Adhirasam or Ariselu as they call it in the city I live is a delicious sweet. I had tried making it once before - and it was a major disaster, the flour just disintegrated while frying. I was sure that was my first and last attempt, until I chanced upon this post - which was title Adhirasam for beginners and had a step by step recipe with pictures. And this is the end result...
Ingredients:
Rice – 1 cup
Grated Jaggery – 3/4 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
Ghee - 1 tspl
Oil -deep frying
Wash rice, soak for an hour
Drain and spread out to dry on a cloth for at least 10 minutes
When still damp, grind to a fine powder - maybe not extra fine.
Ensure there are no lumps
Place jaggery in a little water, heat to dissolve. Strain to remove impurities.
In a thick bottomed pan, put the jaggery solution back and heat, and it starts bubbling.
Let it form a syrup. Test by dropping syrup in a dish with water.
It should form a soft ball
Take the vessel off the heat.
Add the ghee and cardamom powder. Mix
Slowly add the rice flour, a little by little till the whole amount is used up.
Mix well. And place the pan back on a low heat
Keep on heat for about 10 mins, stirring all the time to allow the dough to cook
Remove off the heat. Cool.
Make small balls and spread on a banana leaf or plastic sheet ( I always use the inside of a milk sachet)
Do not spread it too thin.
Meantime, heat the oil for frying
Once the oil is hot, reduce the flame.
Drop a small ball of dough into the oil to test if it holds. If it does not, a good tip given by Tickling Palates ( link given above) is to add a teaspoon of wheat flour for every cup of rice flour.
Place the flattened dough into the hot oil. It will sink first and then rise.
Immediately flip over to prevent over browning and burning.
Remove from oil. And press to remove the excess oil.
Place on a tissue roll to further remove the oil.
Cool and store. 
Do check the link for the step by step instructions. It is fail-proof like I happily found out.
The adhirasams were crisp and just the right sweetness. I think I should have kept them slightly thicker - I like them a little softer but never mind.
The recipe seems long, but it is not as tough as it appears.
one of favourite sweet, urs looks fabulous looks. Thanks for ur version....
ReplyDeletei love this one...never tried b4..ur pics are just perfect...vl try in tis method
ReplyDeleteI tried ariselu making 3 times but they are disasters always splatters in oil.where could be the mistake I didn't find every step I followed please tell me when to stop adding flour in Pakam and y they splatters
ReplyDeleteThe syrup stage of soft ball is very important. The rice should be made into a flour when it is slightly damp. Also, perhaps you can keep aside some syrup and add the rice flour. If it appears too dry you can add the remainder. This is just to be on the safe side. Allow the dough to cool down before making the ariselu. I hope the tips help. Even the most experienced I know have a problem sometimes. So take heart, you are not the only one.
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