ADHIRASAM, how to make riceflour doughnuts, combined with jaggery syrup

Some call it Athirasam...but mostly, colloquially we all call it Adhirasam...rather, Adhirsam.
This is a very very important sweet, be it a marriage or be it a Srardham...be it a Upanayanam function....I used to gaze in awe while it used to be made at our home by the expert cooks...such huge ones...
For many, this is default made for Deepavali for Gowri nonbu.
Now, I have got a friend, who is an expert in adhirasam...more so, my son-in-law is so fond of adhirasam..I went to my friend's house, learnt the technique of making jaggery paagu..and voila!!!turned out to be very good...crisp and soft...crunchy and spongy...
There are so many small techniques..and of course, I am sharing each and everything with you all....

Ingredients

Raw rice - 1 cup, soaked exactly for 1 hour

Jaggery - 1 cup

Water - 1/4 cup

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Enough oil and 2 teaspoons ghee to fry the adhirasams

Recipe cuisine: South Indian; Category: Festival delicacy

Soaking time: 1 hour; Prep time: 20 mts; Dough resting time: 24 hrs; Cooking time: 15 mts to make the jaggery syrup; 35 mts to cook the adhirasams

Yields 15 Adhirasams

Raw rice soaked for 1 hour, then drained well.

Rice spread on a towel, so that the water will become dry

This is a very important point: Roughly after 20 mts, if you take some rice and close your palm, then drop the rice, there should be no water in your hand, but still rice will have some wetness

Powder to a fine powder in blender

Add the cardamom powder on top

Jaggery measured and taken. Jaggery should be as brown as possible in color and it should be good paagu vellam. Otherwise, the consistency will not come properly. Another important thing to take care.

1/4 cup water taken

Mix water to jaggery, heat it till all lumps are dissolved, then strain to filter all impurities.

Boil it nicely in medium flames, not forgetting to check the thickness often

The most important point...the right consistency..it should be a very soft ball..when you leave it in water, you should be able to collect it and form a soft ball. The ball shouldn't be hard, otherwise, adhirasams will become like rock.

Now, add the jaggery syrup to the rice flour, mixed with cardamom powder

Mix it to a dough, cover with a lid, and leave it aside for 24 hours. I prepared the dough by 2 in the afternoon, left it over night, then prepard adhirasams by 2 in the afternoon. This dough can be refrigerated for a week at least, and fresh adhirasams can be made, as you want!

 Knead the dough once again, if it is a bit dry, add one teaspoon of curds and knead well. Then,pinch out even sized balls, you can do this after greasing your hands with a drop of ghee

Keep one ball on a greased wax paper

cover with another piece of butter paper, and press with a flat bottomed cup

You will get an evenly flattened adhirasam. Don't flatten it too much. Adhirasam should not be very thin. It should have a fairly decent thickness. Then only it will be nice

You can make 4 or 5 and keep them on a plate

Heat oil, adding 2 teaspoons ghee

Keep these 2 ladles ready, you need to press each adhirasam very well, so that the extra oil will ooze out

When oil becomes hot, gently drop one adhirasam. Flames on the lowest always

If your kadai is spacious enough, you can drop in one more.

After it becomes nicely browned on both sides, press like this nicely

Keep them on a colander, lined with kitchen paper towel

Unbelievable!!! I could make it!!! adhirasams taste awesome when it is hot too!!! I know many people, who always warm them up for a few seconds, before eating....

Look at the golden color!!!

This post first appeared in www.malpatskitchen.com

Categories: Desserts, Festival Delicacies, Indian sweets, Janmashtami neivedhyams, Navarathri Neivedhyams