Vella Seedai (Sweet Cheedai) by DK on Aug 13, 2009
After eating my mother's ears off to get this recipe with lots of tips and tricks (can't help but love her!), I sat down to bribe Lord Krishna for this Janmashtami ( Krishna's Bday ) with something sweet after all those delicious savory. snacks . Uppu cheedai has a sweet counterpart which is this Vella Cheedai. The word "vella" in tamil denotes Vellam which means Jaggery. This recipe which is almost same as Salt cheedai uses jaggery syrup to add to its sweetness which going by Indian sweets is not that sweet.
Memories of celebrating this festival back home is still fresh in mind. My mom used to end up eating Vella Seedai all alone while rest of us would eat (and finish) the rest of the savories!!!! It's a good thing that my mom loves her sweets 'cos rest of us did not share her sugary palate. I hear things have changed a bit back home - my father has a sudden fascination for sweets now ( or to be more precise ever since he was advised against eating them for health reasons) and my sister also seems to have taken fancy to them (ever since she became 'figure' conscious!) Go Figure ;)
As for me, I haven't changed much and I have a partner who is just like me. So for those who wonder what I end up doing with all cakes and sweet nothings that make it to Chef In You - well, I make a great neighbor. :)
- Cook time:
- Prep time:
- Serves: Makes about Four 1/2 cup serving
- Yields: Makes around 20-25 depending on the size
Ingredients
- 1 cup sifted Rice Flour
- 2 tsp Urad Dal flour / Ullathamaavu (See how to make here)
- 1 tbsp freshly grated coconut ( or small thinly chopped coconut pieces)
- 1 cup Jaggery
- pinch of cardamom powder
- 1/4 tsp white Sesame seeds
Method
1.
If you have those thick slabs/chunks of jaggery, then using some heavy stone, skillet or mortar base - break them into small pieces. Or if you have the patience, grate the jaggery.
2.
Pour down 1 cup of hot water to the jaggery and let it sit for at least 40 minutes.
3.
This is to help the jaggery get soft making it easier to break it down easily. If you are using grated jaggery, then few minutes with water should do to make it come together like a syrup.
4.
Meanwhile, in a skillet dry roast the rice flour until aromatic - about a minute or so. Do it in low heat - don't burn the flour. Set aside to cool it down.
5.
In the same skillet, dry toast the sesame seeds - less than 30 seconds or so. Set aside.
6.
Add 1/2 tsp Ghee, and the coconut pieces and give it a stir until the raw smell of the coconut is replaced by toasted coconut - about 30-50 sec. Set aside.
7.
Now using a strainer, strain the jaggery water mixture. It will remove all big pieces and debris if any.
8.
Warm this jaggery syrup in the same skillet. Add cardamom powder. Give it one quick stir and take off the stove. This is only to warm it a bit.
9.
Add all the dry ingredients together along with coconut.
10.
Now slowly spoon by spoon add the jaggery syrup to form one tight dough. Too much liquid will spoil the recipe.
11.
Sometimes depending on the quality of the flour, you may require the full jaggery syrup or just half of it. So take care of the liquid addition.
12.
Set aside for at least 30 min. This enables the flour to absorb all the flavors. Place a damp cloth/paper towel. Take a small piece of the dough and using a greased palm, roll it out into small balls. These are usually a little bigger than Uppu seedai
13.
Drop few at a time in oil and deep fry.
14.
Lots of bubbles will appear in the beginning
15.
Slowly move it around to prevent it from sticking to one another.
16.
Fry to deep brown. A few cracks here and there on the surface of these Seedai's are perfectly normal. Just make sure that they don't come apart - then something is surely wrong!
17.
Make sure the oil is med-high hot - too hot, the outer will blacken faster but the inside wont get done. Drain in paper towels to remove excess oil.
Once cooled, store them in an airtight container.
Filed Under these categories
- 287 Course
- 366 Cuisine
- 447 Gluten Free
- 180 Indian Recipes
- 42 Indian Sweets
- 59 Karthigai Deepam
- 116 Krishna Jayanthi (Gokulashtami)
- 123 Navaratri Recipes
- 94 Occasions
- 292 Snacks
- 499 Vegan Recipes
Recipe Reference
Mom's recipe notes
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9 Member Reviews
By Sindhuja on Nov 21, 2011
By Poovizhi on Aug 31, 2011
Turned out great except for it tasted a little of urad dal flour(oops! I added a little extra of it:(). Neverthless it was awesome and there werent any leftovers and my husband loved it!! Thanks for your wonderful tips:)
43 Comments
By Jyothi Prasad on Aug 11, 2020
Excellent
By dr priya on Sep 4, 2015
Very good
By Gita Iyer on Aug 20, 2014
Is 1 cup rice powder measure the measuring cup measurement? And the Tsp. Measure of iPad dal flr.,the measuring spoon tea spoon?
