Thattai is an authentic & traditional South Indian crispy dry snack made using rice flour. It can be made on festive occasions like Diwali & Thanksgiving.
What Is Thattai
Thattai is made using rice flour and it gets its unique name due to the action used in shaping it. The dough balls are placed on a plastic sheet and flattened using your fingers. This action is what gives this recipe its name. It's a fried dry snack that's crispy and crunchy.
Dry snacks make a great gift during the holidays! So if you are thinking of picking up some goodies for your friends and family during this festive season, you must give this recipe a try. Although it's a traditional South Indian crispy dry snack called Thattai which is made during Indian festival days like Diwali, Raksha Bandhan, Gokulashtami, Tamil New Year, etc, who says we cannot make it during any other festive celebration like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! These snacks stay good for a long time if stored well, hence it's ideal for gifting purposes. After all don't we all love handmade delicious treats!
I remember my grandma making this crispy snack not just on festive days but whenever we were craving it. She made the best Thattai in the world. I can still remember the taste of it. Back then she would not let us help her at all, she would do it all herself. Miss those golden days! Sigh!
Here is the detailed recipe. Dry roast roasted chana dal
and urad dal
in a pan
till then turn light golden. Be careful to not burn it. Let it cool. Once it cools down, grind it to a fine powder. Sieve
rice flour
and add it to a mixing bowl
. Then add the ground powder, salt, chilly powder
, asafoetida
, dried cilantro
, white sesame seeds
and roasted chana dal
. Knead into a dough using water, either with your hand or in a food processor
. Add ghee
while kneading.
Cover the dough with a damp cloth so that the dough doesn't dry up. Heat oil
for frying. Divide the dough into medium size balls. Take a zip lock bag
, smear some ghee on the upside and place a ball on top of it. Using your fingers, flatten it like shown in the picture. Carefully remove it from the plastic and fry them till they turn golden brown.
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Strain them in paper towels to soak up the excess oil. Once it's cool, store it in airtight containers and devour them as and when you like. Let me warn you in advance, Thattai is super addictive. It's crunchy, crispy with a hint of spice, and extremely delicious.
Our annual Diwali party was a success. We all got together in festive wear, burst some firecrackers in our backyard, clicked happy pictures, and ate lots of food. The menu was Sultani Dal, Potato Curry, Kerala Egg Puffs, Chana Chaat, Cabbage Raita, Oreo Bark, and Boondi Rabri Parfait. I had also made Diwali hampers for all my guests as return favors. Had packed Thattai, Chocolate Rava Laddu, Cashew & Condensed Milk Cookies, and Parmesan Biscotti in them. Most of these recipes I will be sharing on the blog soon. Keep checking this space.
If you want to check out all the savory snack recipes that can be made for Diwali, check out this post.
Like Thattai which is a fried Indian savory snack, I have tried my hand at a couple of other such dry snacks last year for Diwali - Cilantro Mathri, Banana Chips, 5-Minute Savory Rice Krispie Chivda | Trail Mix, and Kara Boondi Mixture | Namkeen Boondi & Dry Snack.
Top recipe tips 💭
You can add shredded coconut pieces to the Thattai dough. However, it will reduce its shelf life. Consume it immediately. Do not add too much water when kneading. You will not be able to make Thattai. The dough should be thick. White sesame seeds can also be added along with daliya. Do not fry the Thattai for too long. Take them out when they just start to brown. They will darken further as they cool.
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Recipe 📖
Thattai
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon urad dal
- 1 cup rice flour
- 2 tablespoon roasted chana dal
- 1 teaspoon Salt or add as per your taste
- 1 teaspoon chilly powder
- ½ teaspoon asafoetida
- 8-10 fresh curry leaves
- ¾ cup water
- oil for frying
Instructions
To Make The Thattai Dough
- Dry roast urad dal in a pan till then turn light golden. Keep flame low and roast for 1-2 minutes. Be careful to not burn it. Let it cool.
- Transfer to a plate.
- Once it cools down, transfer to a blender.
- Grind it to a fine powder.
- Dry roast rice flour for a minute on low flame.
- Sieve the urad dal powder and add it to a mixing bowl.
- Similarly, sieve the roasted rice flour and add to the same mixing bowl.
- Then add salt, red chilly powder, and GF asafoetida.
- Tear and add fresh curry leaves, and roasted chana dal.
- Heat oil for frying and once it's warm, take a tablespoon of oil and pour over the Thattai mix.
- Mix and add 2-3 tablespoons of water.
- Knead into a dough either with your hand or in a food processor. Gradually sprinkle water as you knead. I added half cup and 2 tablespoons of water in total.
To Make Thattai
- Divide the dough into medium size balls. Cover the dough with a damp cloth so that the dough doesn't dry up.
- Cut open a zip lock bag, smear some oil on one side and place a lemon-sized ball on top of it. Slightly flatten it. I used a tablespoon to measure the exact size of the balls.
- Close with the other side. Using your fingers, flatten it like shown in the picture.
- Randomly prick holes using a fork.
- Make as many as you need to fry in a single batch and place them on parchment paper.
- Carefully remove and fry them till they turn golden brown. Keep flipping them as it fries.
- Strain them in paper towels to soak up the excess oil.
- Once it's cool, store it in airtight containers and devour them as and when you like.
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