Uppu Seedai (or) Cheedai

Uppu Seedai is a delicious crispy snack made special for Gokulashtami. 

When i first came across this recipe , i was in a dilemma to prepare this or not, but when i saw detailed step by step description from a blog, i thought i will give it a try and its a hit :)

A new risky recipe learnt just for blogs sake and to share it with you all and am sure this is going to be my keeper. I have given few tips in my notes section to avoid bursting, hope this helps!

Preparation time : 20 mins + 30 mins

Serves : 3

Recipe source : Yummy tummy

Ingredients :

Raw Rice : 1.5 cups
Urad dhal : 2 tbsp
Coconut grated : 2 Tbsp (run the grated coconut in a blender once)
Butter(at room temperature) : 3 Tbsp
Sesame seeds : 1 Tbsp

Cumin Seeds : 1 tsp
Asafoetida / Hing : 1/4 tsp
Water : a little more than 1/2 cup
Salt : to taste
Oil : as required to deep fry fry


For making with readymade flours

Rice flour(fine variety) : 1 cup
Urad Dal Flour : 1 tbsp
Butter : 2 tbsp

Coconut grated : 2 Tbsp (run the grated coconut in a blender once)
Butter(at room temperature) : 3 Tbsp
Sesame seeds : 1 Tbsp

Cumin Seeds : 1 tsp
Asafoetida / Hing : 1/4 tsp
Water : a little more than 1/2 cup

Salt : as required
Oil : as required to fry

I personally tried the recipe with flours only.

Method :

First rinse raw rice twice, and soak it in water for 2 hrs. Then spread the raw rice in a soft towel to absorb the excess water, Leave it aside for 30mins.Then grind it to a fine powder.

Sieve the flour. Add the remaining coarse powder to grind in next batch and grind it again and then sieve it. The powder should be very fine.Roast the flour till you see steam coming out from the flour,Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile dry roast urad dal to golden brown.

Grind it to a fine powder and sieve it.Roast the flour till nice aroma rises and set aside to cool.

(If you are using the second set of ingredients(readymade ones) then sieve it well,roast it , and let them cool)

Now mix both the rice and urad dhal flour and sieve it once more .

Now your flour for making seedai is ready.

Take the coconut into a kadai and roast them for a min.

Sifting and roasting flours and coconut is very important. It takes the moisture from them.

 In a mixing bowl, add the flour mixture with butter(melt it), sesame seeds, cumin seeds,roasted coconut, hing and salt and rub well with your fingers.

You should use soft butter which is at room temparature for this.

Add water slowly and mix well to form a soft pliable dough.

Then roll small balls a round bigger than peas and arrange it in a clean cloth.

Do not attempt to make bigger balls, for proper cooking inside make small balls a slightly bigger than peas

Roll the balls very smooth but gently not tight so that no splits are shown outside.

Don't roll them tightly just pinch, roll them once and put it on the dry cloth or newspaper. 

(When rolling the seedai, roll gently into round balls. If you roll it tightly then when frying it will burst.)

Let it sit for 30mins.

Drying the seedai for 30 mins is important, this takes the moisture from seedai and prevent it from bursting.

Prick a single hole in each ball with a toothpick or pin if you want to more cautious.

Heat oil for deep frying. First to check for any bursting, drop few balls in oil and step away. Come back after 3 to 4 mins. it will be golden. If there is no bursting then continue.

Add the seedai balls in batches.

Keep the flame in medium and fry till golden, stirring in between then drain it in a kitchen towel or tissue paper. 

If your flame is high then your seedais will not cook evenly and will have brown shades here and there, the browning and cooking will not be even.

Don't be tempted to take it in lighter shade then the inside would not have been cooked - my first batch was like that so I made sure to fry the rest till golden and they were crispy and perfect.

If you get small bubbles and if your seedai is looking dry on the outside then butter is not enough, so measure and follow the quantity as mentioned above.

Why Does Seedai Burst? TIPS TO AVOID THEM :

If the rice and urad dhal flour are not grinded and sieved well they will end up having small grains inbetween which will cause the seedai to burst. So make sure both the flours are sieved well and are very fine.

Pricking holes on all seedai will help to release the air trapped inside the seedai when you are making balls, this will avoid the seedai from bursting.

Do not roll the balls tight, do them as smooth and gentle as possible. If you roll it tight then air bubbles might get trapped inside making them to burst. Also dont expect to get perfect rounds just pinch roll 

Drying the seedai for 30 mins, will dry it out and remove any moisture from it . This will prevent them from bursting.

Roasting Coconut helps to remove the moisture from it and will prevent it from bursting.