Adirasam | Adhirasam

Adirasam is a delicious crispy outside soft inside sweet made by frying a blend of rice four & jaggery dough. Adirasam is a popular& traditional sweet of South India commonly during Diwali and special occasions. Athirasam Recipe is presented step by step with minute details to get perfect Adhirasam at the first try!

Adirasam Recipe with step by step pictures – Happiness is making perfect athirasams.The first time I tasted Adirasam was at my native Karaikudi.It looked fluffy and tasted pillowy soft(which we call methu methu in tamil)with a crispy edge.I have always dreamed of making busu busu adhirasam replicating that.Also sadly,I had no one in our close family who knows to make perfect athirasam.Having known adhirasam is ammas and hubbys favorite how can I miss trying it?!

About Adirasam

Adirasam is a traditional south indian sweet made by deep frying the rice four & jaggery mix dough after flat rolling it into round shape. Athirasam making is one of the difficult sweet recipe amongst south indian dishes. The consistency of the jaggery, making of rice flour, resting the dough for a day, making it into balls, flat rolling it and deep frying not only it is lengthier – it needs focus all throughout making the sweet a difficult one.

Ingredients

• Raw Rice : Buy “Maavu Pacharisi” (flour raw rice) – It is quite common type of variety available at grocery store in South India. If it is not available at your place, go for any raw rice (Not Boiled) / IR20 variety of raw rice.
• Jaggery : Paagu Vellam (in tamil) in big ball shape is used for this recipe. Sugar can be an alternative for jaggery however the Adhirsam taste will not be traditional. Using molded (rectangular / cone) jaggery is not preferred.
• Oil : Adhirasam tastes better with Sesame Oil and Sunflower Oil. However those who are used to Groundnut oil in the cooking, we can use groundnut oil as well.

My experiences in preparation of Adirasam

I have always dreamed of making perfect athirasam ever since I started making sweets at home.But having heard from friends and relatives, I knew this is going to be challenging.But last year I gained courage and tried, it was super flop.Then again this year I tried it 2 weeks back,again flopped, I was upset but was very determined to make it again this Diwali itself so that I remember the mistakes I made and correct it. Coincidentally Priya(my sil) had tried athirasam recently and she gave me tips,tricks and motivated me to try again.She was the one who kept asking me ‘adhirasam seivathu eppadi’ .But this time I understood my mistakes, still was a bit scared that my hands shivered when I was mixing the dough 😀 But while mixing itself I knew the dough was perfect.This is my third attempt and I am very much satisfied with the results.Amma and hubby gave a double thumbs up..Yayy!! I was jumping in joy when I tasted the first athirasam 🙂 And when amma said ‘na voorla sapta mari apdiye iruku’ my joy knew no limits.

More Diwali Recipes

Like how the saying goes one who makes good tasting rasam is a good cook, I can say this athirasam also works similarly. Though the athirasam recipe calls only for 2 main ingredients raw rice and jaggery, the making is a bit tricky.You need patience and atmost concentration to get the jaggery syrup consistency right.

If you have any more questions about this Adirasam Recipe do mail me at sharmispassions@gmail.com. In addition, follow me on Instagram, Facebook,  Pinterest, Youtube and Twitter .

Tried this Adirasam Recipe ? Do let me know how you liked it. Also tag us on Instagram @sharmispassions and hash tag it on #sharmispassions.

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Adhirasam | Athirasam Recipe

Adhirasam is a delicious crispy outside soft inside sweet made by frying a blend of rice four & jaggery dough. Adhirasam is a popular& traditional sweet of South India commonly during Diwali and special occasions. Athirasam Recipe is presented step by step with minute details to get perfect Adhirasam at the first try!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

1 day d

Total Time20 minutes mins

Servings12 Adhirasams

AuthorSharmilee J

1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw rice
• 3/4 cup jaggery powdered
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 no cardamom crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon ghee
• oil for deep frying

