Thattai Buttons is a crispy and spicy South Indian Snack recipe made out of rice flour, cooked dal, and spices. Traditionally it is called kara buttons but in our home, we call it thattai buttons. The recipe is similar to the thattai murukku recipe. I hope everybody know the thattai snack that we make during the Diwali festival. The only difference in thattai buttons is the cooked dal. The cooked dal in thattai buttons gives a nice texture and flavor.

I had seen these thattai buttons in sweet and savory shops at Chennai but, I didn’t get the chance to try. The first time I tasted the thattai buttons is at my husband’s aunt’s place.Her name is Santha; she is my husband’s favorite aunt, among his three aunts. Unfortunately, she is not with us today. A few years ago, along with my inlaws, I went to santha aunty’s place. It was an unplanned visit; we didn’t tell them that we will be visiting. So they didn’t have special food/snack at home to offer us. Santha aunty suddenly asked her husband to bring two pouches that he kept in his room. They were his snacks, it seems. He brought it for us and, it was, the kara buttons(Thattai buttons). It was so delicious. Santha aunt’s husband is a real foody. He knows everything about food like where can we find good restaurants also, unique food items like kara buttons. Once my husband told me when his uncle returns from the office, Everyday he used to bring a new snack. Sadly uncle is also not with us.

If you’re searching for a different savory snack to make for Indian festivals like Krishna Jayanthi, Diwali then this would be the best option. Please check out other simple and delicious Diwali recipes here.

Checkout my favorite products here.

Ingredients :

Dal paste:

• 1 tbsp of channa dhal
• Urad dhal – 1 tbsp
• 1 tbsp of moong dhal

Thattai Buttons dough:

• 1 cup of raw rice flour(I used store-bought rice flour)
• 3/4 to 1 tsp of red chili powder
• 1 tbsp of softened butter
• 1 tsp of white sesame seeds
• Prepared Dal paste
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1/2 and 2 tbsp of water(adjust the water)
• 1/8 th tsp of hing/asafoetida(optional)
• 3- curry leaves- chopped
• 2 tsp of roasted and crushed peanuts(optional)
• 2 tbsp of grated coconut

• Oil to deep fry

Procedure :

Step 1: dal paste:

1. Wash and soak all the three dal in the water for 2 hours.
2. Drain the soaked water and add the dal to a pressure cooker. (In a saucepan if you don’t have a pressure cooker)
3. Cover the dal with water should be just 1/2 inch above dal for cooker. For saucepan 1 inch above dal.
4. Put the pressure cooker lid on and fix the whistle. Let the dal cook until almost mushy, about one pressure cooker whistle.
5. Once the pressure is naturally reduced, open the cooker, drain the water(save the water to prepare dough) and mash the dal. You could also use a blender to puree the dal.

Step 2: Thattai Buttons Dough

1. Leave the water and add rest the ingredients for Thattai buttons dough and combine everything.
2. Make sure all the ingredients are well combined then add the water little by little to make a dough similar to chapati dough.
3. If the dough is loose or moist, you won’t be able to make the flat discs.

Step 3: Make small Disc

1. Pinch the dough and take small gooseberry size of the dough and roll it in between your palms to make the surface smooth.
2. Then, keep the dough ball in the center of the left palm, push it down with your left-hand finger and, tap it in the circular motion to make a small disc. 
3. The disc(Kara buttons) should not be, too thin the thickness should be roughly 0.3 cm.
4. Make about 20 kara buttons and arrange them on a plate.

Step 4:

1. Deep dish/kadai, heat required oil for deep fry. Once the oil is hot, slowly drop the kara button into the oil. Let it fry for 10 seconds and then flip the kara buttons. Flip the side now and then until the kara buttons are crispy. When the oil bubbles cease, take them out of the hot oil and place it on a kitchen towel.
2. While the first batch is frying, prepare the second batch.
3. Make sure the fried hot kara buttons had come to room temperature and then store it in an airtight container. It will stay fresh up to 10 days.

Summary

Recipe Name

Thattai Buttons

Author

Swaana

Date

2019-10-05

Prep Time

30M

Cook Time

30M

Total Time

60M