Undrallu with Allam Pachadi | Step by Step Recipe

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)