Kunukku – with leftover adai batter

This is a snack with a funny name – and is super easy to make – especially if you have some left over adai batter.  My grandma used to repurpose adai batter to make this delicious snack on days when she felt like indulging us.  In Chennai – with the heat and humidity, adai batter turns sour very quickly.  So if you don’t use up the batter in a day or so, it doesn’t taste good.

I make adais about once in three weeks.  It is a great dish for dinner and if  I make it the traditional way, I don’t have to plan in advance.  The last time I made adais, I had some batter left.  There was enough to make two or three, but not enough for a meal for all of us.  That is when I remembered the snack that I used to have as a kid.

It had been raining the last few days and kunukku seemed like the perfect snack to have in this weather  I had made my adai batter with shredded cabbage and carrots.  So I just added some chopped onions, green chilies, rice flour, and besan (to thicken the batter) and made yummy kunukku.

This came out so well that I am thinking I should make it the next time I have friends over.  If you don’t have left over batter – or are just in the mood for kunukku, then you can make the batter thicker than you would for adais and reduce the amount of rice flour and besan.

Here is what you need:

(for about 2 cups adai batter)

• 2 cups adai batter (recipe here)
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 2 green chilies, minced
• ½ cup each rice flour and besan (garbanzo flour) – you may need to add more or less depending on how thick your batter is
• salt to taste (remember the adai batter already has salt in it)
• oil for deep frying

 

Here is how I made it:

1. If you don’t have adai batter, follow these steps to make it.  If you are only going to make kunukku, then make the batter with very less water.  Add grated carrots and cabbage to the batter
2. Heat oil for deep frying.
3. Mix onions, green chilies, rice flour, besan, and salt to the batter.  Mix well.  The batter should be of dropping consistency.  You should be able to shape it into a ball without it falling apart.
4. Drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil.  Fry till kunukku turns golden brown.
5. Continue till all the batter is done.
6. Serve hot with chutney of your choice