Maida Seedai is a crispy, deep-fried snack made using maida, fried gram flour, butter, and spices. The dough is rolled into small balls and deep fried in oil until golden and crunchy. It is often prepared as a part of festive offerings and adds variety to the usual savory spreads. Maida Seedai is an alternate variation of rice flour seedai and commonly made during Gokulashtami. It’s a light, flavorful, and melt-in-the-mouth dish.
Maida Seedai turns out crisp outside with a light bite inside. It has a gentle flavor from cumin seeds and sesame seeds which gives it a nice traditional touch. The texture of the seedai is light and not too hard, making it easy to munch on. You can prepare it ahead of time for festivals or just make it as a tea-time snack. The crispness and mild flavor make it perfect for gifting or packing into snack boxes.
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About Maida Seedai
Maida Seedai is a traditional South Indian snack made using simple pantry ingredients like maida, fried gram dal, butter, and spices. It is often made during festivals like Krishna Jayanthi popularly known as Gokulastami and uses maida as the base instead of rice flour, making it a quick fix for sudden festival preparations.
This maida seedai recipe has a mild and pleasant taste that is not spicy or overpowering. The jeera and sesame seeds add a nice aroma and a subtle nutty flavor. It has a crispy texture when you bite into it but still light and airy inside. Fried gram adds that soft crunch and makes the snack easy to chew. Butter gives the seedai a rich and smooth taste.
This seedai recipe is perfect for storing and enjoying it later. You can make it in advance, especially during festival seasons, and store it in an airtight container. It stays fresh and crunchy for days, making it an easy choice whenever you feel like having something savory. The balance between crisp and light makes it a good option for kids and elders too.
Maida Seedai Ingredients
- Maida – Use good quality maida. It has to be steamed, cooled, crumbled, and sieved until fine for best results.
- Fried gram dal – Ground to a fine powder and sieved until fine. Adding fried gram dal gives the melt in the mouth texture and nice crunch to the seedais.
- Butter – Adds rich taste and helps bind the dough.
- Sesame seeds – Adds mild nutty flavor and slight crunch.
- Cumin seeds – Adds flavor and aroma to the seedai.
- Soda – Adds crispiness, prevents hardness and enhances the texture.
- Water – Add little by little to knead the dough.
- Oil – You can either use groundnut oil or any other of your choice for deep frying.
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Why This Recipe Works
- This recipe uses simple pantry ingredients.
- It’s a quick and easy recipe to prepare. Doesn’t need any special tools.
- It has mild spice but flavorful. Loved by both kids and adults.
- Low chances of bursting.
- A great tea-time option or travel snack.
- Perfect snack for special occasions and festive days.
- It can be stored for days.
How to make Maida Seedai Step by Step
1.In a clean white cloth add maida flour and tie the ends of the cloth to make a bag and steam it for 15 minutes. I used my idiyappam plate to steam it. Let it cool down.
2.Then crumble it with your hands. Then sieve it once. Discard the speck .Then take fried gram dal in a mixer.
3.Grind it to a fine powder and sieve it. Now in a mixing bowl add sieved maida flour, fried gram dal flour, melted butter, jeera, sesame seeds, required salt and soda.
4.Mix well once with your hands then add water little by little to form a smooth dough. It should not stick so add water accordingly and make a dough. Then pinch a small balls and roll it gently without applying any pressure. Roll it such that its slightly bigger than peas. Don’t roll them tightly just pinch and roll them once and put it on the dry cloth or newspaper.
5.Repeat the procedure till the entire dough gets over. Let it sit for 5 minutes for the moisture to get absorbed meanwhile you can heat oil. Heat oil and drop few balls slowly and cook the seedais for 8-10 minutes in medium flame till its golden in color. Roll over to cook evenly. Fry the seedais in batches. Be at a safe distance to be more cautious. Drain in tissue paper and continue deep frying the rest of the seedais.
Cool down and then store in airtight container.
Expert Tips
- Maida Preparation – Steam the maida tied in a cloth to avoid water absorption. Maida has the tendency to become like rice flour in texture after its steamed and looses it elasticity.
- Sieving – Sieve both maida and fried gram powder which will lower the risk of bursting. Make sure both the flours are sieved well before use.
- Mixing – Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly before adding water so that it is even throughout.
- Butter Usage – Do not exceed the mentioned amount to avoid crumbling of the seedai while frying. Also if butter is less the seedai will become too dry.
- Rolling – Roll gently into small balls without pressure for a smooth finish. Do not attempt to make bigger balls, for proper cooking inside make small balls slightly bigger than peas.
