Thaen Mittai also known as honey sweet is a popular petti kadai recipe from South of India. This delicacy is a Nostalgic childhood sweet made with rice, urad dal which is fried and soaked in sugar syrup to get a syrupy goodness. Learn how to make this nostalgic Thaen mittai with step by step pictures and video.
Thaen Mittai Recipe
This takes back to my childhood days. Where every evening right after the school ends, i will be running to the near by potti kadai to get this yummy mittai. When i just bite into it, the thaen (honey, actually the sugar syrup) just ooze from the sweet and just drizzle all over my lips. OMG it is such a pleasure. Nowadays it is really hard to find this, even though if we find it, it never taste the same.Check out my other potti kadai recipes.
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My viewers have been asking this recipe for a while now. I searched online to get an idea about how this is made, but no luck. There are only few blogs having this recipe and that too is made with maida / all purpose flour. But I want to make it slightly healthy. So I decided to make it with urad dal and rice, inspired from my Karupatti Mittai.
Once I tried this recipe, I asked him to taste it. He tried and told me, this one taste way better than the original. He popped many into his mouth and said it taste so good and you nailed it. I was so happy that I made the traditional recipe, a recipe which is favourite of many and it turned out to be brilliant.
What is Thaen Mittai?
Thaen Mittai is also known as honey sweet or honey balls. It is a popular South Indian petti kadai (small shop) snack. This is considered as a nostalgic childhood recipe. The batter is traditionally made with plain flour, yogurt, baking soda. The batter is dropped in hot oil as small balls and fried till crispy.
This fried balls is then soaked in hot sugar syrup which is trapped inside the fried balls. This creates an explosion when you bite into it. Hence the name.
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About Thaen Mittai
Thaen mittai is a nostalgic childhood favorite recipe of many. This is available in small potti kadai shops. It is also known as honey sweet which is made with urad dal, rice and soaked in syrup. Traditionally it is made with maida and sugar. But I made it with urad dal and rice for a healthy alternative.
The sweet itself is soaked in syrup, so it is best to make it fresh and consume it on the same day. Leftovers can be stored in an air tight container.
Thaen Mittai Ingredients
Rice - I used regular rice for making this. Make sure it is soaked well, so it grinds smooth.
Urad dal - urad dal helps make the batter light and fluffy. It creates fluffy texture and makes it crispy once fried.
Sugar - Granulated sugar is used for making syrup which seeps into the fried thaen mittai once soaked.
Food Colour - orange colour is traditionally used in thaen mittai. You can use any colour or even skip food colouring.
How to Make Thaen Mittai (Stepwise Pictures)
1)Measure your rice and urad dal.
2)Take rice and dal in a bowl. wash it well, soak them in water for 3 hours.
3)Strain them and add it to a blender, add very little water at a time and make it into a thick smooth paste.
4) It doesn't have to be very smooth, the rice will remain little grainy, that is not an issue.
5)The batter has to be thick and fluffy.
6)Now add some food colouring to it and mix well. The batter should be thick.
7)Mix well until smooth and fluffy.
8)Now make the sugar syrup, take sugar in a sauce pan.
9)Add water.
10)Heat and mix it well till the sugar is melted and bring it to boil.
11)Boil it for 5 mins. By which time it will get little syrupy and thick.
12)Now heat some oil for deep frying. Dip your fingers in some water, take small portion of the batter.
13)Drop in hot oil, fry till crispy and golden.
14)It will take around 3 to 4 mins. Once the outer crust turns very crispy.
15)Strain the fried thean mittai using a slotted spoon once it gets crispy.
16)Add it to the hot syrup.
17)Now dip the fried sweet in sugar syrup and soak it for 2 mins.
18)Strain it using a slotted spoon and let it cool.
19)Serve.
20)Sugar filled thean mittai is ready.
Expert Tips
- The batter should be thick, so add very little water while grinding.
- When frying you have to fry till the outer crust gets crispy. So it stays crispy even when soaked in syrup.
- Leave it only 2 mins in syrup. It will absorb it quickly.
- You can store this in an air tight container for 2 to 3 days.
