Koozh Vathal | Koozh Vadam | Kanji Vathal | Rice Vathal Recipe

Koozh Vathal, a papad variety from South India made from rice. It's one of my favorite papad of all times. It's crispy, flavorful and tastes awesome as a condiment for South Indian lunch meals.

In my school days, when the summer had started, Amma started to make a variety of vathal and vadagams(another papad variety). She used to prepare in bulk  and the batch of vathal and vadagam lasted for a year. 

In those days, I always wondered why would do such heavy labour work instead of buying from stores. Now I understand that these homemade vathals are far better than any store bought ones. The vathal that are available in stores are extremely salty to my taste. That's the main reason for me to prefer homemade over store bought any day. 

  

When we were in India, Amma always sent me a batch of vathal & vadagam and I never got a chance to make them on my own. Now, being more than 8000 miles away from home, I thought of making my own. 

The temperature here in Houston is like chennai temperature during summer, why would waste it? Let's make vathal and utilize the sunlight effectively 😉 . If you're a beginner, before starting, read the notes.

Koozh Vathal | Rice Vathal

Preparation Time : 3 days | Cooking Time : 25 mins | Makes : 4 cups 
Recipe Category: Preserve | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Koozh Vathal,Koozh Vadam, Kanji Vathal, Rice Vathal Koozh Vathal, a papad variety from South India made from rice.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients
Idli Rice - 1 cup
Green chili - 4 
Cumin seed - 1 tsp
Water - 1 cup for soaking + 4 cups
Salt - to taste

Procedure

On the previous day night, wash the rice well and let it soak in 1 cup of fresh water. In the next morning, drain the water(don't throw away, we're going to use this for grinding) from the rice and add into the mixie jar along with green chili and 1/2 tsp of cumin seed. Grind into smooth paster by adding the soaked water little by little.

If there is any left over soaked water, then add into the rice batter and pour the rice batter into large pan along with 4 cups of water.

Add salt & the remaining cumin seed  and then turn on the heat & bring into boil.

Stir it continuously till it becomes thick yet in pourable consistency and looks glossy, it may takes around 20-25 mins on medium flame.Remove from flame and pour into small containers, it will be easy to carry and pour the batter.In the outside where you get maximum sunlight, spread the white cotton cloth.

Now take a spoonful of batter and pour it on the cloth in round shape.

Do the same for the remaining batter and let it dry in direct sunlight for a day.

In the same day evening ,when the vathal is completely dry on the top, peel the vathal one by one and place it on large plate evenly and keep it uncovered throughout night.

In the next day, again dry the vathal in direct sunlight, do this until it all becomes crispy. For me it takes 3 days to completely dry.To fry the vathal, heat the oil in a sauce pan.

Take few vathal at a time,add it in the hot oil and fry it till it puff up.

That's it, Tasty Home made Vathal is ready.

Notes:

• Add very less salt while making the kanji for vathal. 1/2 to 3/4 tsp of salt is enough for the whole. When you give a taste test on kanji, you can barely taste the salt in it. That's ok, once it completely dried, it will be good.
• Soaking the rice overnight gives slight fermented taste to the rice, it's much needed for making tasty vathal. So don't reduce the soaking time.
• If you can't peel the vathal from cloth, then sprinkle some water on the back side of the cloth, it will help to peel easily.
• Depends on the rice, the amount of water you need may varies. So keep 2 cup of hot water ready while making kanji.If the kanji turns too thick, add the hot water and stir it well till it turns in pourable consistency.
• Don't put the vathal in covered vessel or box until it's completely dry. Even inside the house, spread it evenly on large plate and cover it with cotton cloth.
• Store in air tight container when it's completely dry.
• To make sure that it's completely dry, fry few pieces,it should be crunchy not chewy.If it's chewy, dry it for a few more days.
• As i'm getting sunlight in my balcony till noon only, it takes 3 days to dry. If you dried in sunlight for entire day, it probably takes only 2 days to dry. 
• Instead of cloth, you can use any polythene sheets also.