Neer Kachhayam

Neer kachayam is yet another dish that I learnt from my mother in law which can be snack or tiffin. This in a way resembles the ammini kozhukattai except that the rice flour is different. However, rolling those small marble sized kachayams is the tedious thing to do in this recipe. Like pasta, these kachayams can be seasoned in different flavors as per our taste and creativity; I've shared my mother-in-law's basic version here.

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1.       Idly rice – 2 cups

2.       Salt as per taste

3.       Oil – 3 tbsp

4.       Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

5.       Asafoetida – 2 pinches

6.       Urad dal – 1 tbsp

7.       Bengal gram – 1 tbsp

8.       Dry chilies – 3

9.       Curry leaves – 1 sprig

10.   Onion – 1 finely chopped

11.   Garlic cloves peeled – 15

Method:

Step 1: Wash and soak the rice for 2 hours. Grind the rice finely with some water.

Step 2: Heat a heavy bottomed pan, pour the batter, add 1 tbsp of oil, add necessary salt and stir until it becomes thick. Turn off the stove.

Step 3: Take small portions of marble size and roll them smoothly until the entire dough is over. Do it when it is hot, else the dough will become brittle.

Step 4: Steam these small kachayams for 5-10 minutes.

Step 5: In a non-stick pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil, splutter mustard seeds, sprinkle asafoetida, add urad and channa dals, broken chilies, curry leaves and sauté onion and garlic in that until golden brown. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over this.

Step 6: Now add the neer kachayams into this and mix well.

 Step 7: Serve it hot, it does not need any side dish.

TIPS:

* You can season steamed neer kachayams with different dressing of your choice and creativity; I'll share my mom's dressing in another post.

* Even the shaping, you can try shapes like pastas to add more glamour and attract kids.