Instructions

• I used paagu velam (jaggery). First crush jaggery, measure and take it in a pan. Add water to it. I use my potato masher to crush it.
• Heat it up, once jaggery is dissolved strain and set aside.
• Now measure and take raw rice. First rinse it once, then transfer to a bowl, add water till immersing level. Soak for at least 2 hrs.
• After 2 hours spread it in a cloth and set aside for 30mins.
• The rice should still have moisture content in it, when you press it with your hands it will stick. Now transfer it to a mixer jar and grind it to a semi fine powder. It should not be very fine like store bought flour, it should be slightly coarse.
• Now transfer this to a siever then sieve it. Do not discard the coarse particles, grind it again and then sieve.
• Now take the flour, add sesame seeds and cardamom powder to it.
• Mix well and keep it covered, and set aside.
• Now take jaggery syrup in a pan and heat it up. Keep stirring until it is thick.
• Keep checking the syrup by pouring it on a plate containing water. First the syrup will dissolve in water when poured. At one stage when add few drops of the syrup it will not get dissolved in water it will stand still.
• Now gather it with your hands, it will form a loose ball more like a jelly. This is soft ball consistency, it will easily slide from our hands, yes this is the right stage we are looking for. If you pass this stage, the ball will become hard and your athirasams will become hard.
• Immediately switch off (we are doing this to avoid the syrup from passing to next stage). I reserved a tablespoon of jaggery syrup alone. Now add the flour and keep mixing.
• Mix it well without any lumps. It will be a little loose. I formed a ball but it went flat in few mins. Now transfer to a airtight container and set aside for a day in room temperature. You can keep this dough for about a week. But after 1 day keep refrigerated if you are planning to make athirasams later.
• The next day when you observe the dough becomes tight. Add a  teaspoon of ghee and knead it once. Then pinch and roll into lemon sized balls.
• I got 9 balls and 1  tiny ball which I used for testing 😉 Now take banana leaf / polythene sheet, grease it with little oil / ghee, take a ball keep on the banana leaf and flatten it with your fingers, it should be slightly thick.
• Heat oil (enough for the athirasams to immerse fully) in a kadai in parallel. Oil should not be fuming hot, lower the flame when you drop the athirasam as it will get cooked quickly.
• Carefully drop one athirasam, it will first float on top.
• Then slowly it will puff up, carefully flip over and cook in low flame till reddish brown on both the sides. Do not cook in high flame.
• Press it with a ladle to drain excess oil, then drain in tissue paper.
• Serve Athirasam with tea.

Notes

• Choosing correct raw rice(maavu pacharisi) and  jaggery(paagu vellam) is the first key to get the authentic perfect tasting athirasams.
• I reserved 1 tablespoon jaggery syrup but my SIL told she added the entire 3/4 cup syrup and it was still perfect.
• You can keep this athirasam dough for about a week, but after 1 day refrigerate it.
  Keep checking the syrup very now and then so that the correct consistency is not missed.
• The rice should have little moisture, it should not be dried fully.
  Do not use fine sieve, the holes can be slightly bigger so that we can get slightly coarse flour.
• Incase if you don't get paagu vellam, go ahead with yellow jaggery but the color will be light shade, even the taste might vary.
• I made 2 in the banana leaf, while one was cooking patted the third one. As I had just 9 it was easy for me to handle alone. If doing in bulk you need a helper for sure.
• Jaggery consistency is the most important, so be keen in getting it right then everything will fall in place.
• Fry the adhirasams in low medium else the outer will get browned soon and the inside will not be uncooked.
• If you have kept the dough in fridge then bring to room temperature then start making adhirasam.
• If the dough is too tight, then sprinkle little hot water and knead it once before shaping.
• If the  dough is too loose, add 1-2 tablespoon idiyappam flour, not more than that.
• Once taken out from oil, it will be crisp after cooling down it will be crunchy at the sides with a soft inside.
• I used dosa thiruppi to press and drain excess oil, you can even use a davara (flat bottomed bowl) to d

Nutrition Facts

Adhirasam | Athirasam Recipe

Amount Per Serving (25 g)

