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Thinai Seedai or Cheedai are crispy crunchy, deep fried savoury flour based snacks made with Millet flour , usually made for festivals like Krishna Janmashtami or served as a snack with tea or coffee.

Thinai Uppu Seedai | Millet Cheedai | Easy Jar snacks

Kalyani
Thinai Seedai or Cheedai are crispy crunchy, deep fried savoury flour based snacks made with Millet flour , usually made for festivals like Krishna Janmashtami or served as a snack with tea or coffee.
5 from 7 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
resting time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Bhakshanam, Festival Recipes, Jar Snack, Snack
Cuisine Tamilnadu Cusine
Servings 200 grams
Calories 13 kcal

Equipment

  • Deep Fry Pan
  • Spice Grinder
  • Slotted Spoon

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup Foxtail Millet flour Thinai Maavu, store-bought
  • 1 TBSP Rice flour
  • 2 TBSP split black gram flour Urad dal flour, store bought
  • 2 TBSP fried gram flour Pottukadalai Maavu / roasted dalia powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp Sesame seeds
  • 1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
  • 2 TBSP White Butter softened
  • 1/8 tsp Asafeotida hing, skip for GF
  • 1 cup Oil to deep fry, any neutral oil

Instructions
 

  • In a deep bottomed thick pan, roast the millet flour till light steam arises, but doesn’t change colour. Keep aside.
  • Similarly dry roast the urad dal flour and rice flour separately on very low flame
  • In a mixer jar, dry grind the pottukadalai / roasted gram till fine - sieve and discard any hard, uneven parts.
  • In the same mixer jar, pulse the sesame seeds and cumin seeds till coarse. Keep aside.
  • In a large bowl, add all flours into a large sieve. Sieve 2-3 times thoroughly
  • Now add the salt, crushed sesame and cumin seeds, mix well.
  • At the end add softened butter. Rub the butter throughly in the dry flour mix. The mixture should be crumbly, yet make a tight fist when held.
  • Now add warm water little by little to make a tight dough. Do not knead too hard, the dough has to come together.
  • Add a tsp of oil and cover it and keep for 5 mins
  • Pinch out small roundels of this dough and arrange on a soft porous white towel.
  • Air dry it for 10-15 mins without covering it.
  • At the end of the resting time, heat oil in a deep pan,
  • Check if moderately hot by dropping a small piece of dough. If it rises up too quickly, its too hot, too slow means the oil is cold.
  • It should rise up gradually to the top.
  • Gently slide in a batch of the rolled seedai and let it sizzle for 1-2 mins, do not disturb
  • Fry on medium-high flame till they are golden brown on all sides and the sizzling stops (no residual moisture)
  • Remove with a slotted ladle to a bowl.
  • Repeat with the remaining seedai.
  • Once it comes to room temperature, store in a glass / steel airtight container
  • Enjoy Thinai Seedai with a hot cup of coffee / tea or serve as bhakshanam for Krishna Jayanthi.

Notes

FAQs to make crispy crunchy Thinai Uppu Seedai
  1. Can I use any millet flour ? I have used Thinai (foxtail millet flour), but I don’t see any reason why one cannot sub the millets too.
  2. Can I skip the butter ? If you are vegan use vegan butter. But white butter is what gives this the crunch, so dont skip. Some homes like my grandmas also add a ladleful of hot oil to give it crunchiness but that’s a personal choice. 
  3. I don’t have Urad dal flour at home, can I use store bought ? I have also used store bought Urad dal flour
  4. My Seedai got soft  / crumbly after 2-3 days - what could be the reason ? Do not make a huge batch of the dough. Make small portions and don’t alter the proportion of butter and flour. Some varieties of flour may absorb less / more water depending on quality, so add accordingly 
  5. My seedais are dissolving in the oil- what to do ? Dry roasting the millet flour on low flame till warm is key to crispy crunchy seedai.
  6. Seedai are bursting (most common / dangerous issue)- what do I do ? After rolling the seedai, place them on a soft clean white cloth for 10-15 mins, so any residual moisture can be avoided (which results in bursting). 

Nutrition

Calories: 13kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 0.1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.5gTrans Fat: 0.005gCholesterol: 0.3mgSodium: 3mgPotassium: 2mgFiber: 0.03gSugar: 0.02gVitamin A: 4IUVitamin C: 0.001mgCalcium: 0.3mgIron: 0.03mg
Keyword Cheedai, Festival Recipes, Healthy Millets, Janmashtami Recipes, Millet Cheedai, Millet Recipes, Millet Seedai, Thinai Seedai, Uppu Cheedai, Uppu Seedai
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