Undrallu aka Kudumulu are traditionally made as offering (prasad or neivedhyam) on Ganesh Chathurthi. They are basically steamed rice balls that are easy to make and are served with a spicy ginger chutney.

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Food has a very special place during the festival season in India. There are some specific dishes that are made for specific occasions.
One such are these undrallu aka kudumulu. They are made in both savory and sweet forms.
In our home, we make savory ones as naivedyam (offering to god) for Lord Vinayaka especially on Ganesh Chathurthi day. Sweet kudumulu are equally delicious.
These savory ones are very easy to make. Recipe needs only 4 ingredients.

Ingredients
To make Undrallu, you need just 4 ingredients:
Rice Rava/ cream of rice/ biyyam rawa is the main ingredient you need for this recipe. You can buy it from Indian grocery but it is very easy to make at home as well.
Simply grind rice into a coarse powder. It should feel like cornmeal. Do not make it too smooth. I find it easy to grind small quantities, so I can control the consistency better.
- Chana Dal/ yellow split lentils/ senagapappu
- Cumin seeds/ jeera/ jeelakarra
- Salt

To make allam pachadi (ginger chutney), you need the following:
- fresh ginger
- jaggery – I use jaggery powder (because I am lazy). But you can grate the jaggery blocks as well. You can be substitute it with brown sugar as well.
- tamarind – I use tamarind paste because it is convenient. I have included on how to make your own paste at home below.
- dry red chilies, chana dal, urad dal and cumin seeds

Instructions
The first step in making kudumulu is to make a porridge with cream of rice/ rice rawa.
Heat oil in a medium size saucepan and add cumin seeds. Once the seeds start to splutter, add the water and bring to a boil on medium high heat.
Once the water comes to a boil, add salt, soaked & drained chana dal and lower the heat to medium-low.
Add rice rawa gradually in a slow stream while continuously whisking the water to make sure that there are no lumps.

Cover and cook until the mixture thickens and looks like a porridge or upma. Consistency should be neither too wet (if this is the case cook a little longer) nor too dry (add little water).
Let this mixture cool till it is easy to handle, about 10~15 minutes. Once steamed they will be dry.

Divide the rice mixture into equal lemon size balls. Place them on lightly greased steamer plate and steam them for about 10-12 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before opening the lid. Serve right away with allam pachadi.
Recipe for Andhra style Ginger Chutney
Allam pachadi is a pretty straightforward recipe. It is a spicy, sweet and sour chutney that tingles all your taste buds. It also goes well with just about anything – idli, dosa, upma, roti etc etc.

Here is how I make mine:
Heat oil in a small saute pan on medium heat, add the chana dal, urad dal, cumin seeds and dry red chilies. Cook till the lentils turn golden brown, about 2~3 minutes.
Turn the heat off, add ginger and let the mixture cool completely.

Blend the ginger-lentil mixture along with tamarind, jaggery and salt into a smooth paste adding little water.

Allam pachadi can be stored in the refrigerator for upto 10 days. Make sure to use dry spoon everytime you serve it.

Taste Test
Undrallu are quite bland by themselves and they are typically served with a chutney. I love the combination of ginger chutney with them. But you can serve them with dal or rasam.
These are not limited to the festival season in our home. I make them as a quick snack or even as a meal all through the year.

Tips
- To make biyyam rawa at home, just blend rice in a grinder until it feels like corn meal, don’t make it too smooth. Make sure that you grind small quantities to get consistent rawa.
- I recommend buying cream of rice from Indian grocery. The hot cereal available available in regular stores with the same name will not work in this recipe. The reason is it is too finely ground and has a floury consistency.
- Make sure that the rice is added in a slow stream while you are stirring the water. This avoids lump formation and to make smooth kudumulu.
How to make tamarind paste
To always have a container of homemade tamarind paste in the fridge. It is quite easy to make at home:
- First remove the seeds in the tamarind.
- Combine 1 cup of tamarind with 3 cups of water in a medium size saucepan.
- Bring the mixture to a slow boil on medium heat.
- Lower the heat and simmer until tamarind softens, about 8~10 minutes.
- I use a hand blender to make a smooth paste – but this step is optional.
- Completely cool the mixture and store in the fridge for up to 1 month.
Few more Andhra dishes to try
Here are a few more Andhra recipes that you can try:
- Pindi Miriyam (Vegetable-Lentil Stew)
- Thiyya Pulusu (Sweet & Sour stew)
- Miriyala Charu (Pepper Rasam)
- Madatha Kaaja
- Pidatha Kinda Pappu (Jhal Muri)


