Learn see How to prepare Rice Flour at home | Recipe for Rice Flour | Homemade Rice Flour also known as Pacharisi Maavu , Biyyam Pindi or Chawal Ke Atta. This gluten free flour is very handy to make various Indian snacks and sweets.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in August 2016 and has been updated with Video & edited pictures for comprehensiveness and freshness.
Homemade rice flour is a quintessential ingredient in South Indian kitchens. This gluten free flour is very handy and is used for making various snacks and sweets (Pindi Vantalu). With the start any festive season, this is very essential. Today I’m going to walk you through How to prepare rice flour at home.
Since many dishes are made with wheat flour and if you have a gluten intolerance you can be limited to what to eat. Opting to learn how to make rice flour with either white or brown rice can enable you to make your favourite foods with rice flour in place of the wheat.
What equipment do you need to make Rice Flour at home?
You will mainly need a blender or mixer that works specifically to crack grains. If you have one for wet ingredients, it will not work. If you want to make more than this at one time, do it in multiple batches or just give it to a mill so that the grinding is even and fine too.
Buying rice flour from the store is super easy. I’m definitely not going to deny this fact. But the truth is homemade rice flour always gives gives you a better finished product compared to any of the best packaged rice flour than the best packaged rice flour ever. Moreover some of the recipes call for freshly prepared rice flour like Ariselu/Adhirasam.
With this super easy steps, you too can now learn how to prepare rice flour at home!!
Let’s see how to
prepare rice flour at home:
- Start off by washing rice twice in water and soaking the rice for a minimum of one hour.
- Soaking longer eases grinding and gives you softer flour.
- After one hour, drain the water from rice completely and spread out rice as a thin layer on a cotton cloth or a newspaper (basically anything that can absorb the water from the rice).
- Dry for 20 to 30 minutes in the shade. It should be almost dry with a bit of moisture.
Grinding Rice:
- While rice is still mildly wet, transfer to a dry blender/grinder in small batches.
- Grind for 3 to 4 minute till you get a super fine rice powder (grinding time depends on your grinder).
- Add the rice powder to a fine sieve & sift it to get super fine rice flour. If you find small balls formed due to the moisture content in the rice, crush and sieve it.
- Sieve until you get residue rice rava (coarsely ground rice) and grind it along with the next batch of rice. You can use the residue coarse rice rava to prepare recipes that call for rice rava (coarsely ground rice). I will be using this rice rava to make savoury version of kudumulu or Kozhukottai/undrallu… or Arisi upma or Rava Pulihora and rice flour to prepare Murukku and the sweet version of kudumulu or Kozhukottai/Poornam Kudumulu.
Storing Rice Flour:
Storing rice flour until you are ready to use it again is very important. If you do not store the flour properly in an air-tight container, it may become moldy. You can store it in the freezer to help prevent formation of mold. But if it is not in an air-tight container, it will absorb moisture and odour from other items. White rice flour, when stored properly, is thought to have an indefinite shelf life.
- You can dry roast and use or use it right away (as the recipe demands) to prepare any snacks.
- But if you want to store it for later use, you must dry roast the sieved flour in a pan over medium heat until you see steam coming out of the flour. Do not burn it. Cool down completely by spreading in a newspaper and then store in airtight container.
- Rice flour is ready and you can use it to prepare various Snacks and Sweets.
How to prepare rice flour at home | Recipe for Rice Flour | Homemade rice Flour | Pacharisi Maavu Recipe | Biyyam Pindi
Equipment
- Dry Grinder or Blender
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Raw rice or as required
Instructions
- Start off by washing rice twice in water and soaking the rice for a minimum of one hour.
- Drain the water from rice completely and spread out the rice as a thin layer on a cotton cloth or a newspaper.
- Dry for 15 to 20 minutes in the shade(indoors). It should be almost dry but with a bit of moisture.
- While rice is still mildly wet, transfer to a dry blender/grinder in small batches.
- Grind for 3 to 4 minute till you get a super fine rice powder.
- Add the rice powder to a fine sieve & sift it to get super fine rice flour. If you find small balls formed due to the moisture content in the rice, break and sieve it.
