Ingredients for neer urundai

Idli Rice – 1 1/2 cup

Coconut, grated -1/2 cup

salt & water – as needed

*You can add chopped coconut as well instead of grated.

How to make neer urundai:

Soak Idli rice for 3 hours. Grind to a batter just like we grind for Idli/dosa ,then add salt and coconut ,mix well. Heat a heavy bottomed vessel or Kadai and pour this batter. Keep on Stirring, till the batter turns to dough consistency. The consistency will be like,the dough is not much sticky if you make balls with your hands. After the dough cools down,it will not be sticky. Make small sized balls (sedai sized) using the dough.Keep aside. In another large vessel boil water and add these balls in two batches(water should be enough to immerse these balls). First add one portion of balls to water, cover with lid. Cook covered for 5-6 minutes.(Keep the lid a little open to avoid overflowing when it starts boiling) To check if the balls has been cooked or not,if u take out a ball and put it on a plate from little high,the ball should bounce a little. If its not cooked, it won’t be bouncing. By simply looking at the balls you can understand that the rice balls are cooked or not.There will be a colour change. Carefully take out the balls little by little,straining the water. I use idli cooker for cooking these balls. Don’t add water more than half of the vessel which ever vessel you use, as it boils it will overflow. Cook the second batch of balls in the same manner. The balls will be soft and tasty that it can be ate as such. Don’t waste the water, its consistency would now be like kanji(thick), so you can add jaggery and cardamom powder to it and boil for 2 minutes and add a little milk and have as a drink!

We take neer urundai for dinner, my mom, paati, myself roll the balls, sometimes brother and dad too joins. as we are big family and it’s for dinner, we make in bulk and have heartily.

You can also add simply salt and butter milk to that water remaining and have it as a drink!

Or else you can also try the following:

Milagu jeeraga kozhukattai

Ingredients:

Pepper -1 tsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

curry leaves – 1 spring

Ghee – 1 tsp

Method:

Crush pepper and jeera coarsely. Heat ghee in a kadai and add pepper jeera powder followed by curry leaves. Then after some 30 seconds add these rice balls and mix gently so that the pepper jeera coats these balls.

Serve hot!

The above measurements will serve 2 people.