Last Updated on September 12, 2021
Rice flour recipe with step by step pictures and video.Rice flour is the base ingredient for quite a lot of the dishes & savouries. This becomes very handy during festival season as it is the main ingredient for many dishes like murukku, seedai etc.
About this recipe
Rice flour is prepared by grinding raw rice in a mixer grinder. “Maavu Pacharisi” as it is called in Tamilnadu, is commonly used rice for making the rice flour. This is nothing but idiyappam flour.
Rice flour is 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. It is also used as for making gluten free bake products but it produces lower volumes, harder texture and shorter shelf life. It is also used for making Rice Flour Kolam (Rangoli) an important decorative in Gokulashtami and Pongal.
The correct texture, roasting and preparation method plays significant role in safer cooking and taste of the dish. Safer cooking – I mean – If flour has moisture and not roasted, the dish we prepare using the rice flour might splutter / burst oil while frying. It is for the same reason we should always roast the flour before using it for preparing dish if we get it from shop / stores.
Ingredients
Raw Rice : Buy “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.
Storing Suggestions
Store in a cool, dry place in an air tight container so that it can long for 4-6 months. Refrigerate if you have space in the fridge.
Good to make it and store in large quantity (with 1/2 kg to 1Kg rice), so that is handy for making quick snack and savoury. Best timing to make it is in August when you can use it till December for various festivals – Krishna Jayanthi Recipes, Ganesh Chaturthi Recipes, Deepavali Recipes, Kaarthigai Recipes and in rainy season for snacks.
You can use homemade rice flour for making :
Homemade rice flour recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw rice
Instructions
- Soak raw rice 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 30-45mins.
- 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 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 else discard the remains.
- Sieved flour should be fine.
- Dry roast the sieved flour until you see steam coming out of the flour.
- 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 then store in 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 grinded it at home using a normal mixie so had to grind it for more time in batches.You can grind it in bulk and store it for around 6months if handled properly.
- Use a dry spoon everytime.
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How to make rice flour at home
1.Soak raw rice 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 30-45mins.
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 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 else discard the remains.
8.Sieved flour should be fine.
9.Dry roast the sieved flour until you see steam coming out of the flour.
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.
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 Idly, Dosa with Rice flour?
Unfortunately No. We prepare wet rice batter which is a mixture of Rice and Urid Dhal to prepare Idly 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 rice flour good for baking?
Leniently no. Rice flour is used as an alternative to wheat flour in gluten-free baked goods. Bread produced with this ingredient has lower loaf volume, harder texture, and shorter shelf life.
4. Which flour give more thickens / crisps the dishes?
Corn flour is the preferred flour. Rice flour is next best, cheap and easily available. Rice flour adds both flavor and texture to deep-fried dishes and cornstarch adds an incredibly crunchy texture to fried food.
5. Is rice flour and Maida same?
No.Rice flour is from rice while Maida is refined wheat flour. Maida has gluten and prominently used for baking.
6. What are the foods 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.
7. Can I use the rice flour from store?
Yes – but make sure to roast it before use. Also we prefer homemade flour for festivities when we offer dishes for God and then consume.
8. Can I use any quality of rice or does it have to be basmati?
Pacharisi / Raw rice is the perfect ingredient. Boiled Rice, Idly Rice, Basmati Rice can be used as the last option when you have no access to raw rice.
9. I tried and got it right, however after 10 days fungus formed in the flour. I do not know what went wrong?
If there is still moisture in the flour or if you had storage container with moisture or spoon is wet, the flour tends to pick fungus. Store in a cool, dry place in an air tight container so that it can long for 4-6 months. Refrigerate if you have space in the fridge.
10. Should we have to roast rice flour even if we grind in the mill? If it is yes, can we dry the flour in the sun to remove moisture?
I strongly recommend that you should roast the flour after grinding. Drying flour in the sun after grinding is not a good option given that it might pick up moisture & dirt if it is stored in covered shelter.
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 mixie so had to grind it for more time in batches.You can grind it in bulk and store it for around 6months if handled properly.
- Use a dry spoon everytime.
I fry after it is ground…v.useful post
very nice step by step instructions …. thanks for sharing sharmilee ….
I always want to make rice flour…thanks for sharing it.
Very useful powder. Thanx for sharing.
Nice how to. It should be useful for sure.
Cheers,
Uma
nice post…thanks for sharing..
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
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 🙂
Very nice post sharmi. Lovely pictures too.
Sharmi .. you know what. I made this powder at home for seedai and oh boy it was a pain to powder it in batches and in spite of sieving it twice I still ended up with some rava in the powder. So I have decided to carry it from India at least for making seedai 🙂
Vardhini
Event: Herbs and Flowers – Garlic
@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 🙂
Nice post. I usually make this way for occasions 🙂
nice post.. I usually grind it bulk in mill and carry it here .. u have enough patience to make this at home.. great..
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
Good post Sharmi..very useful 🙂
Very helpful post…Will bookmark it…
Sharmi u have lot of patience for doing all this.. very useful and perfect one…
Wow..It is very true steps to make rice flour from the scratch….Thank u for sharing it with readers..
A very handy recipe for this coming diwali!!! Very well explained….
Prathima Rao
Prats Corner
very nice and useful post 🙂
Love your website. Could you use brown rice for this?
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?
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!
Thanks for the quick reply, Sharmi! Good I left it for an hour, now grinding won't be a pain in the neck 😀
Thank you so much for sharing how to do this!
can this poweder be used as rice cereal for babies?
@Anon : You can steam it and use it as its raw powder….
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
Can you make teokkboki (korean snack) from this?
@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.
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.
hi Sharmi…. thanks for this useful post .. good for beginners like me in the kitchen to be good at small basics !
Regards
Deepa
thanx for useful post
thanx for this useful post
Very useful post indeed. Just wanted to know whether the rice has to dried in shade (like for making rava) or in the sun?
@Sharanya : I just dried it indoors only..but you can sundry it for making the process quicker….
thank you..
How long i can keep this …will get spoil soon.. what are the step i need to take to preserve it …
@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.
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?
Vaishnavi, It should not be dried completely it should be slightly moist…I have updated that in the steps now….
Hi, love ur recipes… one question, can I use brown rice?
For making rice flour we usually use white raw rice only……
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??
Yes you can use it….
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.
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!
Hi Sharmi…Love the simplicity in your recipes 🙂
Do confirm if I can use this rice flour for making idappam and puttu too?
Regds.
Hi…tx for the simplified recipes. CAn this rice flour be used for making idappam and puttu too?
regds. Deepali
Yes it can be used
I was looking for this recipe. Thanks
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
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….
Can I use any qulatiy of rice or does it have to be basmati or any other quality ?
Use Raw Rice for best results….
I don't get raw rice here.can we use Basmathi or idli rice instead sharmi
You can try with idli rice,but not sure of the outcome
Do we need to dry roast even if we give it at mill?
Not must…but gives nice aroma and more shelf life
Hi Sharmi, is there any rice preference ? Like have to use " Pacha arisi" ? This may be a silly question ��…..
hi sharmi, i tried n got it right. but after 10 days fungus formed in the flour.. i dnt wher i went wrong…
If there is still moisture in the flour, and if you have stored it with that there may be strings forming
I want to powder red rice.. Can I follow the same steps?
You can try and see…not really sure
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 ?
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.
Can we make rice flour using boiled rice
no raw rice should only be used
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?
yes this is the traditional method