Anarsa(Athirasam)

1) Wash and soak rice for 1 hours. Drain the water and spread the rice on a cloth and let it dry for 10 minutes.When the rice is still damp place the rice in a mixer along with cardamom pods and grind it to a powder. Transfer the flour to a bowl.

2)Heat water in a thick bottomed vessel and add the jaggery to it. Mix well and let it dissolve completely. Filter the jaggery syrup to remove all impurities.

3) Boil the syrup again in the thick bottomed vessel on full flame. After some time, the syrup will thicken, and colour will become dark . Check the consistency.Keep a small bowl of water and add a few drops of the syrup. If the drops settle in the water and you are able to gather the syrup with your finger tips, that is the correct consistency like a soft ball. (We call it Tomato Pak).

4)Remove the vessel from the flame. Add ghee and mix well. Add the rice flour little by little while mixing it with a ladle. All the flour will be used up.The dough will be a bit loose but it will come to the correct consistency once the mixture cools down.You can store this dough at room temperature in an air tight container for a week.

5) You can either make adhirasam the next day or make immediately. (Also you can make it immediately after the dough cools down or store for a day and next day also you can make).

6) Knead the dough by adding sesame seeds and divide the dough into equal lemon sized balls.

7) Grease a plastic sheet or a plantain leaf with ghee. Place a ball on the leaf and flatten with your finger into a round shaped disc.

8) While pressing, sprinkle few sesame seeds on it and press gently both sides. It should neither be thick nor too thin.

9) Heat oil in a kadai. After it gets hot,reduce the flame to medium. Remove the athirasam from the sheet with your fingers and drop into the oil. If it rises slowly to the top, the temperature is correct. It will sink initially and will then rise to the top.Flip it gently for the other side to cook. It will puff up a bit like a poori. Fry until golden brown on both the sides.

10) Drain it and press the cooked adhirasam between two slotted spatulas, to remove excess oil and to flatten. Place the athirasam on a paper towel to drain the excess oil Once the adhirasam cools down completely, store in a container.