add the Butter and Cooking oil to it .

Add the Hing Water , else the Hing Powder .

Add the salt and mix everything together to bring it to the consistency of Bread Crumbs .

Add the water little by little and  prepare the dough .

To check the right consistency of the dough ,you need to make a small ball of it and roll it over your palm .

While doing this , if you notice that the ball keeps breaking

This means , it can take a little more water .

Always sprinkle the water , rather than pouring it .

Once again make a small ball and roll it over your palm.

If the ball is intact and also releases oil , it means it is perfect .

Heat the oil in a  frying pan 

To test the heat , put a tiny piece into the oil . If it starts making a sound , it means the oil is ready . 

Reduce the heat .

Take a handful of dough and make an oblong ball. 

Insert it into the bottom part of the mould .

Insert the top part of the mould over it and press it over the oil .

Bring the heat to medium .

Keep turning both the sides repeatedly , till the THENKUZHAL  turns GOLDEN.

Use a COLANDER with a plate under , if you don;t have a proper utensil meant to be for this purpose .

The excess oil from  THENKUZHAL would be collected down and time to town , you may mix it with the hot oil .

Prepare all the THENKUZHAL .

Place a Kitchen towel inside the container , which you would be using to store the THENKUZHAL .Once shifted to the container, close it partially , to allow the hot air to go .

Once it comes to room temperature , keep it air tight , in order to avoid it becoming soggy 

Enjoy your “ THENKUZHAL “ with Coffee , Tea or any of your fav hot beverages .