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Arisi vadam
Sun-dried rice crisps
அரிசி வடாம்: chilli-and-cumin rice dough pressed into curls on the terrace each summer, fried as a crunchy side (plus 2–3 days in the sun)
Chithirai and Vaikasi, the blazing months of a Tamil summer, are vadam season. In Madurai and the older Chennai neighbourhoods, terraces are covered with white sheets and rows of pressed rice-dough spirals, ribbons and stars, guarded from crows by whoever is on duty. Fried, the vadams puff into light, crunchy curls with a hint of chilli, cumin and lime. They come out on the side of a lunch of vatha kuzhambu, mor kuzhambu or rasam with rice, where they do the job a papad does in the north. The dough is a cooked rice-flour koozh, and it has to be pressed through the vadam (murukku) press while warm. Common mistake: making the koozh too thick; the press becomes impossible to turn and the strands break. It should feel like soft, sticky mashed potato. Chef's tip: lime juice is not just for flavour, it keeps the vadams bright white as they dry.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the koozh
- 3 ¼ cups water
- 1 tbsp green chilli pasteabout 4 chillies
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp gluten-free asafoetida
- 9 oz fine rice flour
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp sesame oil (gingelly oil)for greasing the press
To fry
- 1 ¼ cups sunflower or groundnut oilfor frying
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Bring 3 ¼ cups water to the boil in a heavy pan with 1 tbsp green chilli paste, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp gluten-free asafoetida.
5 minStep 2: Lower the heat and sprinkle in 9 oz fine rice flour with one hand while stirring hard with the other, so no lumps form.
3 minStep 3: Cook over a low heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring and pressing out any lumps, until the dough turns translucent, sticky and leaves the sides of the pan. Stir in 1 tbsp lime juice and take it off the heat.
10 minStep 4: Grease the inside of a vadam or murukku press with 1 tbsp sesame oil (gingelly oil), fit a star or ribbon plate and fill it with the warm dough. Keep the rest covered.
3 minStep 5: Press the dough in small spirals or straight ribbons onto clean food-safe plastic sheets laid out in the sun, leaving a little space between each.
40 minStep 6: Dry for 2–3 days, peeling them off and turning them over at the end of the first day, until they are hard, brittle and snap cleanly. Bring them in at night.
Step 7: Store in an airtight tin for up to a year. To serve, heat 1 ¼ cups sunflower or groundnut oil in a kadai over a medium-high heat and fry a handful for 10–15 seconds, until they puff and turn crisp but stay white. Drain on paper.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 95 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 17 g
- Fat
- 3 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does arisi vadam take?
- About 80 minutes in total: 60 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of green chilli paste?
- 1 finely chopped green chilli per tsp.
- What can I use instead of cumin seeds?
- Ground cumin, three quarters of the amount (add it with the other ground spices, not to hot oil first).
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