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.