Vellai Paniyaram is a traditional Chettinad recipe prepared using just 2 ingredients, rice and urad dal seasoned with some salt. It is a very easy to make, tasty, deep fried appetizer. This savoury dish is a MUST HAVE on the menu during any festival, function or weddings in the Chettinad region.

PREP TIME: 1.5 hours

COOKING TIME: 20 Mins

Ingredients

Raw Rice – 1 cup

Urad Dal – 1/4 cup

Salt – as per taste

Oil – to deep fry

Procedure

STEP 1: Wash and soak the rice and urad dal for 1.5 hours and grind it to a fine batter adding salt and water. The consistency of the batter should be like a dosa batter. (Do not add too much water while grinding as you can adjust the quantity of water later on, but if the batter becomes watery it will be hard to get the paniyaram in the desired shape).

STEP 2: Heat oil in a deep pan.

STEP 3: Take the batter in a ladle and pour in the hot oil. Once the paniyaram gets cooked on one side flip it over to the other side.

STEP 4: Cook on low flame till the bubbles subside and the paniyaram is cooked on all the sides.

STEP 5: Remove from oil and place in a plate lined with paper towel.

TIP: Vellai paniyaram tastes good with tomato chutney or any spicy-tangy chutney. If the batter is thick, sometimes the centre of the paniyaram might not get cooked completely. Add water, one teaspoon at a time, mix well and try making the paniyaram. If you have achieved the desired consistency and paniyaram is well cooked stop adding water.