Adhirasam - King of Desserts in Tamil Cuisine

Adhirasam - King of Desserts in Tamil Cuisine

Adirasam is the South Indian sweet made during Deepavali in most of the houses. Our previous generations, had this recipe in finger tips. But, we in our busy life style, missed to spare time to know about this recipe. And today there are some people, who just spend their Deepavali without adirasam just because they don't know how to make it.

Some ardent cooks learn the recipe from their mom or mil. Some learn from the internet or cook books. I too tried so many sources of recipe like cook books, internet, cookery shows and asked many many people. Then, I tried once and it was a flop. I did not have the confidence to try again. I realised that reading the recipe and trying it is of no use. I knew that I have to see someone doing live.. NO.. not in televisions.. but personally.. live.. so that I can see how moist the rice flour is.. the ratio of rice flour to the jaggery...  the bubbles in the jaggery syrup.. the colour of the syrup.. the smell of the syrup.. the time it actually takes to reach that consistency.. how do they add the rice flour and stir it into the syrup... how long they let it to sit.. how does it fry without opening up... how long should it stay in oil.. how long does it take to cook in oil... etc.,

Making adirasam is like what the spiritualist say "knowing". It is not enough if you just have many recipes for adirasam, you should 'know' how it feels while making adirasam. You really do not know how to make adirasam until you make once successfully. You may be trying many times, but when you are right.. you will feel it is going to be right and therefore you will know it is right.

Thanks to my loveliest neighbour Geetha amma whom I mentioned about in gulaab jamoon recipe. I met her almost after 20 years. I got a chance to see her doing the adirasam. Then I gathered confidence. I tried at my home and YES I got it.. The Adhirasam. I was very happy to see myself making adhirasam.

For more sweet recipes click the link - Sweets

This adhirasam is a beautiful combination if rice flour and jaggery. The subtle smell of cardamom and dry ginger (sukku) is awesome and never lets the sweetness of jaggery to scream on your face. The jaggery has to be in the perfect soft ball consistency. It should not be before this or after this stage. But do not worry, once you see that the syrup has reached the soft ball stage, you will have enough time (few seconds) to remove it from fire and add the rice flour and mix. Only thing is, you should know what is that soft ball consistency. And its okay if you feel that your have crossed that stage, then you can add a couple of tablespoons of water to rewind the stage and again catch the soft ball consistency.
You can try to see this soft ball stage with little jaggery when you are free at home, and see how the stage before the soft balls stage will be or how it will be if the syrup has crossed that stage etc..

Ingredients:

• Flour rice - 1 kg
• Dark brown jaggery (paagu vellam) - 750 grams
• Water - 1 and 1/2 cup
• Dry ginger - 1/2 teaspoon or as per you taste
• Cardamom powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Sesame seeds -  optional
• Ghee - 1 teaspoon

Here in adhirasam, we always talk the ratio of rice and jaggery in weight and NOT in volume. 

Rice:

• You can use the flour rice (maavu arisi) to make the rice flour. I prefer to use this rice and today I have use this rice only. Cheap and best. 
• You can also use raw rice or even sona masoori rice. But not basmathi rice or boiled rice or idli rice.
• The instant rice flours from the shop CANNOT be used. 

Rice flour:

• Wash and soak the rice for atleast 2 hours. 
• Drain the water and spread the rice on a clean cloth under fan.
• Let it fan dry for 30 minutes.

• Now check it whether it is dried 75%. If not let it dry for few more minutes.
• The way you know that the rice is dried perfect is by taking a fist full of rice and holding it tight, and releasing it. You should not see any water traces in your hand. You will feel cold but not wet. This is the stage for making the flour.
• Since I am using one cup of rice I am grinding the flour in mixer. After grinding I will sieve it.

• I would recommend you to give it in the flour mill and ask them to grind for adhirasam. This flour you can sieve or need not sieve if it is fine already.
• After grinding in the mixer, I sieve the flour.
• Once the rice flour is ready, press it with your hand or with a flat spatula so that it doesn't dry up. 
• We need the flour to be moist. Cover the flour with a paper or cloth and keep aside. 
• Thus the flour is ready. 