Petti Kadai Recipes
📖 Recipe Card
Thean Mittai Recipe (Honey Balls)
Equipment
- Blender
- Cooking pot
Ingredients
For Batter
- 1 cup Rice I used idli rice
- ¼ cup Whole Urad dal
- ½ tsp Orange Red Food Colouring
- Oil for Deep frying
For Sugar Syrup
- 1 cup Sugar
- ¼ cup Water
Instructions
- Take rice and dal in a bowl. wash it well, soak them in water for 3 hours. Drain them and add it to a blender, add very little water at a time and make it into a thick smooth paste. It doesn't have to be very smooth, the rice will remain little grainy, that is not a issue.
- Now add some food colouring to it and mix well. The batter should be thick.
- Now make the sugar syrup, take sugar and water in a sauce pan. Heat it and Mix it well till the sugar is melted and bring it to boil. Boil it for 5 mins. By which time it will get little syrupy and thick.
- Now heat some oil for deep frying.
- Dip your fingers in some water, take small portion of the batter and drop in hot oil, fry till crispy and golden. It will take around 3 to 4 mins. Once the outer crust turns very crispy., drain it.
- Now dip the fried sweet in sugar syrup and soak it for 2 mins.
- Drain it and serve.
Notes
- The batter should be thick, so add very little water while grinding.
- When frying you have to fry till the outer crust gets crispy. So it stays crispy even when soaked in syrup.
- Leave it only 2 mins in syrup. It will absorb it quickly.
- You can store this in an air tight container for 2 to 3 days.
Nutrition
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Sangeetha
Simply superb..thanks for this recipe....
Veena Theagarajan
my childhood fav.. it has been a while since I had this .. perfectly done
Anonymous
Thank you so much for this recipe.. I am gluten intolerant.. I thought they make this in maida. So much relief ... definitely I will try this at home...
Anonymous
Did u try it with honey mixed in syrup
INSPIRED
Hi Aarthi
Can I use split urid Dal instead of whole one
Kurinji
yummy...
Anonymous
simply super. in our home we make it little different. we wont add color and rice. and we mix the sugar with the urad ur ideas good. ----selvi
sindhuja
Wowwwww super...great work....my favorite one.. reminded me of my childhood. Thanks for the recipe. ...
Babitha costa
i'm drooling here aarthi,will make it,thnx for sharing
vidhas
Wow! ! Aatthi I love this. Thanks for sharing. Will surely try this.
jayasree raju
Wowwwwww killing ... I gonna try ... Tnx arthi 🙂
Anonymous
Simply superb ..... wonderful ideas .... all childhod fav surly i wl try ...... evalo days dono idly dosa maavula thaan thenmittai receipe erukunu once again thank usooooo much
Anonymous
Superb good ideas .... my fav thank u soooo much
Aarthi
@INSPIREDYes u can use split white urad dal.
chitra
wow aarthi.great work
Anonymous
thanks for this recipe...... actually i was searched in net but i could not found...... its my fav....
Coral crue
had no clue that this was made with healthy things. used to think it was maida balls...thank you 🙂
nivethaa
For long time iam looking for this thean mittai that how to do .. it will be very tasty .. thank you for your post
Jeslin
Thanq very much Aarthi, u fulfilled one of my wish & waiting for the rest of the recipes.
Thenmuttai is looking so xellent, I will try it soon, Thanq once again.
Praba Arun
You are awesome Aarthi. Will it in any way burst in oil like paal paniyaaram. .?I'm bit scared of frying rice-dhal batter. Please clarify.
Latha
Wow yummy! Will try this for sure my hubby's favorite! Going into childhood memories!
Aarthi
@Praba Arunno it wont burst
Asan Sheeba
Ya it bursted for me.I tried at home aarthi.by god grace escaped with few spots of oil in face
Anonymous
Omg artiii ur recipes are amazing can u please teach us how to make adhirasam ???
Anonymous
Pleaseee teach us how to make adhirasam pleaseeee
Anonymous
hello plz tel how to make butter cream puff .....plz
Janani Gunasekaran
Aarthi, in this recipe the rice and Dhal quantity u mentioned are same as idly batter quantity... Can I try this recipe using idly batter which I have in my hand or to grind this separately.... Please clarify....also I tried ur wheat burgerbuns recipe sday and it came out well... Only thing the top layer was little hard but inside it was soft... Enjoyed it as burger.. Thanks a Ton for all ur recipes
Anonymous
Lovely... can feel d taste...
