ATHIRASAM

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Athirasam sounds like a simple sweet with very few ingredients but is it is challenging to get to right even for seasoned cooks. After several attempts I am finally posting the recipe. Athirasam is prepared for both Krishna Jayanthi and Diwali without fail.

Ingredients
Raw rice: 1 cup
Powdered Jaggery: 1 cup
Cardomom pods: 4
Ghee: 1 tsp
Oil: for deep frying

Procedure:

1. Wash the rice and soak in water for 2 hours
2. Drain the water and spread in a white cloth/napkin and allow to dry for 30 minutes
3. While the rice is still wet, grind the rice in the mixie to a coarse powder along with cardomom pods
4. 
   
5. Sift the powdered flour (optional)
6. Take 2 tablespoon of water and add the powdered jaggery
7. Bring it to a boil and cook until the syrup reaches athirasam consistency.
8. Keep some water in the bowl nearby. Add a drop of the syrup, you see the below consistency at different stages

         Stage 1: The syrup dissolves in water
         Stage 2: The water forms a thread in the water
         Stage 3: When rolled it will form a mass but still will dissolve in water
         Stage 4: When rolled it will form a mass and will not dissolve in water. This is the right stage

1. Switch off as soon as it reaches the consistency
2. Pour the syrup little by little in the rice flour and mix with a laddle
3. Knead it to a dough. It will be little sticky
4. Store this in an airtight container for a day. The dough will become thick now
5. Roll into equal balls
6. Heat oil in a kadai
7. Grease the ball with ghee and place one of them inside a ziplock cover
8. Press it with a tumbler
9. Gently take this and slip inside the oil
10. Once the bottom side is cooked, it will come up in oil
11. Gently flip and cook the other side
12. Remove from oil (Use two laddles to squeeze the excess oil)

Step by Step pictures

Notes:
Make sure that the rice is still wet before grinding. Do not dry the rice for too long
The rice can be grounded coarsely and need not be fine. However make sure it is not too coarse. Otherwise the athirasam will fall apart
If the dough is too thick add some milk before preparing the athirasam.
If the dough is too loose add some rice flour to it
The consistency of the jaggery syrup is very important.