- Resting Time – Rest the rolled balls just for 5 minutes, not more, to avoid drying.
- Frying – Fry in small batches on medium heat for even cooking. Stay at a distance while frying, especially if you are new to seedai making. If your flame is high then your seedais will not cook evenly.
- Cooling – Soon after you take out the seedais from oil it will be soft, once cooled down it will become crispy. Let seedais cool completely before storing to retain crispness. This seedai takes longer time than the usual seedai takes so cook in medium flame for at least 8 minutes else your seedais will not be crispy.
Serving and Storage
Serve Maida Seedai as a snack with tea or include it in your festive snack box.
You can store it in an airtight container at room temperature. It stays fresh and crispy for up to a week.
FAQS
1.Can I skip steaming the maida?
No, if you skip steaming, the dough will turn elastic and the texture of the seedais won’t come out as expected
2.Can I make this without fried gram dal?
Fried gram dal makes the seedai light and soft. Skipping it may make the seedai hard.
3.Can I roll the seedai into big balls?
No, keep them slightly bigger than peas so they cook evenly without staying raw inside.
4.Why does my seedai have cracks?
The dough might be too dry with less water, in that case sprinkle little more water mix well then roll gently for a smooth finish.
5.Can I skip soda?
Yes, you can skip it, but using a pinch makes the seedai lighter and helps with texture.
6.Can I add more butter for better taste?
No. Too much butter can make the seedai crumble after frying.
If you have any more questions about this Maida Seedai Recipe do mail me at sharmispassions@gmail.com. In addition, follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube and Twitter .
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📖 Recipe Card
Maida Seedai Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup maida
- 2 tablespoon fried gram
- 3 teaspoon butter melted
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon jeera seeds
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- salt to taste
- water as required
Instructions
- In a clean white cloth add maida flour and tie the ends of the cloth to make a bag and steam it for 15 minutes. I used my idiyappam plate to steam it. Let it cool down.
- Then crumble it with your hands.
- Then sieve it once. Discard the speck.
- Then take fried gram dal in a mixer. Grind it to a fine powder and sieve it.
- Now in a mixing bowl add sieved maida flour, fried gram dal flour, melted butter, jeera, sesame seeds, required salt and baking soda.
- Mix well once with your hands then add water little by little to form a smooth dough. It should not stick so add water accordingly and make a dough.
- Then pinch a small balls and roll it gently without applying any pressure.
- Roll it such that its slightly bigger than peas. Don’t roll them tightly just pinch and roll them once and put it on the dry cloth or newspaper.
- Repeat the procedure till the entire dough gets over.
- Let it sit for 5mins for the moisture to get absorbed meanwhile you can heat oil.
- Heat oil and drop few balls slowly and cook the seedais for 8-10 minutes in medium flame till its golden in color. Roll over to cook evenly.
- Fry the seedais in batches. Be at a safe distance to be more cautious. Drain in tissue paper and continue deep frying the rest of the seedais.
- Cool Maida Seedai down and then store in airtight container.
Notes
- Maida Preparation – Steam the maida tied in a cloth to avoid water absorption. Maida has the tendency to become like rice flour in texture after its steamed and looses it elasticity.
- Sieving – Sieve both maida and fried gram powder which will lower the risk of bursting. Make sure both the flours are sieved well before use.
- Mixing – Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly before adding water so that it is even throughout.
- Butter Usage – Do not exceed the mentioned amount to avoid crumbling of the seedai while frying. Also if butter is less the seedai will become too dry.
- Rolling – Roll gently into small balls without pressure for a smooth finish. Do not attempt to make bigger balls, for proper cooking inside make small balls slightly bigger than peas.
- Resting Time – Rest the rolled balls just for 5 minutes, not more, to avoid drying.
- Frying – Fry in small batches on medium heat for even cooking. Stay at a distance while frying, especially if you are new to seedai making. If your flame is high then your seedais will not cook evenly.
- Cooling – Soon after you take out the seedais from oil it will be soft, once cooled down it will become crispy. Let seedais cool completely before storing to retain crispness. This seedai takes longer time than the usual seedai takes so cook in medium flame for at least 8 minutes else your seedais will not be crispy.
Deepa
Nice. Instead of maida can I use wheat flour
SHARMILEE J
Don't think it will work….
Ramya Venkateswaran
wow super idea ,will sure make this for janmashtami
nithya devi
Nice one Sharmi.
traditionallymodernfood
Awesome thought:-) time to make
Pattu
Wow!.I used to make steamed maida maavu murukku for years. This is the first time I see a post on steamed maida snacks. Good recipe. Thanks.