Typical Brahmana veetu snacks

Delicious home-made snacks , i remember amma preparing each one of these and store them  when we are away at school.

Though some of them are a long process to make it,  its worth to  try .   

Omappodi
Ingredients

omapodi

1.  3 cups besan 
2.  1 tbsp rice flour 
3.  1 tsp ajwain (cleaned & soaked in water dor a few minutes) 
4.  A lemon-sized ball of butter (unsalted) 
5.  Oil for frying 
6.  Salt to taste

Method
Grind ajwain to a very fine paste. Mix along with besan, rice flour, butter, salt and enough water to form a soft dough. Heat oil in a pan. Take a small quantity of the dough and press through an Omappodi (sev) mould directly into the oil. Cook on a moderate flame till done. Cool and store in air-tight tins.

Pokkovadaam 

pakkovadam

Ingredients
 *4 cups besan
 *2 cups rice flour
 *3/4 red chilli powder
* 1 tsp asafoetida powder
*A large lemom-sized ball of butter
* Oil for frying
* Salt to taste
Method
Mix together rice flour, besan, red chilli powder, asafoetida powder, butter and salt with enough water to form a soft dough. Heat oil in a pan. Take a small quantity of dough and press through a Pokkadaam mould directly into the oil. Cook on a moderate flame till done. Cool and store in air-tight containers.

uzhunnu vada

Uzhunnu vada

Ingredients

1. 3 cups black gram dal (cleaned & soaked for 1 hour) 
2.  12 green chillies (cleaned) 
3.  4 sprigs curry leaves (cleaned) 
4.  1/2 tsp asafoetida powder 
5.  Oil for frying 
6.  20 raisins 
7.  Salt to taste

Method
Drain black gram dal and grind it along with green chillies, curry leaves, asafoetida powder and salt to a fine paste adding very little water. Heat oil in a pan. Take a small ball of dough and with wet palms, pat into 6 cm discs on a small sheet. Press a hole with your thumb in the centre and drop it into the oil. Make a few Vadais at a time. Fry till golden and drain. Serve hot with Chutney and Sambaar.

Bajji 

Bhajji

     Ingredients * 1/2 kg besan
* 1 tbsp rice flour
* 1 tbsp red chilli powder
* 1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
* 4 potatoes (peeled & sliced)
* 4 raw bananas (peeled & sliced)
* Oil for frying
* Salt to taste
Method
Make a batter with besan, rice flour, red chilli powder, asafoetida powder, salt and water. Heat oil. Dip banana and potato slices in the batter and fry a few bajjis at a time till golden brown. Drain and serve hot with chutney or sauce.

Mixture 

Ingredients 
 5 cups besan
 1/2 cup pottu kadalai
 3/4 cup peanuts
 20 cashewnuts (broken)
 4 sprigs curry leaves (cleaned & chopped fine)
 1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
 1 tsp asafoetida powder
 Oil for frying
Salt to taste
Method
To 2 cups besan, add a little salt and enough water to form a batter of dropping consistency. Put the batter through a sieve in drops, into the hot oil. Deep fry till pink, drain and set aside. Similarly, use all the batter. To 1 1/2 cups besan, add a little salt and enough water to form a soft dough. Take a small portion of fough and press through a sev mould directly into hot oil. Deep fry till done, drain and set aside. Similarly, use all the batter. To 1 1/2 cups besan add a little salt and water to form a soft dough. Take a small portion of dough and press through a Thenguzhal (thick sev) mould directly into hot oil. Deep fry till done, drain and set aside. Similarly use all the batter. In a little oil, deep fry daliya, groundnuts, cashewnuts and curry leaves (separately). Mix together boondhi, sev, thick sev, groundnuts, daliya, cashewnuts and half of the fried curry leaves. Fry asafoetida powder in half teaspoon oil. Remove and add table salt, red chilli powder and curry leaves and stir well. Add it to Mixture and stir well. Cool and store in air-tight tins.

Thenkhuzhal 

Thenkuzhal

Ingredients Besan or gram flour - 3 cups
 Rice flour - 1 cup
 Salt - as required
 Till or sesame seeds - 2 tbsps
 Chilli powder - 3 tsps
 Hing or asafoetida - ½ tsp
 Fresh melted butter - 1 cup
 Baking soda - 1 pinch
 Cooking oil - for deep frying
PreparationIn a bowl, mix the besan, rice flour and soda together evenly.
 Sieve them together and they will mix thoroughly.
 Now add salt, hing, chilli powder, sesame seeds and melted butter and mix.
 Add about 2 cups of water and knead with your hand slowly.
 If needed you can add more water and mix till it forms a thick, harddough.
 Now heat the oil in a kadai.
 Fix the design in the mould, which has got a thorny pattern.
 Make handful of balls out of the dough and fill it up in the mould.
 Place the mould on top of the heated oil and squeeze it slowly in the shape of a
   circle of about 5 cm diameter.
Without taking your hands off, repeat making the circles inside the previous circles.
 Now it will look like a maze.
 At a time you can squeeze about 3-4 savouries at a time.
 In medium heat fry them by turning them back and forth till they are crisp and
   golden colour and drain.
 Murrukku

Murrukku

Ingredients: 

3 cups Rice flour
1 1/2 urad dal flour
1/2 tsp Asafoetida
1 tbsp jeera seeds
2 tbsp Butter
3 tsp Chilli powder
Salt to taste
Oil
Method:
1. Combine rice flour and urad dal flour with asafoetida, chilli powder, jeera,butter and salt.   
2. Pour water and knead to make soft dough. 
3. Heat oil in a kadhai and press bits of dough through a mould. 
4. Fry the murrukku(chakkli) in the oil till crispy and brown.