- Sieve until you get residue rice rava (coarsely ground rice) and grind it along with the next batch of rice.
- Use it directly right away if you are going to use it immediately to prepare any snacks.
Storing Rice Flour:
- To store, dry roast the sieved flour in a pan over medium heat until you see steam coming out of the flour.
- Cool down completely by spreading on a newspaper and then store in an airtight container. Refrigerate for longer use.
Recipe Video
Notes
- It is important to grind the rice when mildly wet because if it is dry, it will not grind properly
- As you're using slightly wet rice, use the rice flour immediately. To store it, roast it for a couple minutes until hot and then let it cool and store.
- If you are grinding in bulk give it to a mill so that the grinding is even and fine too.
- It is best to soak the rice in water for at least 1-2 hours.
- Soaking longer eases grinding and gives you softer flour.
- 1 cup rice yields 1 1/2 cups rice flour. I prefer to make fresh batch of rice flour as and when required.
- I always prefer to store leftover rice flour in the refrigerator.
- You can use the same process to prepare brown rice flour but just increase the soaking time of rice to 3 to 4 hours.
DO CHECK OUT OTHER BASICS RECIPES IN INDIAN COOKING.
Check out a few recipes using rice flour:
- Pottukadalai Murukku
- Chakkalu
- Poornam Boorelu
- Neer Dosa
- Akki Roti
- Semiya Saggubiyyam Payasam
- Punugulu
- Mint Onion Pakoda
- Be Padi Roti
- Raw Banana Stir Fry
- Sweet Corn Oats Masala Vada
Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!
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Happy Cooking 
Cheers!!
Padma.
Thank you Padma di. Wished I should have read this before my trial and error method. Dried under direct sunlight!! Huffff!!
Made all grains powder to store and make porridge for my baby. Wanted to add rice and wheat to it. The correct way to make rice powder helped me to do my best and recommended to others. Thank you so much.
Can it be dried after grinding in a food dehydrator and for how long? My dehydrator has only high and low. Which one do you suggest I use? Thank you.
Dear pls, how can it be done in a large quantity, that’s in industry as a business
Hello, If I want to grind it in a flour mill, then can I dry it completely under hot sun light? Please reply.
Let it dry completely under the fan or outdoors under shade if you want to store for longer period, do not dry under direct sunlight!!
Thank you so much for this. Last year things was very hard and being a single parent i tried my best to make ends meet. Started to experiment with simple ways to manage and making stuff at home I just thought of can you make flour with rice and looked it up
So amazing can’t wait to try it
Already used other stuff like carrots coconut pumpkin and potato so rice is next. So happy for this
I want to thank you for sharing the rice flour preparation with me. My daughter cannot have anything with Gluten in it. Although, she is grown, my dad and I are avid bread makers and we try to make breads she can eat. I am anxious to try this so I can share it with them. Wish me luck !
You are very kind to bring this to the web so others can enjoy.
Thank you very much, Judy Bland Missouri, U.S.A.
Can I use it as cereal For my 10 months old baby.
Yes, you can use for rice porridge but since it is for a baby, try to use organic rice….brown rice can also be used…Hope this helps 🙂
Thanks quite easy with your concept
Dear Padma, thanks so much for this idea my questions are can one use warm water to soak the Rice and which preservative is better to use or not necessary
Works dope, I even used calrose and it came out awesome. Soaked it for 3 hours after a couple risings. Hit it in the processor and finished in a coffee grinder.
Thanks for the info!!
u used warm water to soak the rice ?1
Not required…..you can use cold water!!
Hi dear Padma, it’s a very good post. Thanks for the share.. 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Very nice post especially for beginners!! Perfect for the festive season!!
Thank you Sundari 🙂
most needed recipe…thanks for the lovely share
Thank you Vani 🙂
I love using rice flour in my dishes, but I didn’t know I could make it at home. Love how easy it is. Thanks for this wonderful DIY, Padma. I will sure try this sometime soon.
Thank you Anu 🙂 Hope you try it soon!!