Calories 113 Calories from Fat 9

% Daily Value*

Fat 1g2%

Saturated Fat 0.3g2%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.2g

Cholesterol 1mg0%

Sodium 1mg0%

Potassium 19mg1%

Carbohydrates 25g8%

Fiber 0.2g1%

Sugar 13g14%

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin A 0.01IU0%

Vitamin C 0.02mg0%

Calcium 10mg1%

Iron 0.3mg2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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How to make Adirasam Step by Step Method

1. I used Paagu velam.First crush jaggery,measure and take it in a pan.Add water to it.
   
2. I use my potato masher to crush it.Heat it up,once jaggery is dissolved strain and set aside.
   
3. Now measure and take raw rice.Frst rinse it once, then transfer to a bowl,add water till immersing level.Soak for atleast 2 hrs.After 2 hrs spread it in a cloth and set aside for 30mins.
   
4. The rice should still have moisture content in it,when you press it with your hands it will stick like this.Now transfer it to a mixer jar and grind it to a semi fine powder.It should not be very fine like store bought flour,it should be slightly coarse.
   
5. Now transfer this to a siever then sieve it.Do not discard the coarse particles,grind it again and then sieve.Now take the flour, add sesame seeds and cardamom powder to it.
   
6. Mix well and keep it covered,and set aside.Now take jaggery syrup in a pan and heat it up.Keep stirring until it is thick.
   
7. Keep checking the syrup by poring it on a plate containing water.First the syrup will dissolve in water when poured.At one stage when add few drops of the syrup it will not get dissolved in water it will stand still like this.Now gather it with your hands, it will form a loose ball more like a jelly.This is soft ball consistency, it will easily slide from our hands,yes this is the right stage we are looking for.If you pass this stage, the ball will become hard and your athirasams will become hard.
   
8. Immediately switch off(we are doing this to avoid the syrup from passing to next stage).I resrved a tablespoon of jaggery syrup alone.Now add the flour and keep mixing.
   
9. Mix it well without any lumps.It will be a little loose.I formed a ball but it went flat in few mins.Now transfer to a airtight container and set aside for a day in room temperature.You can keep this dough for about a week.But after 1 day keep refrigerated if you are planning to make athirasams later.
   
10. This is how tight it was the next day.Add a  teaspoon of ghee and knead it once.Then pinch and roll into lemon sized balls.
    
11. I got 9 balls and 1  tiny ball which I used for testing 😉 Now take banana leaf / polythene sheet,grease it with little oil / ghee, take a ball keep on the banana leaf and flatten it with your fingers, it should be slightly thick.Heat oil(enough for the athirasams to immerse fully) in a kadai in parallel.
    
12. You can see how thick it is in this pic.Oil should not be fuming hot,lower the flame when you drop the athirasam as it will get cooked quickly.Carefully drop one athirasam,it will first float on top.
    
13. Then slowly it will puff up,carefully flip over and cook in low flame till reddish brown on both the sides.Do not cook in high flame.
    
14. Press it with a laddle to drain excess oil,Then drain in tissue paper.
    

Serve with tea.

Busu busu athirasams ready? And I am ready to attack, Now what are you waiting for, go soak the raw rice. I enjoyed clicking athirasam, they looked gorgeous that I was so tempted to finish the shoot and attack them haha 😀

