Discover Kuzhalappam or rice flour cannoli, a tea time snack recipe from Kerala

Often eaten as either sweet or savoury, this dish can be created in an hour!

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guide-to-making-kuzhalappam
Guide to making Kuzhalappam
Supplied/Sobha Varghese

The perfect tea time snack, rice flour cannoli or kuzhalappam (natively known in Kerala, India) is a crunchy and tasty fried snack, which can be eaten as a savoury or a sweet. It is a tube-shaped snack and is prepared by frying a mix of ingredients rolled into a dough.

Preparation time: 1 hour

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves: 5 to 6

Ingredients:

For the dough, you will need: Grated coconut, shallots, garlic, cumin, dry roasted rice flour and black sesame seeds

Step 1: In a food processer, add grated coconut, shallots, garlic and cumin with 2 tablespoons of water and grind it to a coarse mix. 

Mix all the ingredients together till you get a coarse mix

Step 2: To a pan, boil water and add a tablespoon of refined oil. Next, add the coarsely ground coconut mix and salt (as required) and then bring it to a boil. Reduce the flame and keep it aside.

To a pan, boil water and add a tablespoon of refined oil...
... and add the ground mix into it

Step 3: Take the dry roasted rice flour in a heavy pan and add a tablespoon of sesame. Add the coconut mix to it, and the beaten egg as well. Knead it gently with a spoon for few minutes and keep it aside for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add sesame seeds to the dry roasted rice flour...
... along with the coconut mix, add a beaten egg as well

Step 4: Once the mixture has cooled, knead the mixture well with your hands for another 5 minutes till you get a soft dough.

Once cooled, knead it well

Step 5: Take a rolling pin and board and cover it with cling film. Lightly grease the surface of the cling film with oil.

On a marble or wooden slab, place cling film on the surface...

Step 6: Pinch small portions of the dough and roll it into marble-sized balls.

Step 7: Place the dough ball on the rolling pin board and cover it with another lightly oiled sheet of cling film.

Step 8: Gently roll it out to a thin round sheet.

Step 9: Remove the cling film from the surface of the dough, and carefully remove the flattened dough ball.

Step 10: Roll it into a cylindrical shape with lightly oiled fingers and seal the edges properly.

... and slowly pinch a small portion of the dough, roll it into a ball and roll it out by placing another sheet of cling film on top of it. Once done, gently peel it off the surface and roll it to a tube-like shape

Step 11: Heat refined oil in a thick-bottomed pan to fry the 'Kuzhalappam'. Once heated, bring the flame to a medium.

Time to start frying...

Step 12: Drop the cylindrical dough into the hot oil and fry it till it becomes crispy and light brown, in colour. Stir occasionally for even frying.

On a medium flame, fry the 'kuzhalappam' till it becomes golden brown

Step 13: Remove the 'Kuzhalappam' from the oil with a mesh strainer, and transfer it on to a kitchen tissue paper.

Step 14: Allow it to cool and the store it in an air tight container. Serve and enjoy with a hot cup of tea!

Kuzhalappam is now ready!

Note:

Sobha Varghese

A home-maker based in Mumbai, Sobha runs a popular YouTube blog called ‘Sobha's Kitchenette’ that focuses on authentic and traditional Kerala recipes.