Homemade Rice Flour Recipe (Puttu Podi)

Rice flour is a simple fine powder made from grinding raw rice. Homemade rice flour or puttu podi is an important ingredient used in many Indian dishes, especially during festivals. It is used to make snacks and sweets like murukku, pakoda, vadai, modak ( kozhukattai ) . While you can buy rice flour from stores, it often contains preservatives. Making rice flour at home is easier and healthier. With festivals coming up, having homemade rice flour can save you a lot of time and effort.

Homemade Puttu podi

Rice flour is a main ingredient in many of Indian snacks. I was planning to make karadaiyan nombu adai this year as I miss it each year because i was not used to that festival. So as the first step I made this rice flour to make that adai. It is so simple to make..

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About Puttu Podi (Homemade Rice Flour)

Rice flour is prepared by soaking and grinding raw rice, then roasting and sieving it to extend its shelf life. Maavu pacharisi or IR 20 is called in Tamilnadu, a common variety of rice used to make rice flour. The recipe is so versatile, that you can experiment with other rice varieties too. Today I made this flour using ponni rice. This homemade flour is nothing but idiyappam or puttu or murukku flour. The flour can be made with brown rice, millet rice or sticky rice ( glutinous ).

Unlike chickpea flour, rice flour doesn’t have a strong flavour, but it works well as a binding agent and gives a light, crunchy texture to your snacks.

Rice flour is a staple ingredient in many Indian cooking and it is widely used in other Asian cuisines like Japanese, Chinese and Korean. Making rice flour at home is really simple. All you need is a mixer, high speed blender or a small grain mill, which are now easily available online and in stores.

This year I decided to make Karadaiyan nombu adai from scratch, and the first step was making my own rice flour. If you’ve never tried it before, here’s how you can make your own rice flour at home. It’s much easier than you think!

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WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Multi usage : You can use this flour to thicken sauces, gravies and soups. The flour can be used as a binder in many Indian snack recipes like murukku, pakoda, vadai, bajji. It acts as a good binding agent. It provides a nice color and crunch to the savory recipes.

WHY I LOVE THIS RECIPE – I love this recipe because it makes my life easier and better. It’s simple, smart and saves more time during festive days and enhances the flavour and quality of the recipes.

Simple and cost-effective : You can simply make this flour using easily available pantry staples and do not require fancy equipment, a mixer or blender will do the work. Making rice flour in bulk can be more budget friendly compared to the store bought ones.

Ingredients

Rice : I have used 2 cups of ponni rice for making this rice flour. This flour recipe is so versatile, that you can make the flour using other varieties of rice like brown rice, basmati rice and sona masoori rice. This flour is foundation for many Indian sweets and savouries like

Kozhukattai ( modak ) : Steamed and delicious sweet made using soft and smooth rice flour.
Murukku : Crispy, savoury snack that needs rice flour for its crunch and shape.
Pakoda, bajji, vadai : Savory Indian fritters are made using chickpea flour and rice flour contributes to the texture and crispiness.
Akki roti : A flatbread made with rice flour, spices and herbs and its taste and texture depends entirely on the purity of rice flour.

Hacks

Soaking : Wash the rice thoroughly and soak it for at least 2 hours.

Draining and drying : Drain the water from the soaked rice completely. Spread the rice on a clean cloth. Let it fan dry or sun dry until it is completely dried. If there is a slight moisture, after drying, roast them in low flame for 2 minutes before grinding.

Grinding and sieving : Grind the dried rice in a blender or mixer or home mill grinder to a powder. Sieve the flour after grinding. And repeat the grinding process once again if it is coarse. It should be finely grounded. Sieve it again after grinding.

Rice Flour Recipe (Step by Step pictures)

Wash rice in lots of water

Soak it for couple of hours

Drain it

Spread it in a clean cloth and dry it under fan

Now powder it

Sieve it..You will get coarse rawa like mix in this
Add it to blender and powder it again..

All sieved

Roast them in a thick bottom kadai

Roast till the moistness dries up and you see
steam from it

Spread it in a clean cloth and let it cool

Store in an air tight container

Expert Tips

Always use a dry spoon while taking flour to prevent it from quick spoiling.
Grind the rice in a small batch for an even texture.
After grinding, roast the flour in low flame for 2 minutes. ● Sieve the powder to remove coarse particles.
Cool completely before storing in the jar.

Storage

Store the homemade rice flour in an airtight container. It stays good at room temperature for a month or so. For longer shelf life, store them in the refrigerator for a year.

FAQ

1.What kind of rice works for this flour ?

Well any kind of rice like brown, millets, basmati rice works for making rice flour. But when it comes to making traditional Indian snacks, then pacharisi ( raw rice ) or ponni rice works the best. It helps to attain the crispy texture.

2.Can I make a large batch of flour ?

Yes, you can make it in a large batch by grinding them using a home mill grain grinder which is available online or give them to a nearby powder mill.

3.What is the difference between glutinous rice flour and regular rice flour?

Glutinous rice flour is made using sticky rice or sweet rice, which is typically used in making Asian dishes like mochi, rice cakes, dumplings. Whereas this regular rice flour is prepared using ponni rice or raw rice. The consistency of the flour is very fine.

Variations

Gluten free flour : To make a glutinous rice flour, use brown or sweet rice ( sticky rice). These flours are popularly used in Asian cuisines to make mochi, dumplings and rice cakes.

Herb rice flour : For a flavourful rice flour, add roasted curry leaf powder or coriander powder. This can be used to enhance the flavour of murukku, akki roti and pakoda.

Coconut rice flour : Mix the rice flour, coconut flour and a pinch of cardamom powder together to create a tropical flavoured flour. This helps to enhance the taste of kozhukattai ( modak ), appam, paniyaram during festival times.

Homemade powder to try

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