By Sudha on Aug 18, 2014
I made them today, is it supposed to be a bit powdery kind dough inside, or is it that I cooked it too fast on a higher flamer just the exterior(I had kept it at med high as you said), also I had left the dough for about 50 mins, is that why it turned out a bit powdery, was fine to make to balls with some fist work and greased palm
By Uma narayan on Aug 15, 2014
hi , I tried out the Vella seedais, excellent results , every year I prepare most of the items for Krishna jayanthi and generally all of them turn out well . Last year the Vella seedais did not come out well . Many thanks for the simple instructions . Happy Krishna jayanthi to you ,
:lol:
By janaki on Aug 13, 2014
superb recipe. i made 24 cheedais with 2 cups rice powder :wink: :)
By Shalima Khan on May 4, 2014
Can we try baking these, I mean for health conscious ppl
By usha on Dec 28, 2013
I tried the vella seedai recipe as you have said but when it tried to fry the same it actually split and spoilt the oil. what could be the mistake.
By rupa on Nov 21, 2013
i have tried this before i just want to clarify that while making jaggery syrup no need to make it thick that is (single string or any thing) pls tell me about that
NO strings, just warm up the syrup --DK
By Ramya on Aug 30, 2013
Hi, I have tried your Vella seedai recipe this year & I escaped from the bursting seedai :wink: I have a question, my seedai was cooked to perfection tasted great but it was very hard I mean really hard to bite. What could have gone wrong? I felt when making seedai, that the dough was bit hard. Could that be the problem? Thank you in advance for your clarification. Regards, ramya.
By RUPA on Aug 29, 2013
This is my 3rd year of making both the Vella and uppa cheddais based on the recipe and tips from your site. It was a delight and proud moment for me and my family. Also I have passed this method to my immediate family and we all want to thank you , though we make it only once a year , it was a relief for all with the outcome and the thought of making these dishes has disappeared. Finally Krishna is smiling including us. :lol:
That was such a sweetest thing to say. Made my krishna jayanthi even special. I am humbled and can't thank you enough for making me a small part of your festivities. :)--DK
By Raji on Aug 27, 2013
Many thanks for your prompt reply, I am a novice and hence shall follow your easy version of preparing vella seedais. Happy Gokulashtami 2013! Raji
By sangeeta on Aug 27, 2013
I made them and thanks to YOU, I will be able to offer these on Janmashtami 2013. My first attempt ever tured out great, thankyou thankyou thankyooou! :lol:
By Raji on Aug 27, 2013
HI, Are your saying it is just enough to - 1) dissolve jaggery in water, strain it from all impurities and then 2) just warm this jaggery water for a few minutes?
We wait till "DANGU" padham ie., you take a bit of jaggery syrup, roll it and thrown it on a granite surface or clean steel gas stove plate itself and when you hear the sound "dangu", remove from fire and mix the same with rice flour and prepare seedais.
I need you to clarify this so that i follow your easy version.
Raji.
No padham. Just warming the jaggery syrup. This recipe, the way my mom makes is the easiest and the tastiest I know :) --DK
By RAJI on Aug 27, 2013
HI, Are your saying it is just enough to - 1) dissolve jaggery in water, strain it from all impurities and then 2) just warm this jaggery water for a few minutes?
We wait till "DANGU" padham ie., you take a bit of jaggery syrup, roll it and thrown it on a granite surface or clean steel gas stove plate itself and when you hear the sound "dangu", remove from fire and mix the same with rice flour and prepare seedais.
I need you to clarify this so that i follow your easy version.
Raji.
By S on Aug 9, 2012
I made your uppu and vella seedai for Janmashtami 2012. Both were very successful. My first time making it, and the whole family loved them. Thanks so much for the very helpful step by step recipes and pictures! Wish you a happy festival season coming up. S
By priya on Jul 31, 2012
GOING TO TRY THIS YEAR. THANKS FOR THE TIPS FROM GETTING BURST. HOPE MY SEEDAIS WILL COME NICE.
By priya on Jul 31, 2012
:)
By Chithra Raman on Jul 28, 2012
I have never tried vella cheedai and I may try this year with the help of this instructions
By rupa on Aug 21, 2011
Thank you for your interesting rendition of making the vella cheedai and uppu cheedai. They both cam out well, I have also shared the recipe to my family. What I liked about your site is that you have given a step by step explanation followed by pictures and in the case of uppu cheedai you mentioned all the scenarios that one has experienced or heard of, which kept me away from preparing the recipe.
