Adhirasam Recipe

Making Adhirsam is always a big challenge to me. I usually used to watch when my MIL prepares this adhirsam for diwali or any other special occasions. But this time I have done with the help of my MIL. She is an expert doing these kinds of item. She also guides me to get perfect one and to correct if anything goes wrong. The main part of making Adhirsam is getting correct consistency of “Adhirasam paagu patham” and mixing correct amount of rice flour for the sweetness.

Ingredients:

Raw Rice – 2cup

Jaggery – 1 and ½ cup

Sesame seeds – a handful

Oil – for deep frying

 Rice Flour Preparation:

• Wash and soak rice for at least 2 hours. Then drain the water and spread in thin cotton cloth to absorb the excess water for 30 minutes, but moisture should be there.
• Grind it in a mixer in batches to very fine rava consistency. Sieve it and ready to use immediately.

Jaggery Syrup Preparation:

• Powder the jaggery and add water till it immerse and start heating.
• Let it completely dissolve and strain the impurities and boil again, until we get the thick consistency of paagu patham.

• To check the right consistency of adhirsam paagu patham, take one small bowl with little water and when you pour a spoon of syrup, it should not dissolve.

Method:

• Now mix the rice flour to the jaggery paagu and knead it well.

• Store this dough in an airtight container and let it rest for one day.
• After a rest time knead the dough well, divide into equal sized balls and dip in sesame seed to coat well. Grease some oil in thick plastic sheet or banana leaf, and then flatten in to thick round circles.

• Now carefully drop into the hot oil, once it rises up flip it and remove from oil when it turns golden brown on both sides.

• Press it using another ladle and remove the excess oil. Repeat the same process for the rest of the dough.

Tip:

• Here I didn't add the cardamom powder, if you want you can add it when making syrup.
• You can omit the step dipping the dough balls in sesame seeds and can add sesame seeds directly into the rice flour.
• If the dough is very stiff then the adhirsam will become very hard. To 
• make loose you can add little water or milk and knead it well and try again.

• If the dough is very loose then keep in a refrigerator for one day and then try again it become tight.
• The main part for making adhirasam is consistency of the syrup. Should take at most care for noticing the correct adhirsam patham otherwise the adhirsam will dissolve while frying.
• The quantity of jaggery syrup may vary depend upon the rice flour. 

Pumpkin Sweet Thoran

Pumpkins are very versatile in their uses for cooking. Whenever I buy pumpkin my first choice of recipe is this sweet thoran. It is very simple and tasty recipe with coconut and jaggery. Pumpkin is one of the very fastest cooking vegetable but the only time consuming part is cleaning. Apart from this, pumpkin is a good boost for immune system which is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals. Their seeds also have many health benefits, as they are a good source of protein, zinc, and other vitamins.

Ingredients :

Pumpkin – 1 cup
Jaggery – ½ cup
Grated Coconut – 2 tbsp
Roasted gram powder – 2tbsp
Ghee – 1tbsp


Method:

• Clean, remove skin and chop the pumpkin into small cubes.
• Boil water in a pan and add the chopped pumpkin and cook for 5 minutes till soft but no to mushy.
• Drain the water and spread them in a plate.





• In a pan and add jaggery with water just to immerse it and when it dissolves strain the jaggery water to avoid sand and again keep the jaggery water in fire and once it starts bubbling add grated coconut and pumpkin and stir for couple of mins.





• Finally add the roasted gram powder and mix quickly without forming any lumps.
• Stir on lower flame until all combine well (mix gently) and finally add 1 tbsp of ghee.
• Remove it from fire and serve it.

Yummy Pumpkin sweet thoran is ready to serve…

Note:

• Choose Pumpkins that is heavy for its size.
• Adjust jaggery as per sweet taste.
• The only challenge is in getting the pumpkin cooked in correct way to be soft and not to mushy or overcooked.

Godhumai / Wheat / Tirunelveli Halwa

Just 3 days to go for diwali and the celebration started. I started the celebration by making lip smacking sweet "Godhumai halwa" with lots of fun.The name itself mouthwatering right!

Tirunelveli is one of the famous and known for Godumai halwa, especially from irutu kaadai where they sell only during the nights. The name Halwa City is the more contemporary nickname of Tirunelveli. Halwa is a popular dish, which is made primarily from wheat and sugar. It has a jelly-like texture and contains a ghee (clarified butter), which gives it its distinctively greasy appearance. Best served hot, this popular sweet is generally enjoyed as a dessert. Tirunelveli halwa is said to owe its uniquely rich taste to a special recipe of this region, blended with the renowned sweetness of the “Thamarabarani River”. [Courtesy: Wiki]

The taste is divine and it’s my favorite too. I am very happy to share this recipe to you all..

