Presenting a traditional sweet dish of Tamil Nadu, thaen mittai which is prepared with rice and dal. This sweet is coated with sugar syrup which melts inside the mouth.
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice
- ¼ cup urad dal
- 1 pinch red or orange food color ( optional )
- ¼ teaspoon baking Soda
- 1 ⅕ cup sugar
- ¾ cup water
Method
- Melt the sugar in the water to make syrup. When the sugar has melted and boiled, reduce the heat and cook for 6-7 minutes. When the syrup reaches a thickness, turn off the heat and add a few drops of lemon juice to prevent the sugar from crystallising.
- Keep the rice and urad dal soak in water for three hours. Add some water and grind until smooth. Make sure the batter is not watery in consistency.
- Then add orange color and baking powder. ( you can also skip the food colour if you want ). Take a deep pan and heat oil over medium heat. Wet your hands with water, make small balls, and dip them in oil. You will see the balls rise to the surface of the oil. Fry on all sides until a beautiful crust is obtained.
- When they are nice and crispy, drain off any excess oil and immediately submerge them in the sugar syrup. While you add the fried balls, the sugar syrup should be slightly warm.
- Soak thaen mittai in sugar syrup for 10-15 minutes.
- When they are well soaked, take them out of the syrup and let them dry for a while.
Tip: You can also coat the balls with sugar to make them even sweeter.
Keep them airtight and eat whenever you crave something sweet.