Milagu Thattai | Pepper thattai

At last, successfully I tried posting two sweet recipes for this Diwali. This was so long in my mind. This is milagu thattai different from elladai or normal thattai which we add sesame seeds. In this milagu/pepper is added for a different flavor. My MIL do this way, my mom does the other way. Will try to post the elladai soon.....

Ingredients:

• Idli rice - 1 cup
• Roasted gram dal(pottukadalai) - 1/4 cup
• Red chilly - 2
• Bengal gram - 1 tbsp
• Pepper and cumin seeds - 1/2  tbsp
• Crushed peanuts - 1 tbsp
• Asafoetida - 1 tsp
• Hot oil - 1 tbsp
• Butter - 1 tbsp
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - to deep fry

Method:

Soak rice with red chilly for 2 hours. Drain the rice without water and add it in the blender. Grind with salt to a thick paste by adding water little by little.

Powder the roasted gram dal in a mixer. Soak the bengal gram for 1 hour and drain the water. 

In a blender, add roasted peanuts, cumin seeds and pepper and grind coarsely(not powder). Transfer the rice paste in a wide bowl. Combine roasted gram flour, crushed pepper and cumin seeds, crushed peanuts, soaked bengal gram, asafoetida, salt, hot oil and melted butter.  

Add water little by little to make a smooth non sticky dough. Keep covered. Make equal sized balls and keep it covered. Take a zip loc cover, grease it with few drops of oil. Keep one ball at a time and flatten with your fingers as thin as possible. 

Poke it here and there using a fork to make sure that it doesn't rise up. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan until hot. Carefully take off  the thattai from zip lock cover by inverting it on one hand and drop in hot oil. Cook in medium flame. Flip and cook for more time until the bubbles completely ceases. Drain in paper towels. Do one by one if you add more oil two or three can be added at a time and finish all the dough. 

Cool down and store in an airtight container.

Note:

• Instead of soaking and grinding the rice, rice flour can be used.
• Adding curry leaves enhances the taste. I forgot it.
• Drain the water from the soaked bengal gram and then add to the mix.
• Butter can be replaced with hot oil too.