Rice Flour is the base ingredient for quite a lot of dishes including sweets and snacks. Homemade rice flour becomes very handy during festival season as it is the main ingredient for many dishes like murukku, seedai etc. Learn to make Rice Flour at home with step by step pictures and video.
Rice flour can be used for a variety of recipes and snacks too. Now lets get on to learn how to make rice flour at home with easy tips and tricks. Rice flour is readily available at stores but it is loaded with preservatives so make your own batch of homemade rice flour and store it for easy access.
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About Rice Flour Recipe
Rice flour is prepared by soaking and grinding raw rice then roasting and sieving it to extend shelf life. “Maavu Pacharisi” as it is called in Tamil Nadu, is a commonly used rice variety for making the rice flour. This homemade rice flour is nothing but idiyappam flour.
Rice flour acts as a crisping agent – secret ingredient to make our snacks crispy – Vada, Pakoda, Bajji becomes crispier with the addition of rice flour. It also serves as a thickening agent for soups and gravies and can be a substitute when you do not have corn flour at home.
Rice flour is also used for making gluten free dishes but it produces lower volumes, harder texture and shorter shelf life. It is also used for making rice flour kolam or rangoli which is an important decorative during festivals.
The correct texture, roasting and preparation method plays a significant role in extending shelf life of rice flour made at home. It is for the same reason we should always roast the flour before storing.
You can even grind your own batch at home in mixer itself if you are making a small batch. If you are making in bulk then you can grind it in mill.
How to make rice flour – Video
Rice Flour Recipes
Here is a collection of snacks which uses rice flour:
Rice Flour Ingredients
Raw Rice – Raw rice is the most commonly used rice variety for making rice flour. It is also called “Maavu Pacharisi” / Pacharisi – It is quite common type of variety available at grocery store in South India. If it is not available at your place, go for any raw rice (Not Boiled) / IR20 variety of rice.
There are varieties of raw rice available make sure to buy the maavu pacharisi variety which is best suited to make rice flour. However you can use other varieties too but accordingly the taste and texture varies.
You can use homemade rice flour for making :
How to make rice flour at home
1.First rinse 2 cups raw rice well. Then soak it in water for 2 hours.
2.Drain water completely and rinse again.Then spread the raw rice in a soft towel and allow it to dry say for 30-45 minutes.
3.It will be slightly moist only and few rice will stick to your hands when you touch and see, this is the perfect stage.
4.Then transfer this to a dry mixer.
5.Grind to a fine powder.
6.Transfer to sieve. Sieve it well.
7.Sieve until you get rava like coarse mixture. Add it to the next flour batch and grind it again. Repeat to finish.
8.Sieved flour should be fine.
9.Dry roast the sieved flour until you see steam coming out of the flour. Keep stirring to avoid burning at the bottom.
10.Roast it and set aside to cool down.
11.You should be able draw a line using the flour, roast it in low flame till then.
12.Cool down completely then store in airtight container.
Homemade rice flour is ready!
Expert Tips
- Homemade rice flour keeps well for about 6 months if handled properly.
- You can dry roast the rice flour in bulk and store it like how I did. Else you can roast it at that instant when you are making snacks. But roasting and storing extends shelf life.
- If you are grinding in bulk give it to a mill so that the grinding is even and fine too. I grinded it at home using a normal mixer so had to grind in batches and sieve it.
- Store in a clean dry airtight container.
- Use a dry spoon every time.
Storing Suggestions
Store in a cool, dry place in an air tight container so that it can long for 4-6 months. If you are making in bulk you can refrigerate a big batch and have a small batch in room temperature for daily use.
FAQS
1. Can I grind the raw rice directly?
No. It is important that we soak, allow it to dry and then grind.
2. Can I make idli, dosa with rice flour?
Unfortunately No. We prepare wet rice batter which is a mixture of rice and urad dal to prepare idli and dosa. However neer dosa can be made with this rice flour but it will not be as tasty as our typical dosa.
3.Is roasting the flour mandatory?
Yes roasting the rice flour is a must to extend shelf life. Also roasting lends a good flavor to the rice flour.
4. What are the dishes that are prepared with this flour?
Kozhukattai / Modak, Seedai, Puttu, Akki Roti, Idiyappam, Murukku / Butter Murukku, Rice Pakora / Pakoda, Ribbon Pakoda. Add rice flour in small quantities to make Vada, Pakoda, Bajji crispier. Rice flour also serves as a thickening agent for soups, gravies and fries.
5. What type of rice to use for making rice flour?
Raw rice or pacharisi is the perfect rice variety for making rice flour. Boiled rice, idli rice, basmati rice can be used as the last option when you have no access to raw rice.
If you have any more questions about this Rice Flour Recipe do mail me at sharmispassions@gmail.com. In addition, follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube and Twitter .
