Ulundhu Kali | How to make Kali flour at home | Kali Recipe

Ulundhu Kali, a healthy dish made from urad dal and palm jaggery. It's one of the authentic dishes from South Tamilnadu. 

Urad dal helps to strengthen the pelvic and back bone. So kali is especially prepared and given to the young girls when they enter into adulthood and also during the time of period every month. 

I have seen a lot of recipes online for kali which are made only with urad dal. But in our home, we used to make this kali with raw rice and skinned urad dal. So today I'm sharing how we used to make kali maavu/flour and kali at our home.

Before check out the recipe, let's see the FAQs about kali. 

What's the proportion of kali flour, water and palm jaggery?

For 1 cup of kali flour, it needs 1.5 cups of water and 1 cup(heaped) of palm jaggery. This proportion works perfectly. You can use whatever measurement cup you have. Make sure to measure everything with the same cup. For mild sweetness, you can use just 1 cup of palm jaggery.

Can I use jaggery instead of palm jaggery?

Yes, you can use it. But the taste and flavor would be very different. Palm Jaggery has a unique flavor and taste, it can be replaced with other varieties of sugar. So I highly recommend using palm jaggery for this recipe. 

Can I use skinless whole urad dal instead of skinned urad dal?

Yes ! You can very well use it. In our home, we have been making this kali with skinned urad dal for decades ! So I'm inclined to use the skinned urad dal for this recipe.

Why can't  I make a smooth ball of kali? 

There are a few things to take care of ! 

1. Make sure to cook the flour well. Uncooked flour sticks a lot and you can't make a smooth ball.
2. Let the kali come to room temperature before making balls.
3. Wet your hands well before making kali 

Why does the kali have a few lumps in it?

If you mix the flour with jaggery syrup before the flour is well cooked, then there is a high chance of forming a lot of lumps in the kali. So make sure to cook the flour well before mixing.

Any substitute for sesame oil?

You can use ghee. But traditionally sesame oil is used for this recipe. 

 Now let's check out on how to make delicious ulundhu kali

Ulunthu Kali|Kali flour

Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Kali/Breakfast | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
How to make kali flour,Kali maavu,ulunthu kali,ulundhu kali,sweet kali,homemade kali flour Ulundhu Kali, a healthy dish prepared from black urad dal and palm jaggery as main ingredients.

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Ingredients

To make Kali flour

Raw Rice - 1/4 cup

Urad dal(Skinned & Splitted) - 2 tbsp

To make kali

Above ingredients makes one  100 ml cup of kali flour

Water - 150 ml

Palm Jaggery - a little above kali flour (100 ml cup heaped)

Crushed Cardamom - 1 

Sesame oil - 1  tbsp  + more for serving

Procedure

First grind rice and urad dal in the mixie into fine powder. Sieve it and grind it again if you find any large granules . If you're making in bulk, grind it in mill.The ratio of rice and dal is 2:1Measure the other ingredients and keep it ready.In a sauce pan, add the palm jaggery and water and bring it to boil.

Once the palm jaggery is melted completely, strain it and remove the impurities. Clean the sauce pan to remove any impurities and then pour the jaggery syrup in the sauce pan and bring into boil again. 

Once the syrup comes to boil, keep the flame in lowest possible setting in the stove. Add the cardamom powder and then sprinkle the flour evenly on the syrup

Cover the sauce pan with lid and let it cook  for 10 mins in low flame without disturbing. After 10 mins, switch off the flame & open the lid, add the oil and mix the flour vigorously with the back of the wooden spoon.

Mix it well until there is no dry flour seen. Then again cover the sauce pan with lid and let it comes to room temperature.

 When it's cooled down to touch, open the lid and mix it well once again. Then dip your hand in water and take small portion of kali and make it as round shape. If the flour is cooked well, then it doesnt stick to your hand. Also see nothing sticks to the bottom also!

While serving make a hole in the center and add a tsp of sesame oil. It taste great with sesame oil !

Notes:  

• If you want mild sweet, add equal amount of palm jaggery for Kali flour.
• Use thick bottom sauce pan, otherwise the bottom get burnt easily.
• Don't disturb the flour after added in syrup, otherwise it form lot of lumps.
• Eeyam(Tin) vessel is best for making kali. If you have use it .
• You can store this kali flour for more than one month in room temperature.

               Take small portion from the sides of the ball and dip it in the center oil and have it.