Jaggery:

• We use the dark brown jaggery for adhirasam. That is paagu vellam. This is the right jaggery to make adhirasam as you will get the perfect consistency of syrup only in this jaggery. The other light brown jaggery is not good for making adhirasam.
• This dark borwn colour jaggery contributes to the beautiful colour of the adhiriasam too.
• Add water to this jaggery and keep on stove for few minutes for it to dissolve completely.
• Once the jaggery has dissolved completely filter it and take it in another wide mouthed vessel.

WEAR AN APRON

Procedure to make the syrup and the adhirasam dough in one single run.

• Keep the jaggery water on stove to make syrup. 
• Take some water in a small shallow plate and keep next to the stove to check the syrup consistency.

• Keep the rice flour ready, but covered till we use.
• Keep a strong spatula or any wooden spatula ready to stir the adhirasam dough.
• Let the jaggery water boil. When it has boiled for some time and has become slightly thick, take a some syrup and drop it in the cold water in that shallow plate. Check if the syrup is thick enough and can be easily removed from the water without being dissolved and yet soft. It should stand straight in our hand. It should not be hard also.
• Once you know that the syrup has reached this stage, switch off the stove and add the cardamom powder, dry ginger power and sesame seeds (optional). 
• Remove the vessel from stove and keep in on a cloth on the counter top or on the floor, where ever you feel comfortable to handle. 
• Now add the rice flour little by little and keep stirring. (you can take another persons help here to add the rice flour while you keep stirring, but I did without any help, so it won't be a problem.)

• Keep adding rice flour till the dough become not-very-thick. 
• The dough will thicken as it cools down. So if you make the dough too thick while adding rice flour itself, then it will become thicker after it cools. So while adding rice flour to the hot syrup, let the dough be little loose.
• The consistency of the dough as in the above picture, is for you to make the adhirasam immediately after the dough has come to room temperature. But if you plan to make adirasam the next day, then you should let the dough be little more runny, that is stop adding the rice flour to the jaggery syrup when it is slightly runny itself. This time, I made adirasams the same day, so I kept the dough tight.
• Add a spoon of ghee on top and spread it to prevent drying of the dough.

• Now the dough is ready.
• You can cover it and keep this aside for over night and fry them the next day or keep it in fridge and can make adhirasams within one week or we can make adhirasams on the same day.
• But leaving the dough on the counter top overnight and frying it next day yields best adhirasmas.

Frying adirasams:

• First, with small portion of the dough, do the test-frying.
• If you have got the syrup in perfect stage then this small test-fry will be a success. 

• Take a small portion of the dough, spread it on the greased plastic paper and drop it in oil gently and fry them. 

Pressing excess oil

• It wont take long time to fry.
• It will puff up and float in the oil. Now flip it up. Then within few seconds, the bubbles will cease. 
• Remove it from oil and keep it on the oil-press and press to remove excess oil from adhirasam.
• Repeat the same procedure with the rest of the dough.

There you go.. you made the traditional Tamilian dessert Adhirasam. Congratulate yourself for doing it.

Tips:

• If you have taken the syrup in the stage before the right consistency, then there are chances for the dough to open up in the oil while frying. Now you have to add little wheat flour and knead and try again frying. Keep trying this till the adirasams fry in shape.
• If you have crossed the soft ball consistency of the syrup, then your adhirasam will be little hard.
• Sometimes if the dough is very tight and dry, then add few teaspoons of milk and knead again and try frying.
• ALWAYS try adhirasam with little flour in the beginning. Try with small portions a few times. You will get it.
• The point to be mastered is catching the right soft ball consistency of the syrup.
• Once you have done making adhirasams, let them cool. Take a box, and keep some thing like a stand inside the box as the oil will drain slowly from the adhirasams for a couple of days. In my native village, we used to keep small pungai kuchchi or the twigs of Pongamia tree at the base of the container and place the adhirasams on top so that the oil drains down separately.

Share these delicious adhirasams with your family and friends during this festival season.

Happy cooking !!