Ragi Chekkalu/Thattai/Nippattu : A crispy, fried snack made with Pearl millet flour

Chekkalu is a gluten free fried snack usually made with Rice flour. These are  also called Thattai in Tamil, Nippattu in Kannada. These are perfect Tea time snacks.

I love to munch on  crunchy snacks like chekkalu, Murukulu when I'm reading a book. Reading is one of my past time  and my fav are fiction and mystery books. Used to read lot of Robin cook novels as I'm a science geek before anything😀. 

When Christmas vacation is about to start, I thought of making Chekkalu. Since kids are gonna be home and they will constantly search for snacks, I thought these would be perfect. But when I looked for Rice flour, I realized I'm out of it. Then I thought of substituting it with Ragi flour/Pearl millet flour.

Ragi flour us a very healthy alternative to Rice flour. Millets are rich in fiber and they are consumed as whole grain, unlike Rice. They are heart healthy, reduces the risk of Type2 Diabetes. Add whole grains to your diet to maintain a healthy life style. According to Ayurveda Ragi helps reducing excess body heat(Pitta). This is the reason ,during summer ,it is common to see people consuming Ragi Java/Ragi Lassi. You can find several millet recipes on my blog.I like to incorporate them into several traditional recipes. Try my Ragi Poha dosa (Ragi Atukula dosa), Ragi Lassi recipes.

The key technique for making successful Chekkalu is frying them in low-medium flame till they turn crispy. If fried on high flame, they will be soft. Other than this it’s pretty easy recipe.

Servings:
Four (4)
Total time:
20 minutes
Category:
Vegetables
Author:
Praveena Gudipati

Ingredients: (I use US standard measuring; 1cup=8oz=250ml)

• 2 cups Ragi flour (Pearl millet flour)
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp chilli powder-medium spicy
• 1/4 cup chanadal
• Oil for deep fry

           Ragi Chekkalu Step-by-Step Recipe

1. Soak Chana dal/senagapappu (Split,skinned Bengalgram) in warm water for 30 minutes. 
2. Take all ingredients in a mixing bowl.Add soaked chanadal too.
3. Now add water gradually and knead to make a dough.The dough should be holding together and semi hard. It should be spread with hand, with little effort. 
4. Now take a thick plastic cover or ziplock cover and rub oil on it. Take a ball of dough and place it on the cover.
5. Press it flat with the back of your palm. Press thinly.You can also use a Puri press to do this job.
   
6. Rub oil on cover before you press each Roti. This will prevent Roti from sticking to the cover and comes off easily.
7. Now heat oil in a Kadai. Once oil is hot, Turn down the flame to medium low.Drop Rotis one by one carefully. Fry both sides till the color changed. 
8. Remove Chekkalu on to a paper napkin to drain excess oil.Once it cools down, chekkalu will turn crispy. If they are still not crispy, they are not fried properly.
   
9. Let them cool down and serve.
   

Tips: 

• You can use soaked mung dal (Pesarapappu/Split, skinned green glam) in place of chana dal.
• You can use green Chilli paste in place of chili powder.
• Use more or less Chilli powder according to your taste.
• You can use Rice flour in place of Ragi flour

Related Recipes:

• Ragi Poha Dosa
• Ragi Lassi
• Dadpe Poha
• Curry Puffs
• Roasted chick peas
• French fries ( Baked)
• Chevda/Atukula mixture
• Oven roasted Potatoes