Pro Tips

• Choosing correct raw rice(maavu pacharisi) and  jaggery(paagu vellam) is the first key to get the authentic perfect tasting athirasams.
• I reserved 1 tablespoon jaggery syrup but my sil told she added the entire 3/4 cup syrup and it was still perfect.
• You can keep this athirasam dough for about a week, but after 1 day refrigerate it.
• Keep checking the syrup very now and then so that the correct consistency is not missed.
• The rice should have little moisture,it should not be dried fully.
• Do not use fine sieve, the holes can be slightly bigger so that we can get slightly coarse flour.
• Incase if you don’t get paagu vellam,go ahead with yellow jaggery but the color will be light shade,even the taste might vary.
• I made 2 in the banana leaf, while one was cooking patted the third one.As I had just 9 it was easy for me to handle alone.If doing in bulk you need a helper for sure.
• Jaggery consistency is the most important, so be keen in getting it right then everything will fall in place.
• Fry the athirasams in low medium else the outer will get browned soona dn the inside will not be remain uncooked.
• If you have kept the dough in fridge then bring to room temperature then start making athirasam.
• If the dough is too tight,then sprinkle little hot water and knead it once before shaping.
• If the  dough is too loose, add 1-2 tablespoon idiyappam flour, not more than that.
• Once taken out from oil, it will be crisp after cooling down it will be crunchy at the sides with a soft inside.
• I used dosa thiruppi to press and drain excess oil,you can even use a davara(flat bottomed bowl) to do it.

Storing Suggestions

Adhirsam will be good for 2-3 days when stored in an airtight container. Refrigeration is not needed. However if we are gonna reserve it for friends relatives for 4-7 days, we can refrigerate and then steam it lightly / heat with microwave before serving.

FAQs

1. What is adhirasam?

Adhirasam is a traditional south indian sweet made by deep frying the rice four & jaggery mix dough flattened in round shape.

2. How to make adhirasam?

a. Dissolve powdered jaggery in water
b. Make rice flour
c. Make jaggery syrup
d. Make dough by mixing jaggery syrup & rice flour
e. Ferment the dough for 1-3 days
f. Make small balls of dough and flatten it
g. Deep fry and then press it with davara or adhrisam presser.
h. Enjoy Adhirasam’

3. What should I do when my dough becomes dry / hard?

Add very little / sprinkle hot water and make it right! Do not use dry / hard dough as it will split while frying or develop hard texture.

4. Can I use store bought rice flour for making the dough for Adhirsam?

No – Store bought flour cannot be used.

5. Dough split / melt / withered away in the oil – What should I do?

Check the dough consistency – If the dough is too tight, then sprinkle little hot water and knead it once before shaping. If the dough is too loose, add 1-2 tablespoon idiyappam / home-made rice flour, not more than that.

6. The shape and color came out well but it tasted like the dough wasn’t properly cooked from inside. What could be the reason?

Simmer (SIM) in low – medium while frying so that the inside gets cooked well.

7. Is it necessary to keep in fridge and do next day? can’t we do it the time u mix the dough?

Yes it is a must to give resting / fermenting time before frying. It is recommended to give a ferment / resting time of 1 day if not more. In olden days, 2-4 days of resting time was provided.

8. For preparing the jaggery syrup heat must be medium or simmer?

Simmer in low medium. Keep checking for the consistency though.

9. I added more jaggery syrup and the dough become was so watery. What should I do?

If the dough is too watery – soak rice again, powder and add to the dough. If it is less watery, add 1-2 tablespoon idiyappam / home-made rice flour, not more than that.

10. I marinated adhirasam for 1 night, so it is good or not?

It may not be enough though we can still make Adhirasam – Allow for 1 night and 1 day (24Hrs in total) minimum.

11. What are the important steps to take care while making adhirasam? What are the mistakes that we tend to do and how to avoid it?

a. Jaggery syrup consistency – Syrup should be soft jelly like ball when taken in hand. If you pass this stage, the ball will become hard and adhirasams will also become hard.
b. Fermenting / Resting dough for a minimum of 24Hrs
c. Rice flour should be coarse and done by soaking maavu pacharisi in water, rest it for 2hrs, dry in cloth for 30mins and the rice should be slight moist for grinding.
d. Oil must not be fuming hot before frying and sim in low.

12. Is Adhirsam and Kajjaya the same?

Yes – both are same. Adhirasam (Tamil: அதிரசம்) is called Kajjaya in Kannada or Ariselu in Telugu or Anarsa in Marathi or arisa pitha in Odia.

13. Can we use Basmati rice instead of raw rice?

Mavu pacharisi (Four raw rice) is recommended. However, if it is not available, go for plain raw rice and basmati should be the next option.