The humble adhirasam, a delicious Diwali sweet made of rice flour and jaggery is perhaps one of the most difficult sweets to prepare requiring a high degree of expertise. This traditional Chettinad speciality is one of the signature sweets of Karaikudi in Sivaganga district.
Karaikudi and surrounding areas is largely believed to be the best place to sample the world – famous Chettinad cuisine. As adhirasam is quite a challenging sweet to make with no margin for error, sweet – makers stick to their age – old recipes.
Four measures of raw rice are washed thoroughly twice and soaked for two hours. About 3/4 kg of jaggery (achu vellam) is powdered fine.
The soaked rice is strained, spread out on a thin cotton cloth and allowed to dry. It is important that the rice is slightly moist while being ground into a fine powder.
In a large flat – bottomed pan, the powdered jaggery along with a little water is heated on low flame till it completely dissolves. It is strained to remove any impurities.
The strained mixture is again heated and boiled till it reaches the right consistency. The rice is ground fine in batches and sieved.
The freshly sieved rice flour is slowly mixed into the jaggery syrup. It is then kept on low flame and stirred continuously till it becomes thick. A pinch of baking soda and desi ghee is added to make it soft.
Once the batter is cooked, a dollop of ghee and dry ginger powder are added. The batter is allowed to rest for two days at least. The batter is divided into small balls and gently patted down on a banana leaf and deep – fried in oil on medium flame till it is evenly cooked and reaches a rich golden – red colour.
The adhirasams are stacked neatly to ensure that all the excess oil drains out. This heavenly delight is slightly crispy on the outside with a soft inside that will just melt in your mouth!
Written by Lakshmi Subramanian
sahasa.in 
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