Undrallu & Allam Pachadi
Ingredients
For Undrallu:
- 2 tablespoons Chana dal/ Senaga pappu
- 1 teaspoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 2½ cups Water
- 1 cup Cream of rice/ Biyyapu rawa/ Rice rawa
- To taste Salt
For Ginger Chutney:
- 2 teaspoons Oil
- 1 tablespoon Chana dal
- 1 tablespoon Urad dal
- 1 tablespoon Cumin seeds
- 3 Dry Red chilies
- ¼ cup Coarsely chopped Ginger (from about 3" piece)
- ¼ cup Jaggery, plus more if needed
- 1~2 tablespoon Tamarind paste
- To taste Salt
Instructions
To make Undrallu:
- Soak chana dal in water for at least 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Heat oil in a medium size saucepan and add cumin seeds. Once the seeds start to splutter, add the water and bring to a boil on medium high heat.
- Once the water comes to a boil, add salt, soaked & drained chana dal and lower the heat to medium-low.
- Add rice rawa gradually in a slow stream while continuously whisking the water to make sure that there are no lumps.
- Cover and cook until the mixture thickens and looks like a porridge or upma. Consistency should be neither too wet (if this is the case cook a little longer) nor too dry (add little water).
- Let this mixture cool till it is easy to handle, about 10~15 minutes.
- Divide the rice mixture into equal lemon size balls. Place them on lightly greased steamer plate and steam them for about 10-12 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before opening the lid. Serve right away with allam pachadi.
To make Ginger Chutney:
- Heat oil in a small saute pan on medium heat, add the chana dal, urad dal, cumin seeds and dry red chilies. Cook till the lentils turn golden brown, about 2~3 minutes.
- Turn the heat off, add ginger and let the mixture cool completely.
- Blend the ginger-lentil mixture along with tamarind, jaggery and salt into a smooth paste adding little water. Store in an airtight container for upto 10 days.
Notes
- To make biyyam rawa at home, just blend rice in a grinder until it feels like corn meal, don’t make it too smooth. Make sure that you grind small quantities to get consistent rawa.
- I recommend buying cream of rice from Indian grocery. The hot cereal available available in regular stores with the same name will not work in this recipe. The reason is it is too finely ground and has a floury consistency.
- Make sure that the rice is added in a slow stream while you are stirring the water. This avoids lump formation and to make smooth kudumulu.
- Consistency of the cooked rice rawa mixture should be neither too wet nor too dry. But if you find that your mixture is not upto the point, here are a few quick tips:
- if too wet – cook a little longer uncovered to dry out the mixture.
- if too dry and cannot form balls – add some warm water and cook for 1~2 minute until the mixture comes together.
avagdro
Thanks Pavani for sharing.Sounds yummy.Wish you n all a Happy Vinayaka chavithi.Cheers!!Ganesh chaturthi Gifts to Hyderabad,flowers to hyderabad,Vinayaka chavithi gifts to hyderabad,Cakes,Presents at Hyderabadbazaar|Send special ganapathi sweets,Guntur,India at Us2guntur
Praveen
hi pavani. thanks for sharing this recipie. God bless you.
Rajani S
The pictures look very nice, but I wish you had left at least one old picture so that I could see the difference :DI like the pachadi click.
Bless my food by Payal
Rightly mentioned that food has a special space during festivals in India. And keeping in mind the occassion of Ganesh chaturthi, this recipe too has much speciality. Looks fab and wonderful.
Lata Lala
Easy to make and served with spicy ginger chutney, these steamed rice balls are looking delicious. Good to know that these are traditionally made as offering on Ganesh Chathurthi.
Definitely food has a special place in the heart of us all Indians.
Uma Srinivas
Your steamed rice balls looks so yummy and look like easy too… I know this will be best when served with a spicy ginger chutney.
Archana
Wow! This sounds simply delicious, I was wondering what to make for Ganesh both these as combo with rasam will keep everyone happy. Thanks and Happy Ganesh.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
What a marvelous traditional recipe. I make Undrallu not just for festival but for dinner often. I love the idea of serving it with ginger chutney. I have not tried that combination yet. I will be making it soon 🙂
Jagruti's Cooking Odyssey
I have never tried undrallu, sounds like a fun recipe to make over the weekend. Informative and detailed post.
Padma Veeranki
Undrallu with allam pachadi is such a killer combination…I don’t even wait for vinayaka chavithi, I just make it normally over the weekends…Your pictures are tempting me to make some asap!!
sapana
Undrallu sounds like a wonderful snack for kids and with ginger pachadi it must have tasted amazing for adults too. Love this type of regional recipes.