By maha on Aug 20, 2011
Hi, is there a test for doneness after the cheedai is out of the oil, mine sometimes is not fully cooked, there r some wet flour in the centre! :(
By anju on Oct 15, 2010
i followed yuor recipe and tried vela cheedai for the very first time and it turned out really delicious and just perfect...
By Ananth on Sep 8, 2010
Thanks for the recipe. My wife loves Vella cheedai. I surprised her with the help of yr recipe. She enjoyed it. Thanks again
By Krithi on Sep 1, 2010
Hi, I made this recipe, added my picture and comments, it is displayed in the home page, but not under the recipe.
I just noticed keerthi that you wrote the feedback in the "About" section of Chef In You. You are supposed to click "I Made This" button in this recipe. Here is the link - http://chefinyou.com/i-made-this/?recipeid=1688. Click the link and copy paste the same feedback and upload the picture (which looks delicious by the way:)) in here. It will display under this recipe :)
By priya on Aug 31, 2010
Hi DK....I tried your recipe for vella seedhai....and it did turn out well..But i would like to know, what goes wrong, in case the seedhai falls apart? Is it due to too much jaggery or too much urad dal flour? Please help....
I think it has to do with the consistency of the dough. It should be perfectly pliable - must be moist yet not sticky. If that's achieved then it wont fall apart. Of course, the ratio of the ingredients also matter - that's for all such recipes in general to maintain the science behind it :) If I come across any other reason will update this space for sure.
By Sri on Aug 25, 2010
Wow. Vella cheedai looks ossooommmmmmmmmmmmm................ I am 9 years into my marriage and not a single year this has turned up good. Dunno why. Many people say that u have to keep thakkali pazha paagu for the vella cheedai, but i see that u ask us to just boil it. Which method is to be followed. Pls clarify. My son (4 years) like vella cheedai so much, hence really want to gift it to Lord Krishna and then to my kutti krishna. Photos are really great.
You can follow the same method as given in the recipe for this to work...:) Hope you get it bang on this time :) Happy janmashtami
By sara on Aug 25, 2010
I put one cup jaggery,but the vella cheedai dissolved in oil. what to do
By Sangeetha on Sep 11, 2009
oh my god! all your recipes look mouthwatering :)...thanks for the wonderful pictures...it is Krishnashtami for us tomorrow and I am definitely going to try your recipes...!! will let you know how they turned out.
By Lavanya on Aug 16, 2009
hi,
thank you for ur great recipe.i made this for krishna jayanthi.came out very well.got lot of praises from my husband and fatherinlaw.thanks again .continue ur good work!
Lavanya
By Divya on Aug 16, 2009
Lol @ Priya's comment.Have to say,that thought crossed my mind too.Read in FB that you made all this in less than 2 hrs..really have to ask..How old are YOU???:):):)
By veggiebelly on Aug 15, 2009
i love all your pictures, very yummy!
By TracieMoo on Aug 15, 2009
Hey there, I have passed you an award. Hope you could come and check it out at my blog =)
Cheers,
tracieMoo
By Cynthia on Aug 15, 2009
So you've resorted to bribing the higher beings huh? :) What's next?
By Dee on Aug 14, 2009
DK !!! fried food is a big no no.. u know that ... but Id like to try this when my mom comes here . she loves sweets too !
By TracieMoo on Aug 14, 2009
Looks so delicious. Thanks for the recipe. I've got to make this some day =)
By Parita on Aug 14, 2009
They look perfect DK, fantastic clicks, i must say u really ROCK!
By K on Aug 14, 2009
Good one:) I wish I was your neighbour:)
By chitra on Aug 13, 2009
I too made it but mine with full of cracks ..Urs is looking too gud!!
By Priya on Aug 13, 2009
How old are you DK??I have seen only grandmas making such perfect vella cheedais..:-)Incredible job.
LOLLLLLLLL! I couldnt stop smiling. This is such a huge compliment - have to flaunt it to my mom!:) I am less than even half of most of the grandmas age :) - DK
By bindiya on Aug 13, 2009
These look soooo tempting, loved the way u have presented the recipe!
By Divya Vikram on Aug 13, 2009
They look pretty Div! I love anything with jaggery. Maybe I should try this sometime!
By meeso on Aug 13, 2009
That sounds so good, a bit challenging maybe, but I have bookmarked to try :)
By Rupa on Aug 18, 2022