On one episode of the sitcom Friends, a neighbour describes Monica’s chocolates as little drops of heaven; I could not think of a better metaphor to describe what Chitti Boorelu are to me.
I dedicate this recipe to my cousin Sreela, who is as crazeeeee about Chitti Boorelu as I am! 🙂
This is not a recipe for weight watchers or calorie counters. But hey, what is life without its guilty pleasures? 🙂
Ingredients
- Maida/Refined Flour – 1/2 Cup
- Rice Flour – 1/2 Cup
- Sour Curd – 1/2 Cup
- Green Chillies – 4-5
- Jeera/Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
- Red Chilli Powder – 1/2 tsp
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Water – a little
- Oil for deep frying – 1 Cup
Method
- Sieve together salt, red chilly powder, maida, and rice flour.
- Cut green chillies into small pieces and pound together with jeera till they are crushed.
- Add sour curd and green chilly-jeera mix to the flour and mix well.
- Add just enough water till the batter is of dropping consistency.
- In a small kadai, heat oil (about a cup) till it is hot but not smoking.
- With your hand or a teaspoon, drop small quantities of batter into the oil.
- Fry till golden brown.
- Serve hot by itself or with Coconut Chutney.
Tips:
- Each Chitti Boori is the size of a small grape. Do not make them large.
- Sour curd is a must to get light and crispy Chitti Boorelu. If you do not have sour curd, use two or three pinches of Soda Bicarbonate.
- You can also use a maida to rice flour ratio of 70:30 to get softer Chitti Boorelu. My recipe will result in the crispy version.
- If you want the Chitti Boorelu to be spicier, add more pounded green chillies. Adding more red chilly powder will make them hard. 🙁
- Ensure your oil is hot, else you will have an oily, chewy mess on your hands. How do you know your oil is hot enough? Add a pinch of batter to it. It should immediately rise to the top and start frying. If it sinks, the oil is not hot enough.
- Dropping consistency means that the batter just falls off, not oozes, from the spoon or hand.
All this talk of Chitti Boorelu is reminding me of another of my favourites, Poornam Boorelu, the oh-so-delectable Andhra sweet! I know what I am making for Ugadi this year. 🙂
Rama says
Yet another fav of mine. Thanks for the recipe. Can’t wait to make them .. 🙂
Aruna Panangipally says
Hey…. we are same to same. 🙂 I thought only Sreela liked it.
Sreela says
Ah!!! I want to eat them now!! My favo!!
Aruna Panangipally says
Naaku cheysi pettu!!!!! 🙂
Sreela says
Thank you so much Akka!
Sreela says
Akka! Rava Dosa recipe please!!
Nish Kitchen says
Love the recipe! Want to try it soon!
sarahjmir says
Oh yum! Btw I love that you opened with a Friends reference 🙂
Anjana @ At The Corner Of Happy & Harried says
We call it paniyaram in tamil. And it comes in a sweet variety too. Yum!
indusinternationalkitchen says
Looks yum Aruna! Love savory snacks!
simplyvegetarian777 says
Divine :).
Traditionally Modern Food says
After a long time seeing tis dish..delicious
pridhi31 says
So simple….and sounds delicious!!!
spiceinthecity says
Wow! Drops of heaven indeed! These & a cup of tea are all I need 🙂
Aruna Panangipally says
Absolutely!
Lail | With A Spin says
Fried food is always addictive. Delicious!
durgakarthik says
Wow my mom’s special. Wonderful presentation.
Aruna Panangipally says
Thank you…. 🙂
extrakitchn says
love you for making this <3