August 29, 2007

SEEDAI FOR LITTLE KRISHNA!! :)


Seedai, a savory snack is my contribution to Latha N, my favorite girl from the really yummy "The YUM blog"! She is requesting Janmashtami festival food items from us for the occasion of Krishna Janmashtami that is Lord Krishna's birthday! Thanks for hosting Latha!:))



As the story goes:
Krishna Janmashtami is the celebration of the birth of Lord Shri Krishna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, believed to have been born about five thousand years ago in Mathura in 'Dwapar Yuga'. This celebration is said to be revealed originally by the Sri Krishna himself to Yudhishthira, the eldest of Pandavas, as mentioned in the Bhavishyottara Purana. He was born to Vasudeva and Devaki, who were imprisoned by Devaki's evil brother Kansa and was brought up by Nanda and Yashoda. The birth of Lod Krishna is believed to be symbolic of our imprisonment in worldly illusions, where He took birth with us and led us to salvation and peace, vanquishing all evils depicted by his uncle Kansa in the story.(This info is from here)
To know more about the story of birth of Krishna, click here.

Seedai:
I made a small amount of Seedai just for this event and for Latha, as I celebrate only Deepavali and Shivaratri by choice! Hahaha!

Seedai is made Rice flour and Urad dal flour with spices and deep fried which is made specially for little Krishna's birthday (as I read in Latha's post) for us to enjoy. Since I have made sweets last week, I thought of sending her a savory snack to munch on! :)
Note:
You can double the recipe if you want more. This is the trickiest recipe (tend to explode for some reason most of the time, no idea why!) of all the snacks I made at home so far, results may not be the same for you when you try these. Although it came out okay for me this time, I advice you to experiment with the very small amount of dough and see how it goes for you!

Here is how I made Seedai:
1. Warm 1 cup Rice flour in a pan,add to a bowl. Roast 2 tbsp Urad dal until slightly reddish,cool on paper towel and grind to a fine powder.
2. Take both flours in a wide bowl,add salt to taste,1/2 tbsp softened butter, chilli pd if you like(I didn't add it to keep them creamish in color), 1 tsp crushed Cumin seeds,1 tsp Sesame sesame seeds, mix.
3. Add water 1tbsp at a time to flour,mix to a firm dough.Cover and let it rest for 15-20 mins.
4. Take a small golf ball size lump,roll into a 1" thick long rope, cut it to 1" pieces again and roll them into large marble sized balls gently between your palm.Smear some oil on your palms if it sticks. Repeat with the rest of the dough.(Mine is not exactly round but hey,not bad for a first time try!)
5. Let the balls dry for 10 mins while you heat the oil to 350F for deep frying.

Frying the balls immediately after rolling them will result in mini explosions! DO NOT DO IT PEOPLE!


6. When the oil is ready,drop them carefully by the handful and fry to a slightly golden color.Drain on the paper towel. When cooled,store in a glass jar ie if there are any left!:D
Enjoy munching the crunchy Seedai!

Happy Birthday to you butter stealing (Benne Kalla!) little Krishna!:D
This image is a result of the Internet search.I forgot the site where I got it from.Thank you whoever you are who created this beautiful animation!:)

Happy Krishna Janmashtami to all of you. Enjoy!:))

62 comments:

Sharmi said...

lovely looking seedais. I have to make it only during Janmastami. it is so much fun to celebrate. your Gif is very cute.

Padma said...

I guess I am the first to comment on, now I need those seedai (only after offered to lil Krishna)

Nice recipe.. it really tempts me to try for next week for krishna ashtami...great entry Asha! I really admire you for the amt of your time mgmt, managing two blogs with family n kids is not a joke! Hats off to u!

Suganya said...

Happy Krishna Janmashtami to u.... Seedai is looking amazing.....

Seena said...

Happy Krishnashtami!
I think Benne Kalle means Venna kallan in malayalam..
Nice recipe, Asha..
I forgot to tell you that you had one more Schmooze Award in my blog..hope you have checked it..Good luck and come back soon..

Richa said...

had heard a lot about this seedai, finally get to see what it looks like :) btw, do not worry about commenting & all, anyway it is a long wknd & many will be out, i know i will!
have a good wknd!

marriedtoadesi.com said...

Love the cartoon! Seedai was my favorite growing up as a kid.

Kanchana

FH said...

Thank you Sharmi.Hubby is not religious at all, kids are not that into it, so I just make some sweets and snacks for any festival,that's it!:)

Thanks girl. I am up for for my Lasik tomorrow Padma, so yeah! I will get better vision so I can cook more! Hahaha!

FH said...

You too Sukanya, enjoy. I will be recovering on the 4th,so I made it early:)

Thanks Seena, I did check your blog in the morning!:))
Yeah, language is so similar,isn't it? Amazing.All South Indians have more or lees the same words and expressions!

FH said...