Ingredients :

Wheat berries / Whole wheat - 2cups
Sugar- 4cups
Water –1 cup
Cashews- few
Cardamom Powder – 1/2 tsp
Red food Color – a pinch
Ghee- 1cup




Method:

• Clean, rinse and soak wheat berries with enough water for whole night or minimum eight hours.
• Wash it again in clean water.
• Now grind the wheat in blender for 3 minutes with some water and extract the wheat milk (as we prepare to take coconut milk).
• Use a strainer and collect the extract milk in a bowl. Again grind the wheat with fresh water and extract the wheat milk. Repeat this process for 3 times.





• Then discard the husk after extracting the milk thoroughly. Leave this milk by closing with plate for few hours approximately 2 to 4 hours.
• Now you will find the scum floating over and the thick milk has settled at the bottom. Discard the clear liquid found on top.





• Fry some cashew in ghee till golden brown and keep it aside.
• In a heavy bottom pan add the sugar and water and mix well for making sugar syrup for one string consistency. At this stage add food color and mix well.
• Now add the thick wheat milk to the sugar syrup, it will start to thicken.
• Take care don’t stop stirring till it reaches solid stage by adding ghee little by little on equal intervals and keep on stirring, approximately it will take 45 minutes to 1hour.
• Once it reaches solid consistency, doesn’t stick to pan anymore then it’s done and the added ghee will start oozing out from halwa and it looks glossy. This is the perfect stage to complete.






• At this stage add cardamom powder and fried cashew nuts and stir well. Switch off the flame.
• Transfer into plate greased with ghee and leavel it and make into desired shapes.

Serve hot in a bowl or make it as pieces and enjoy it!! Glossy and hot Tirunelveli halwa is ready to taste…

Note:

• Wheat could be substituted with Samba Godumai.
• Instead of using ghee can substitute refined oil.
• Given ratios will gives approximately around 2 kgs of halwa. Even you can reduce the ingredients into half the quantity to prepare halwa.
• For tangy taste can add lemon juice few drops at the end. I like to have as it is.
• Will be fresh for weeks. No need to refrigerate until 1 week.

Pal Poli

Today I am going to introduce one type of Poli, milk based one. Poli is one of the traditional sweet especially prepared for festival season.

Ingredients :

For poori:

Maida - 1/2 cup
Peni / siroti Rava - 3/4 cup
Salt a pinch
Water to make dough
Oil - 2 tsp

For poori:

Khas Khas/Poppy seed - 3 tsp
Coconut – 2 tbsp
Cardamom powder a pinch
Cashew few
Milk – 1 cup
Sugar for taste

Method:

• To make poori mix all the ingredients in to soft dough as mentioned above and keep it aside for 1 hour.
• Now divide the dough into equal ball and roll out into thin round shape and then fold it and seal the edges it looks like semi circle and deep fry it in oil and keep them aside.
• Now the poori is ready.
• Soak Khas Khas for 30 minutes in water and make in to a fine paste with Cardamom, coconut and cashew.
• Mix this paste with boiling milk and sugar.
• Cook this in simmer for 5 minutes.
• Now the payasam is ready, in this soak the poori for half an hour and serve it.

Yummy Pal Poli is ready to serve....:)

Note:

• Siroti rava is nothing but fine Semolina rava it adds taste to the poli.
• Even u can add chopped nuts for garnishing.
• You can skip adding Khuskhus and can do payasam with other ingredients.

Mysore Pak

I like sweets very much and eat a lot. I just like the sweet smell especially those of the mixed sweet smell from the sweet stall & just wonder how they are make those sweets which are eye catchy and colourful. Whenever I come across those stalls, I tell myself that I should try to make those sweets in my kitchen.

So I started it to a give a try one last month, i.e., Mysore Pak, A deliciously rich, sweet Mysore Pak dish of Karnataka, a southern state of India. At first, I did not had much hope on how it would taste like, but it came out good ummmmm.......:)

So let’s get started, Here are the steps / way I followed to make Mysore Pak.

Ingredients :

Besan Flour -1 cup
Sugar - 1cup
Ghee - 1cup
Water - ¼ cup
Cardamom powder - optional

Method :

In a heavy bottomed vessel or a nonstick pan add a tsp of ghee & fry the besan flour for 5 mins till the raw smell goes away .Take it out from heat & keep aside.In another pan pour ½ cup ghee & just melt it and add to the besan flour without lumps.This gives nice blended with ghee flavour. Cover the sugar with water & make Sugar syrup is of 1 string consistency, this add it to the besan mixer ,reaches dosa batter consistency.Now add the remaining ½ cup ghee little by little keep non-stop stirring it in medium flame till it becomes slight thick & mixture starts leaving edges and looks a bit dry, add cardamom (optional). Now switch off the flame , pour it into a greased plate and flatten. Allow to set & makes out a desired shapes.

Enjoy eating …. melts in the mouth with the ghee smell..I am happy at the first attempt hooooooo...