Tried this Rice Flour Recipe? Do let me know how you liked it. Also tag us on Instagram @sharmispassions and hash tag it on #sharmispassions.
📖 Recipe Card
Rice Flour Recipe | How to make Rice Flour
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw rice
Instructions
- First rinse 2 cups raw rice well. Then soak it in water for 2 hours.
- Drain water completely and rinse again. Then spread the raw rice in a soft towel and allow it to dry say for 30-45 minutes.
- It will be slightly moist only and few rice will stick to your hands when you touch and see, this is the perfect stage.
- Then transfer this to a dry mixer.
- Grind to a fine powder.
- Transfer to sieve. Sieve it well.
- Sieve until you get rava like coarse mixture. Add it to the next flour batch and grind it again. Repeat to finish.
- Dry roast the sieved flour until you see steam coming out of the flour. Keep stirring to avoid burning at the bottom.
- Roast it and set aside to cool down.
- You should be able draw a line using the flour, roast it in low flame till then.
- Cool down completely and then store Rice Flour in an airtight container.
Video
Notes
- Homemade rice flour keeps well for about 6 months if handled properly.
- You can dry roast the rice flour in bulk and store it like how I did. Else you can roast it at that instant when you are making snacks. But roasting and storing extends shelf life.
- If you are grinding in bulk give it to a mill so that the grinding is even and fine too. I grind it at home using a normal mixer so had to grind it for more time in batches.You can grind it in bulk and store it for around 6 months if handled properly.
- Use a dry spoon every time.
Ramya Bala
I fry after it is ground…v.useful post
Kalyani's Platter
very nice step by step instructions …. thanks for sharing sharmilee ….
Angie's Recipes
I always want to make rice flour…thanks for sharing it.
Chandrani Banerjee
Very useful powder. Thanx for sharing.
Uma
Nice how to. It should be useful for sure.
Cheers,
Uma
divya
nice post…thanks for sharing..
Mary
I had no idea this could be done at home! Great idea. This is my first visit to your blog, so I took a bit of extra time to browse through your earlier posts. I'm so glad I did that. I really like the food and recipes you share with your readers and I'll definitely be back. I hope you have a great weekend. Blessings…Mary
Nithya
Very useful post 🙂 We used to soak, dry and give it to the machine and grind it. It will last for 3 to 4 months for us 🙂 Will do your method when I need small quantity urgently 🙂
Pavithra
Very nice post sharmi. Lovely pictures too.
Sharmilee! :)
@Vardhini : It is always bset to give and grind it in mill but for small batches I do at home but if you grind it repeatedly and then sieve, the flour will be fine but as you say it is a pain 🙂
Chitra
Nice post. I usually make this way for occasions 🙂
Laxmi
nice post.. I usually grind it bulk in mill and carry it here .. u have enough patience to make this at home.. great..
cookingvarieties
hi sharmilee, my first time here.
also first i come across a topic oh how to make rice flour at home.
also,i think you are the only one who publish such a useful recipe.. thanks, knowledge is precious.
do visit my blog when you are free, would love to read a comment from you too. have a nice day
Punithavathi
மாவைவருக்கறதுக்கு பதில் ஆவி காட்டலாமா??
Sharmilee J
it will make the flour lumpy…then you need to pulse it and sieve it again
Also there is more chances for it to get spoiled if steam it
Sharmilee J
If you are making in small batch to use it within a day or 2 then you can steam it.
For storing purpose I recommend to roast and store
Shireen Sequeira
Good post Sharmi..very useful 🙂
Neha
Very helpful post…Will bookmark it…
Gayathri NG
Sharmi u have lot of patience for doing all this.. very useful and perfect one…
Priya's Feast
Wow..It is very true steps to make rice flour from the scratch….Thank u for sharing it with readers..
Prathima Rao
A very handy recipe for this coming diwali!!! Very well explained….
Prathima Rao
Prats Corner
Now Serving
very nice and useful post 🙂
alonna
Love your website. Could you use brown rice for this?
Nish
Googled about this & landed here! Have washed rice and it's soaking now.
I have a question: Srivalli's post says to soak 15-20 mins & yours says to soak 1 hour.
Does it mean soaking 20 mins or 60 mins makes no difference to the end result?
Sharmilee! :)
I asked amma and she said soaking for more time will make the rice softer and makes it ground easier.I am really not sure whether soaking for 20 mins will also give the same result. Hope this helps!
Nish
Thanks for the quick reply, Sharmi! Good I left it for an hour, now grinding won't be a pain in the neck 😀
Mina:)
Thank you so much for sharing how to do this!
Anonymous
can this poweder be used as rice cereal for babies?
Sharmilee! :)
@Anon : You can steam it and use it as its raw powder….
Anonymous
I prepared de fluor first i cook the rice as cooking rice normaly, after i dry the rice in a pain in the oven. When the rice is dried, is very easy to mill it in my grindr and the rice powder is very soft, is cooking and it mix very fast with other ingredients in the recipes.
