Adhirasam

5th December, 2009


1st December was Harini's birthday (Harini is my cousin who lives in Bangalore). I knew that she loved adhirasam. I planned to make it and take it to her place on her birthday. However there was a sudden set-back. Bad luck!!! A long power failure persisted throughout the previous evening. But somehow, I wanted to make it at least by the weekend.


So, by saturday morning, I was all set to prepare adhirasam.


Ingredients : (for around 12 to 13 medium sized adhirasams)
1. Rice - 1 cup (200 gm)
2. Jaggery (Pagu vellam) - 3/4 cup (150 gm)
3. Water - 75 ml
4. Oil - to fry
5. Ghee - (just enough to grease your hands)
6. Cardamom powder
Procedure :

• Soak the rice for around15 to 20 minutes in water.
• Then drain the water well. Add it little by little into the mixer grinder and grind it fine
• Use a sieve to remove the coarse particles
• Mix a little cardamom powder with the rice flour
• Take a thick bottomed vessel, add the jaggery and water, stir them in low flame till the jaggery dissolves completely. Filter this mixture in a tea filter to remove any impurities that might have been present in the jiggery.
• Place the jaggery mixture again on the stove in low flame.
• Now place a cup of water by your side and pour a drop of the jaggery mixture to check its consistency.
• If the mixture does not deform and dissolve in water, the mixture is ready. You can put off the stove.
• Now add the rice flour to this, mix well and leave it aside for at least half an hour.
• Now, we are ready to make adhirasam. First spread out a polyethene sheet on a surface. (I used a cleaned milk cover)
• Then apply ghee on your hand.
• Make the dough into lemon-sized balls and start making them into palm-sized rounds by flattening them on the polythene sheet by hand.
• Heat the oil and fry the adhirasam in low flame till they are dark red in colour.
• Flatten and squeeze out the oil from the adhirasam using two ladles or draining spoons.

Your adhirasam is ready!!!! :D
Tips :
If you want the adhirasam to be soft, take off the jaggery mixture from the stove a little early. Like as soon as it starts taking form in water. And don’t leave it frying for very long in the oil.
For crispy adhirasam fans, the above two steps can be prolonged. But dont leave it till the jaggery mixture sticks on to the vessel. :P It should be liquid but viscous.


So, I gave some of my home-made adhirasams to Harini and she loved it. She was a crispy adhirasam fan and my adhirasam, all turned out to be crispy :P
I also took some to my office and got a good feedback there as well. But I did fail to satisfy one soft adhirasam fan.
So try it out. Adhirasam isn’t tough to make really. :) I truly felt it :)
Happy Adhirasaming!!! :D