Nippattu

Most of our evening coffee times start with the following comments from my son and hubby.. "amma, yenaadru karum-kurum koDamaa"(Mom, gimme something crunchy-munchy) "yenaadru khara-khara ideya?" (have anything spicy to eat?)How often can one serve the same old Haldirams mixtures or chips etc.,??? After wishing for a magic wand that will conjure delicacies, and finally facing the harsh reality that no such thing is going to happen...and after running out of all lame excuses....I decide to wield the ladle instead of the wand :-( I felt like doing something for which I wont have to stand infront of the stove during coffee-time. I tried to think of doing something that I can prepare ahead of time and store for days. Something that even I can enjoy sitting down with my family. What else should strike but the traditional chakkuli, koDubaLe, nippaTTu.... Oldie-goldies.... perfect snacks and healthy too... So, in full "josh" I selected the nippaTTu and set about with the preparation. Finishing all my other chores in a hurry, I fished out my diary in which I have written my mom's recipes. There it was, tucked away in a least opened page, the recipe for nippaTTu, staring at me, bringing back to me the memories of my school days... when I would pester my mom for snacks, how she would patiently prepare stuff for me.... I could almost feel the crunch, the taste even the smell of those snacks lingering in my memory lanes....Can't thank her enough. Guess, now's my turn. Hope I will be able to leave at least a small percentage of that impression in my Son's memories. Well, shook myself out of the revrie and checked for the ingredients. Had everything. Well, once I started with it, took me almost 3 hours to prepare about 35 nippaTTus. Anyways, I was happy with the outcome. But what made me the happiest was the reaction of the two guys in my life when they saw what I had set in front of them with coffee/milk. :-) Well, it is undescribable...saying this shoud suffice though, that all the nippattu's simply disappeared in 2 days flat...whereas the store bought snacks just refuse to leave my shelf once they are about 1/2 to 3/4th empty. They just lie there until I show them to the trash can out of frustation. Anyways, I was lucky enough to click the pics before they(nippaTTus) disappeared.
I had thought of making "NippaTTu Masale" which is a yummmmmmy street chaat. But, maybe next time(dont ask when, cos it sure is a tedious task. Anyone having any easier solutions are most welcome to suggest).....Till then, enjoy them plain....

Ingredients:
2 cups Rice Flour
1/2 cup Maida
1/4 cup Roasted Bengal Gram(PutaaNi/HurigaDle, Dalia) coarsely powdered
1/4 cup Peanuts roasted,skinned and coarsely powdered
1/4 cup grated Coconut
2 teaspoons white Sesame seeds, roasted
1/4 teaspoon hing(asoefetida)
2 teaspoon Red Chilli powder
15-20 Curry leaves, chopped finely
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Salt, to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method:
1. Mix the rice flour and maida and heat it in a pan, until just warm.
2. Add all other ingredients except butter to the flours and mix well.
3. You can make this ahead and store it in an air tight container, for upto 2 months.
4. When you want to make the nippattu, take as much of the above mixture as you want, and rub in the butter until the mixture is of a crumbly texture.
5. Add water and knead to form a stiff but pliable dough.
6. Take a heaped teaspoon full of the dough and roll it into a tight ball between the palms of your hands
7. Grease a sheet of plastic/butter paper and flatten out the ball to form a round disc of about 3 inches diameter.
8. Prick the disc with a fork, to prevent it from puffing up while frying.
9. Deep fry in hot oil. Fry one at a time. While one is in the oil, you can make another disc and keep it ready. Flip once or twice in between and fry until golden brown.