#that nane sindhichen proud moment
Aarthi
@Janani Gunasekaranyes u can use that..U must have over baked the buns,
shri
thanks a lot for this recipe, gonna try this.. this is one of my fav even now... i used to buy this whenever i go to grocery shop, hope no need to buy hereafter
Anonymous
Wow super recipe .surely I will try tis
Thanks aarthi
Rohini
Actually that's mind blowing man...Come on..whenever i search for some rare recipes like these I get from you. Thanks for the recipe. Will try and update you..
Rohini
Hi... I tried your recipe. But the outer crust turned out to be bit hard though it was crispy. Any idea why so?
Aarthi
@Rohiniu must have over cooked it or the batter is not ground till fluffy
green
Hi aarthi, I got outside very crispy but inside there is no syrup only batter is there.. Where I went wrong. Whether my batter is v thick.? Pls do reply. Thanks.
Aarthi
@greenyes ur batter is too thick or u have fried it on high flame.
Aarthi
@greentry keeping the sweet in the syrup for long time.
Anonymous
How??? I mean how do u know so many recipes?! Simply superb!!
Anonymous
Hi Aarthy,
I am reluctant to add food color, can i add turmeric powder instead so that i will get a different yellow color?
Aarthi
@Anonymousyes u can add
Anonymous
Thanks for the recipe v never get theen mittai nowadays now i can make it
how long can it be stored
Aarthi
@AnonymousYou can keep it for 2 days out and more in fridge
Foodie
Hai Aarthi,
Do you know a mouthwatering sweet which we all buy in bakery during our childhood - Apple cake in Iyengaran bakeries for just Rs.4, a small round brown color sweet with sugar and coconut garnished on top. I was searching for that recipe in the Web. Kindly share the recipe for this Diwali...you can do it...waiting for the recipe in your blog very soon.
Rashmi Vinay
Hi, batter started bursting inside oil.I burnt my hands n face. Please let me know why this could have happened.
Vidyaa
Sorry to hear that. This will happen if there’s any unground particles of rice or stones in the batter. Make sure to check the lid & also the sides of the mixie jar half way grinding (for bigger rice particles).
Aarthi
@Rashmi Vinayi am not sure though..
Sathya
Kalakureenga...! Keep it up!
Anonymous
Even I am crazy about thaen mittai, I tried ur recipe, it was very good, but tasted exactly like jelabis. I have been hunting for the recipe, recently I tasted an Arabic sweet called awamat and it is our thaen mittai, but without colour, there are many recipes in the internet for awamat, if you try those recipes I am sure you will find out the exact recipe. they are adding some extra ingredients but me and my husband are100% sure about the taste as thaen mittai.
Fermie Praisid
Hi Aarthi,
I have dosa maav. But little salt is added in it. Can I use it for making thaen mitaai??
Aarthi
no it is diff i think
Fermie Praisid
Hi Aarthi,
Tried this recipe and it came out really well. Thanks for sharing such a simple and yummy recipe.
Anonymous
Hi ..how much days we can save this in fridge
Aarthi
this stays good for a week
Anonymous
Buy Thean mittai online @ bindbind.com
Unknown
I tried this today. Worst experience for me as it started to burst. Donno why it happened. What will be the reason for it.
Aarthi
i think your batter is not as thick
Anonymous
Hi,
I have a big bottle of honey lying in my home, dont know what to do with it. Please could you let me know if I can use that in this instead of sugar syrup?
Aarthi
you cannot use honey in this.
Anonymous
It taste's like dosa why?
Sahana A. V.
Thanks for the recipe. I was searching for this recipe since 5 to 6 years. Thanks a ton one again 🙂
Parveen
Hi I tried it at home, the outer layer was very hard, so added some more urad dal and baking soda, then it was ok but not perfect. Left the mittai in syrup for long time but didn't absorb as you said. please advise
Hema
Mine did not absorb syrup inside... but the texture is good. Pls advise
Aarthi
Make sure the mittai is hot when putting syrup
Saranya Subramaniam
Hi aarthi,
I have tried this 3 times but each time I get urad dal smell inside...I fried for few more seconds but it turns hard and not absorbing syrup...When I bought thean mittai in store "Maida" is mentioned as ingredient...How do you say it's not made with maida? My kid is fond of this so wanted to try it by myself...Pls help me
Anu
This thaen mittai is made of maida only.. its mentioned on the packets..also i have seen some packets have milk powder ,rava and all mentioned.. when we make with rice and urid dal.. the taste is not exactly as store bought ones...