Kuzhalappam

Hey, wont it be great to have an event for Snacks with holes!

Kuzhalappam or Kozhalappam might be a distant cousin of those donuts and those uzhunnu vadas, if the hole is vital part of the dna of snacks. I am sure they come up with these holes just to fancy the kids, for the kids to get excited, wear it round their fingers like a giant diamond ring, and then munch on them. Oh what a wonderful life it would be if we could be kids again.

It is easier to make and stays longer makes it a Christmas time favorite of mine, since I can prepare it well ahead. The crunchy crunchiness and all those crumbs on the floor and around your mouth, oh what a way to welcome wintry Christmas.

Take 2 cups of white rice flour, mix ¼ cup of fresh shredded coconut. This will make the rice flour get some of the wetness of the shredded coconut. Now grind together 2 shallots, a pinch of cumin seeds, 2 pods of garlic, a single whole pepper. I had all the tendency to add a curry leaf, but I resisted it. Try it if you want.

Heat a flat saucepan or a uruli, heat the rice mixture in very low heat to dry the powder slightly, Add salt and the ground mixture and slowly add thick coconut milk in teaspoons so that it get wet slowly. When you feel the consistency is good enough to make soft balls, take from heat.

Now knead the dough thoroughly for some 20 minutes. If you have a Kitchen Aid (HAHA! SHOW OFF) use it now in low speed for some 8 minutes! :)

When the dough is almost ready, add 1 tsp of sesame seeds to this mix. I added white, but black sesame is preferred.

Make small balls, flatten them out in your hand to very thin, but manageable.

You can either roll some wax paper on a stick or can use the stem of a banana leaf to roll them out as shown in the pictures.

The thing you have to make sure is the rolls are very thin, so that the insides also gets fried properly.

Heat coconut oil and add them. Fry them till golden brown.

I was trying different levels of crispiness while frying, that’s why you see two different colors. I liked the lighter one better.

You can store them airtight for two or three weeks. Those little binoculars you can eat. Yummy!