Jaime gaviria, colombia
Anonymous
Can you make teokkboki (korean snack) from this?
Sharmilee! :)
@Anon : I am not familiar with the snack but while googling saw that it involves rice cake, so am not sure whether we can use this recipe. Sorry cudnt help u in this regard.
Anonymous
Thanks for this great recipe. I made this but used a high quality food processor instead of a mixie, and added a little cornstarch.. came out perfect.
deepaRsmiles
hi Sharmi…. thanks for this useful post .. good for beginners like me in the kitchen to be good at small basics !
Regards
Deepa
mitu sri
thanx for useful post
mitu sri
thanx for this useful post
Sharanya Mohan Bala
Very useful post indeed. Just wanted to know whether the rice has to dried in shade (like for making rava) or in the sun?
Sharmilee! :)
@Sharanya : I just dried it indoors only..but you can sundry it for making the process quicker….
thulasi
thank you..
Latha R
How long i can keep this …will get spoil soon.. what are the step i need to take to preserve it …
Sharmilee! :)
@Latha : Just keep in airtight container and see to it that it is out of reach from water. It keeps well for 2-3months…may be inbetween you can check and sieve it once and keep it.
Vaishnavi
Hi sharmi… I tried this method for varalakshmi nombu. A question here. My rice didnt dry in 1 hour after draining the water. I had to dry it for 4 hours. Do we have to wait until it dries or can we grind it when it has moisture?
SHARMILEE J
Vaishnavi, It should not be dried completely it should be slightly moist…I have updated that in the steps now….
Farah
Hi, love ur recipes… one question, can I use brown rice?
SHARMILEE J
For making rice flour we usually use white raw rice only……
ganga prakash
Hi Sharmi
Thank u for such wonderful blog for us … my doubt was shall we use this rice flour for murukku or any special preparation for murukku flour??
SHARMILEE J
Yes you can use it….
nishanthini rajesh
Hi Sharmi , I came to know about ur blog through my sis, your carrot kheer rocks @ my home, I have an doubt with rice flour is it necessary to make it as fine powder for making thatti r coarse powder is fine b'coz I used d same method for makin rice powder and in blender I'm not able to get fine powder.
SHARMILEE J
Its better to have it fine…It depends on the mixer jar…If you are unable to grind it fine in your mixer, you can give it to a near by mill and grind it.Then you can sieve it twice at home.Hope this helps!
harsha
Hi Sharmi…Love the simplicity in your recipes 🙂
Do confirm if I can use this rice flour for making idappam and puttu too?
Regds.
harsha
Hi…tx for the simplified recipes. CAn this rice flour be used for making idappam and puttu too?
regds. Deepali
SHARMILEE J
Yes it can be used
shobha sureshkumar
I was looking for this recipe. Thanks
hema karthik
Can we use this flour for making thenkuzhal murukku n want to know do we want to roast the flour if we grind in mill? Pls do let me know
SHARMILEE J
Yes you can make use of homemade rice flour…..I usually roast the rice flour and store so use it directly for my murukkus.It depends on the recipe also….
Navneet Singh
Can I use any qulatiy of rice or does it have to be basmati or any other quality ?
SHARMILEE J
Use Raw Rice for best results….
Kirubha Arunkumar
I don't get raw rice here.can we use Basmathi or idli rice instead sharmi
SHARMILEE J
You can try with idli rice,but not sure of the outcome
Madhu
Do we need to dry roast even if we give it at mill?
SHARMILEE J
Not must…but gives nice aroma and more shelf life
Priya Yuvaraj
Hi Sharmi, is there any rice preference ? Like have to use " Pacha arisi" ? This may be a silly question ��…..
Padmashree S
hi sharmi, i tried n got it right. but after 10 days fungus formed in the flour.. i dnt wher i went wrong…
SHARMILEE J
If there is still moisture in the flour, and if you have stored it with that there may be strings forming
Radhika vel
I want to powder red rice.. Can I follow the same steps?
Sharmilee J
You can try and see…not really sure
Abitha
Hi Sharmi,
Should we have to roast the urad dal powder and rice floue even if we grind in the mill?If it is yes, can we dry the flour in the sun to remove moisture ?
Also can we grind both together rice and fried urad dal together ?
Sharmilee J
No need to roast before grinding.You can roast the flour after grinding.
Grinding rice and urad dal flour together depends on the recipe you are making.We usually grind separately and store.
Agila
Can we make rice flour using boiled rice
Sharmilee J
no raw rice should only be used
Karine
I saw that in some recipe people just blend the rice without soaking it… does it make a difference when you soak it, dry it and then blend it?
Sharmilee J
yes this is the traditional method
Vikram
I soak rice and then dry in the sun and then give to mill for grinding. Do you recommend this process for making rice flour?
Sharmilee J
yes make sure to dry well then grind also roast before storing.