Homemade Rice Flour

- Submitted by Dahlia

(Arisi Maavu, Puttu Flour, Puttu Podi, Ari Podi)

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Rice Flour is a must have in all Indian Kitchen, especially in the South. It is useful for making many breakfast items like puttu, idiyappam, kozhukattai, orotti etc. During festivals it also comes in handy to make different snack varieties like murukku, thattai etc. Not only that, rice flour can be used to thicken gravies and added to stir fry dishes for that crispy texture. It is also a natural face scrub that can be used any day.

Having said all that, l would like to come back to the homemade rice flour recipe. Rice flour is easily available in super markets but I always prefer making this at home. The main reason is that we use so much of it that homemade one is more economical. I have a big container of about 3 - 5 kg of rice flour that lasts for 2-4 months. The second obvious reason is that by making rice flour at home, I can be sure that it is not contaminated. 

The process of making rice flour is quite simple but requires some time. I usually prefer doing on weekends when I have some extra time. We need to soak, dry, powder and then roast it. Once you get a hang of it, it becomes part of your routine. 

Recipe for Homemade Rice Flour

Preparation time: 4-6 hours for making flour
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Makes: 1 kg

Ingredients

• Raw Rice - 1 kg (5 cups)
• Water- as necessary

Method

1. Take the rice in a big vessel and wash with enough water atleast 2-3 times.  Soak it for about an hour.
2. Drain the water completely using a colander and spread it on a clean cloth. Use an old cotton saree or dhothi or dupatta for this purpose.
3. Let the rice dry under the fan or in sunlight for 2-3 hours. 
4. Traditionally the rice was given in the mill for being powdered when it is still slightly moist. My mom dries the rice completely before powdering. This way we do not have to roast it long after powdering.
5. For grinding the easiest option is to get it done in a flour mill. However if you live abroad, you have to do it in your mixie jar or blender in small batches.
6. After grinding to a fine powder, sieve it using a fine sieve on a newpaper. If you have lot of coarse rice powder left behind in the sieve, powder it once again using your mixie and sieve again.
7. The final step is to dry the rice flour completely before storing. For this we have to dry roast the flour in small batches using a heavy bottomed kadai. Keep stirring continuously while roasting to avoid the flour getting burnt at the bottom.
8.  After roasting for 3-5 minutes you will feel the moisture drying up and the rice flour becoming sandy. It will become easier to stir around and you will find steam coming. 
9. Spread out the hot flour on a newspaper and let it cool down completely. Store it in an air tight container and use it for 4-6 months.

Detailed Steps to make Homemade Rice Flour

Take required amount of raw rice to make the flour. Since this flour stays good for many months you can make with large quantity like 2-3 kg.

Take the rice in a big vessel and wash with plenty of water 2-3 times until the water rus clear. After washing, soak it in water for about an hour.

Drain the water completely using a colander.

Spread it on a clean cloth. Let the rice dry inside your home under the fan or in sunlight (terrace or balcony) for 2-3 hours. 

Now you can powder the rice by giving in a flour mill or using your mixie in batches.

After grinding to a fine powder, sieve it using a fine sieve on a newpaper. 

Finally dry roast the flour in small batches using a heavy bottomed kadai. Roast it for 3-5 minutes will all the moisture dries up and steam come out.

Spread out the hot flour on a newspaper and let it cool down completely before storing in an air tight box.

Recipes With Rice Flour

Ari Pathiri	Red Rice Puttu	Orotti	Puttu
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