ARANCINI DI RISO (ITALIAN CUISINE)

Arancini di riso 

Ingredients

Making the Riceballs

1 cup Rice Cooked
1/4 cup Bread Crumbs
2 tbsp All Purpose Flour
1 tbsp Corn Flour
1/2 cup Onion finely chopped
1/2 cup Capsicum finely chopped
1 tsp Red Chilli Flakes
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Water to drizzle
Cooking Oil for deep frying the rice balls
1/2 inch pieces Mozzarella about 10 to stuff inside the balls( cheddar can also be used)

For the breading

1 cup Breadcrumbs
3 tbsp All Purpose Flour
2 tbsp Corn flour
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Making the Rice Balls

If you are using fresh rice, you can mash the cooked rice to a very soft mush and keep it aside. If using leftover rice, warm it up a bit to help mash it easily.

In a nonstick pan, add 1 tbsp of oil and sauté the onion and capsicum until soft. Add salt, red chilli flakes while cooking.

Cool it down a bit and then add this vegetable mixture to the mashed rice. Add the cornflour, all purpose flour and breadcrumbs and mix well.

Take a handful of this mixture and make a ball with your palm. Stuff a piece of mozzarella inside the ball and close it well to form a tight ball. Do the same with the whole mixture and keep it aside.

For Breading

In a wide bowl, combine the all purpose flour, corn flour, salt and pepper and add about 1/4 cup of water. Mix it well to form a thick batter.

In another wide bowl, add the breadcrumbs and season it.

Heat the oil in a kadai to deep fry the rice balls.

Drop the balls into the flour batter and coat it evenly. Using a fork, remove and drop into the breadcrumbs bowl. Roll the bowl to coat the balls nicely on all sides.

I normally never handle the balls as it tends to lose shape or get more than required flour. Rolling the ball by shaking the bowl, works very well.

Frying the Balls

Once the oil is hot enough, gently drop 2 or 3 balls into the oil and fry until evenly brown on all sides. The oil should be just the right temperature to allow cooking the balls to become crispy on the outside and melt the mozzarella slightly inside. You can start the frying by lowering the flame, and then slightly increase depending on how well it gets cooked on all sides. Using a slotted ladle remove to a kitchen towel.

Serve hot as is or with tomato sauce on the side.