Richa, that's true,I forgot about Labor day! I get one more day, thanks for reminding me!:)
Seedais are little tricky to make, got to rest them after rolling, if you try it.Enjoy the weekend Richa.

Kanchana, Tamilian families are very familiar with these. I made these for the first time although recipe is almost like Chaklis!
Have a great weekend:))

Anonymous said...

I will be missing your online presence for sure :). take care - and loads of best wishes.

Kribha said...

Happy Krishna Jayanthi to you too. I love seedais so much. But I have heard about the accidents that happen during frying up seedais. So, I have dreamed of doing it all by myself.Anyway, yours look soo good and tempting. Good luck again for your surgery. Come back soon.

Anonymous said...

since blogger seems to have gobbled up my previous comment here goes:

yay yay seedai - preparing in small quantities is always good. :)

but then why is amma favourite "girl", what about poor me?? :( (kidding - :D lol). its refreshing to see amma being referred to as "girl" since most of the time these days she has become "mami" :)

that animation is awesome- so apt

FH said...

LOL! I myself have become Ashakka, Ashamma, Ashaji and Asha aunty so far Lakshmi! Don't you start calling me Mami too now!Haha!
I know, Latha and I are the almost the same age, hey,we are still young and happening!:D
Seedai was tasty, I was expecting some trouble but was okay.
Thank you, have a great weekend.See you next week,I will miss you too, my second fave girl! Hahaha!!

Kribha, thanks!:)
Yeah,I was ready with a lid just in case but everything was okay!:D
It's not bad if you let it dry a little first.Enjoy.
See you next week:)

Latha Narasimhan said...

Thanks for the lovely seedai asha!
Not bad you do know a lot about Krishna! lovely picture too!
Get well soon dear!

Pravs said...

Asha, all the best for the surgery.
Seedai looks good to eat. Happy shri krishna Janmashtami.

TBC said...

I used to love eating these seedais as a kid.I don't know waht they are called in my language:-(.
Happy Krishna Janmashtami.
Good luck with the surgery & hope everything goes well. Take care.

Laavanya said...

Seedais look really good. I've never attempted them because my mom had an explosion some years ago when she tried making them and that was enough to scare me. I don't know if she let them all dry before she dropped them in the oil... thanks for the tip.
I may try it soon since i love seedais. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe and for making it sound so easy.

Tee said...

Seedai looks like a yuumy snack! Love the image you found for Janmashtami...very cute!

archana said...

Asha can't believe it I was first to comment on Foodie's Hope :)
Seedai looks nice. Is the dough similar to muruku?
Now, just take rest after surgery and and recover soon. Don't bother about blog etc. I will be posting a recipe soon for RCI :)

Jayashree said...

Cheedai(as I call it) is my fave Janmashtami snack...will be making it this year along with a few other things. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Here's wishing you a speedy recovery.
Take care....

FH said...

Hi Latha. Oh, we have lot of Amarchitra Katha mags about Krishna,Ganesha and 100 others at home for kids, and we love reading the stories.It's just that Deepavali if fun with fireworks and Shivaratri is just something I do bcos we are "Lingayats"! ;D
Thank you Latha,see you next week:)

Thank you Pravs,you too enjoy the day.See you later:)

FH said...

tbc, Cheedai perhaps as Jaya says.I don't know what they say in Kannada either. Enjoy,thank you.I hope so too:)

Laavanya,just let them dry for 5 mins to be safe.Nothing major happened when I am frying but you never know.Keep a lid ready to cover and if they start popping ,just take the fryer out of the heat.Good luck:)
Thanks, see you later:)

FH said...

Tee, thanks,you too enjoy the 4th!:)
These are crispy,disappear faster than we make them!

Archana, thanks. You are first there,you got me right after I posted!:))
Yeah,I think I will have to rest for atleast 5 days,I better when it comes to my eyes.That's why I took the moderation out.I will check the RCI,ASAP! Hugs:)

Cheedai, that's nice too,sounds more authentic!:)
I tried for the first time,liked it. Thank you Jaya, I will.

Anonymous said...

Happy krishnastami and best wishes for your surgery...

FH said...

Thank you Madhu. You too have great weekend girl.Hugs:))

Rajitha said...

love seedai.. i would wait in anticipation for the neivedyam to get over and i would start eating the minute i finished with my namaskaram ;)

Anonymous said...

yummy looking seedai's.hope u have a safe surgery.

shalini

KellytheCulinarian said...

Interesting post, thanks for the background -- I took Eastern religion in college, but that's been a couple of years now and my memory fades fast, apparently :)

On to the food -- Looks delicious and like a hearty snack or appetizer.

Mona said...

Asha! Happy Janamashtami!

Good luck to you & may you get well soon ! ((((HUGS))))

FH said...

LOL! So sweet Rajitha.As kids we didn't much about rituals but just wanted to eat the goodies, didn't we?!Still like that for me, cook for fun, not much for rituals!:)

Thank you Shalini, I will miss you too:))

FH said...

