Elai vadam / Thalir Vadam / Rice Papad

Elai Vadam, akin to papad, is a beloved accompaniment often served with Sambar rice or Rasam. Made from rice, lentils, potatoes, or sago, this traditional snack holds a special place in my heart and that of my brother. It is a treat that our amma and paati used to make at home, and despite the availability of store-bought versions, they can never match the taste of our homemade Elai Vadam.

Family Tradition

During our childhood, making Elai Vadam was a family affair. Amma and Paati handled the steaming process, while my younger brother and I had our roles. I was tasked with eating the freshly steamed vadams, which often led to playful arguments with my brother, who would scold me for consuming them without contributing to the preparation. Despite the fun disputes, it was a cherished part of our family routine.

The Process

Making Elai Vadam is a meticulous process that requires quick and precise actions. We used a specialized stand for steaming, which is common in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. My parents gifted me a stand with 12 plates when I got married, continuing the tradition and making it easier to prepare this delightful snack at home.

A Unique Treat

One of the unique aspects of Elai Vadam is that it can be enjoyed steamed as well as crisped. The fresh, steamed vadam is incredibly tasty, adding to the enjoyment of the process and the final product. The entire experience of preparing and eating Elai Vadam is filled with nostalgia and love, making it more than just a snack but a meaningful part of our family traditions.

Other Papad recipes

Sago Papad,

Onion Sago Papad

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Elai vadam / Thalir Vadam / Rice Papad

Niranjana Sankaranarayanan

Vadam is similar to papad and is made with rice or lentils or potato or sago. Vadam is served as an accompaniment for Sambar rice or Rasam. Elai vadam is one of the favourite for me and my brother, that amma and paati make in our house. Since this was not available in shops it had a great demand when it is made at home. Though we get in shops nowadays, it is not as tasty as we prepare at home. In our childhood days, Amma and Paati will do the steaming work and my younger brother will help them in peeling off the vadams from the plate.

Interesting part is you can eat the steam cooked vadam and it is very tasty. So my job is to eat the steam cooked vadams. There starts the fight between me and my brother. He scolds me for simply eating it without doing any work. Making elai vadam is a big process and needs us to act quickly with each step. To make these vadams we need a stand which is available in parts of Tamilnadu as well as Kerala. My parents gifted me this stand when I got married. It has a stand with 12 plates.

Some more papad recipes

Onion Sago Papad

Plain Sago Papad

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Soaking + Fermenting time 15 hours hrs

Total Time 16 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Course Fryum, Papad, Snack

Cuisine Indian, Kerala, South Indian, Tamilnadu

Servings 100 Papad (approx)

Equipment

• Elai vadam stand / Dhokla stand
• Steamer / Idli cooker / Pressure cooker

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups Raw rice
• 1 cup Boiled rice
• As required Salt –
• 2 Nos Green chillies
• 2 tbsp Sesame seeds
• Coconut oil

Instructions

 

• Wash and soak raw rice and boiled rice in water for 6-8 hours or overnight.
• Next day drain the water and grind it with salt and green chillies by sprinkling the water to make it grind easily.
• Keep it in the refrigerator to ferment for 6 hours.
• Next day add gingelley oil and sesame seeds to the batter and mix well.
• Add water to make it to the right consistency. It should not be too thick nor too watery.
• In a heavy bottomed vessel, add water and allow it to boil(Add water as you add in the pressure cooker). You can also use pressure cooker or Idli cooker for this purpose.
• When you keep the steam ready, you can cook the vadams very quickly.
• Mix water and 1 tsp oil in a small cup. This is to grease the elai vadam plates.
• Dip a small cloth in water+oil mixture and grease the plates.
• Now take one small ladle of batter and spread it in all the plates evenly.
• Arrange these plates in Elai vadam stand carefully so and keep it in the boiling water and steam cook for eight minutes.
• Once done, take the stand out of the boiling water and remove the plates.
• You can eat these peeled off vadams as a snack. It will be very tasty and interesting to eat these steam cooked vadams.
• Carefully peel off the vadam from each plate and spread it in a polythene cover and keep it in the sun.
• If the vadams are not cooked properly, it will stick to the plates.
• Repeat this until the batter gets over.
• You need to keep the vadams in the sun for three days. If not you can’t keep it under the sun, dry the vadams under the ceiling fan.
• Once dried, you can store it in a container.
• Fry it in the oil when needed and serve it with hot Sambar sadham, rasam sadham or as an evening snack.

Video

Notes

You can also use Dhokla maker to make these Vadams or Fryums.

Keyword Arisi vadam, Elai vadam, Papad, Thalir Vadam, Vadagam, Vadam

INSTRUCTIONS

• Wash and soak raw rice and boiled rice in water for 6-8 hours or overnight.
• Next day drain the water and grind it with salt and green chillies by sprinkling the water to make it grind easily.
• Keep it in the refrigerator to ferment  for 6 hours.
• Next day add gingelley oil and sesame seeds to the batter and mix well.
• Add water to make it to the right consistency. It should not be too thick nor too watery.

• In a heavy bottomed vessel, add  water and allow it to boil(Add water as you add in the pressure cooker). You can also use pressure cooker or Idli cooker for this purpose.
• When you keep the steam ready, you can cook the vadams very quickly.
• Mix water and 1 tsp oil in a small cup. This is to grease the elai vadam plates.
• Dip a small cloth in water+oil mixture and grease the plates.
• Now take one small ladle of batter and spread it in all the plates evenly.

• Arrange these plates in Elai vadam stand carefully so and keep it in the boiling water and steam cook for eight minutes.
• Once done, take the stand out of the boiling water and remove the plates.

• You can eat these peeled off vadams as a snack. It will be very tasty and interesting to eat these steam cooked vadams.

• Carefully peel off  the vadam from each plate and spread it in a polythene cover and keep it in the sun.

• If the vadams are not cooked properly, it will stick to the plates.
• Repeat this until the batter gets over.
• You need to keep the vadams in the sun for three days. If not you can’t keep it under the sun, dry the vadams under the ceiling fan.

• Once dried, you can store it in a container.
• Fry it in the oil when needed and serve it with hot Sambar sadham, rasam sadham or as an evening snack.

Note 

You can also use Dhokla maker to make these Vadams or Fryums.

This recipe was first posted in 2014. Then I added new pics in 2015 and now updated the Video and pics again.

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