Krsihna Jayanthi , Janmaashtami is not complete without making salt seedai and vella seedai , vella means jaggery or sweetness.

This is a easy recipe using only ready made store bought flours, so saves a lot of time for the late comers to the festival preparations, this is an incredible way of making last minute prasadam for the Lord without compromising on quality .and taste .

Give it a try .

Ingredients

1 cup rice flour ( store bought or home processed )

2 tsp udad dal powder ( dal to be roasted , powdered )

3/4 cup powdered jaggery or as needed depending on sweet taste preference of persons . water just enough to immerse jaggery in pan

pinch of cardamom powder

1 tsp black sesame seeds or white but to be used roasted .

1-2 tsp grated coconut , also to be roasted before using

tiny inch of salt

1.5 tbsp melted hot ghee oil for deep frying

method

• first roast both flours , in a pan till lightly warm , not to change colour , this ensures that the seedai will not burst in oil .

• now sieve both flours , and this is extra precaution to prevent bursting as sieving twice incorporates air in flours. meanwhile ,

• melt jaggery in a pan , by adding just enough water to cover jaggery and filter if need be . the jaggery should be melted to such a consistency that it appears sticky but will not form a string , so remove at that stage .

• now in a bowl , add the sieved flours, grated coconut , cardamom powder, sesame seeds, mix well .

• add the melted ghee , again mix well , with fingers or a spoon to make the mixture look crumbly and well coated with ghee.

• add the hot jaggery syrup to the bowl , add slowly with one hand , mix with the other . this method ensures that you dont end up adding too much jaggery syrup in the mixture and ending up with loose seedai mixture, which means you will miss the proportions if any flour adjustments are made .

• it is better to keep the dough which should be like chapati dough , smooth , coverd for at least 10 minutes .

• heat oil in a pan and keep flame at medium , once oil has heated well, test by dropping one small ball . it should sizzle .

• Make remaining sweet seedai balls by making smooth small balls, drop in oil one by one , not too many . keep turning in oil with a spatula, to ensure the seedai cooks well uniformly , it will not burst , dont worry .

• remove when it appears dark but not scorched. drain on a colander and note the vella seedai will become more crispy after cooling and also cracks have appeared , which is perfectly normal .

• enjoy Krishna Jayanthi by making sweet and salt seedai as neivediyam .

Watch the video from my youtube channel for the method . Subscribe to my youtube channel