Hi Kelly, India has tremendous amount of stories like these just like Greece,it's just fun to read about them, specially for the kids!
Enjoy and thanks. See you next week.Have a great Labor day weekend:)

Thank you Mona,hugs to you too.You have fun there too. Hopefully, I will see you next week too.It all happened so quickly, I can't believe I will be done this time tomorrow:))

Anh said...

I really need a savoury snack right now... Wish i could come over to your house :D

Prema Sundar said...

For the first time try those seedai look awesome Asha. I have seen my aunt make seedai and the mini explosions too.. So iam really scared of trying out that alone..

Suganya said...

Frying seedai soon after rolling it - No way. I have seen too many accidents to venture that. That was an important tip, Asha. Seedai looks lovely.

Anonymous said...

Hi Asha,
so u r gonna have lasik surgery?i had mine 2 years ago:)

take care and STAY AWAY FROM UR PC FOR A WEEK, OK!!!

luv,

sam

SPICE OF LIFE said...

Good luck for your Lasik !! I hope u make a speedy recovery .

Seedais are new to me ..but these sure do look tempting.Will try to make them some day.

Take care

Rachna said...

never heard of seedai ...will try...and happy krishna janamashtami....

Anonymous said...

Lovely Ashaji, Get well soon. We all love u and ur presence in our blogs so we all gonna miss you so much. Those Sedai looks yumm and a nice entry for yum blog. They are new to me so gotta try them once.

J said...

All the best for the Lasik Asha! You are in my prayers and thoughts! Hope to see you around soon!:) I'm leaving my note here since I couln't get into the comment section of FH. And I loved the cheeda (as we call that) :)

Anonymous said...

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Menu Today said...

Hi Asha,
Your version of seedai looks good.
Don't worry about anything???
Take rest..Take care of your health Asha...

Prajakta said...

Asha! Hope you are doing well and everything has gone well...

Have heard about Sedai first time, seems like a cruncy tasty snack.

Anonymous said...

Hi Asha, hope you're recovering well and feeling better -- they might tell you "24 hrs" but sometimes it takes alot longer to get back to feeling yourself. Take your time and come back when you're ready :)

I haven't checked the blogs for a few days now, getting kids ready for back to school and took them to NYC today for a play. Just peeking in here and seeing your pesto recipe (with yummy garden tomatoes!) and this seedai, looks great :)

Take good care and see you soon :)

SeeC said...

Hope you are recovering. My wishes.
Liked your seedai. I love those.

Mona said...

Asha Darling! I am praying for your speedy recovery. Hope that didn't pain much & that the results will be wonderful! :)
God Bless you !

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I pass this award to you. Check out my evolving blog - take a look at the left hand side.
(you award 5 others)

Sia said...

hi ashakka,
happy janmashtami. just drop in to give u a tight hug. hope u r feeling better now

Mishmash ! said...

Asha...u ok now..? Hope everything went well and u re taking rest...Take good care of urself . Hugs :)

Shn

FH said...

Hello girls. I am doing well.It's only the 5th after the op,so still trying to heal. Little hard to focus on reading and cooking etc but getting better everyday. Thanks for all your support.Hugs!:))

Latha Narasimhan said...

Asha, How is your eyes now! don't strain too much.Take care dear!
latha.

FH said...

Thanks Latha, I am doing bettre,still need to rest for few days.Hope you had great day yesterday!:))

Kajal said...

WOW........nice great post I like your makhan chor.....

Anonymous said...

hi...first timer to ur blog..seedai look very nice..i have so far not had the guts to make them(the fact that they can burst is scary to me)..but i guess i will try them soon...

P.S: apart from this i admire your enthusiasm to blog at so many many cooking events..

FH said...

Hi Kajal, I think Makhan chor is very happy too!:D

Thank you Priya!:)
I was little scared to make these too but nothing happened. Try a small amount first just in case with a lid in hand.They tastes great though!

Anonymous said...

Hey Asha - Your seedai looks great, we had planned to try this today evening along with boondhi. Will be using your recipe and also post to my blog -:) Thanks

FH said...

Hi Anitha, enjoy the seedai. I love them although it's a bit scary to make them! :D

Anonymous said...

Asha, Seedai came out ok in the beginning and then it started bursting too much! We got scared and dropped the plan. Once I post them on my site, will let you know. But you have a done a great job, man! Thanks again.

FH said...

I am sorry about that A, it just happens sometimes. Don't know the reason or how to remedy it but this is a tricky snack.Hope you didn't make too much dough though. Try Kodubale or chakli next time, no fail recipes!:)

Anonymous said...

thanks for posting the recipe. we enjoyed it!!

FH said...

Oh, they came out well for you Anon? I am so glad. They are fun to eat once you get them right. Enjoy and thanks for the feedback!:))

sooji said...

nice post...
i look very helpful.
Keep it up.
Go ahead

FH said...

Thanks Sooji! :)