Masala Cheeyam

Masala Cheeyam aka Masala Paniyaram is a simple fried dish that pairs well with tomato chutney. This Chettinad special is a great appetizer or evening snack.

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Masala Cheeyam

Masala Cheeyam or Seeyam is a simple fried dish that pairs well with tomato chutney. This Chettinad special is a great appetizer or evening snack.

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 cup long grain rice
• 1 cup urad dhal
• 6 green chillies
• 1 cup onion (chopped)
• 10 curry leaves (chopped)
• ½ cup grated coconut
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• salt to taste
• oil for frying
• 1 tbsp oil
• water (for grinding, if needed)

Instructions

• Wash rice and dhal thoroughly and soak for 1 hour.
• Grind rice, dhal and green chillies into a very smooth paste. Grinding can be done in a wet grinder or blender.
• Add small amounts of water at a time and grind into a thick batter. Batter should be thick enough to scoop.
• Transfer to a mixing bowl and set aside.
• Add 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Once hot, add mustard seeds.
• Once mustard seeds crackle, add chopped onion and curry leaves. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
• Add shredded coconut and saute for 1 minute.
• Add sauteed ingredients to batter.
• Then add salt to taste and mix well.
• In a frying pan, add oil for frying. Once hot, scoop batter using your fingers and drop small lime sized balls into the oil. Make sure to fill the entire frying pan with paniyarams to prevent the paniyarams from bursting.
• Carefully turn the paniyarams and fry until golden brown.
• Remove from pan and place on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any extra oil.
• Serve hot with chutney.

Notes

• When making cheeyam, let the batter fall from your fingers as small balls. They will shape themselves into balls once they are put into the oil. 
• Add very little water to the batter if the cheeyam turns out to be too hard. 
• The cheeyam will absorb a lot of oil if the batter is too watery. To fix this, add rice flour as needed and adjust batter consistency.