Adhirasam Recipe with step by step photos. A traditional sweet made during Diwali, Nombu and Lakshmi Pooja. It also takes a special place in the “Seer” given to the bride when she leaves for her in-laws home after her marriage and during the “Thalai Deepavali” and “Valai Kaapu”.
My Grandma used to say that, “If you can make “Adhirasam” well you are half way to becoming a good cook” which I believe is true.
Those days the bride’s family took great pride in informing the groom’s family that their daughter can make Adhirasam so well which were the expected qualities in the bride.
Though the recipe has only 2 main ingredients, it takes total concentration, care and patience to make Adhirasam. It equals Labor of love.
You get two types of “paagu vellam”. The one being dark brown and the other comes in red. I have posted adhirasam pictures made using both the varieties, hence the difference in color.
Do check out this Makkan Peda, Badam Puri, that are traditional yet easy to try out.
Points to note while making Adhirasam:
1. Buy “Maavu Pacharisi” if you can get, else any raw rice will do. The rice should be damp and not dry while grinding.
2. The flour can be fine or slightly coarse, it depends on your preference. I personally feel that dough made using fine flour drinks lot of oil.
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3. The ground rice flour should be immediately mixed with syrup into dough.
4. “Paagu Vellam” is important and do not use any other type of jaggery.
5. The string consistency is very important. Do not miss it. Cook over low flame as it will make checking easier.
6. You can prepare the dough well in advance as it keeps good in room temperature for a week.
7. Always cook adhirasam over low flame, else it will darken quickly and burn.
8. After slipping the second adhirasam in hot oil, pat the third one and keep ready, flip the one that’s cooking and press out the first adhirasam to remove excess oil, drain the cooking one on to the plate and slip in the third one into oil. If you follow this cycle, you can finish cooking without any mishaps.
How to make Adhirasam recipe:
1. Wash and soak rice for 2 hours.
2. Drain the water and spread the rice on a cloth and let it dry for 10 minutes.
3. When the rice is still damp place the rice in a mixer along with cardamom pods and grind it to a powder.
4. If you want, you can sieve to a fine powder. But I did not, as I prefer it to the consistency of fine sooji or rava.
5. Transfer the flour to a bowl and press it tight and place a clean cloth over the bowl to prevent formation of water droplets as the flour will be still warm.
6. Heat water in a thick bottomed vessel and add the jaggery to it. Mix well and let it dissolve completely. Pass the jaggery syrup through a sieve to remove impurities.
7. Transfer the syrup again to the thick bottomed vessel and let it come to a boil over full flame. First the syrup will be thin and you can swipe the bubbles to the side to see the clear syrup.
8. After some time, the syrup will thicken, color will darken and the bubbles will be incessant as it will boil from within. Simmer the flame completely. You will not be able to swipe away the bubbles to the side with the spatula. This is the stage to start checking for string consistency.
9. 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. (In tamil, it is called as “Uruttu padham” or “Thakkali Padham”).
10. Take the vessel off the stove. 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.
11. The dough will be a bit loose but it will come to the correct consistency once the dough cools down.
12. You can store this dough at room temperature in an air tight container for a week. You can either make adhirasam the next day or straight away. As I don’t make more than 2 cups, I make it immediately after the dough cools down.
13. Divide the dough into equal lemon sized balls.
14. Grease a plastic sheet or a plantain leaf with ghee. Place a ball on the leaf and pat with your finger tips into a flat disc. It should neither be thick nor too thin.
15. Heat oil in a kadai. After it gets hot, take a pea sized ball, gently press between your fingers and drop into the oil. If it rises slowly to the top, the temperature is correct. Now completely simmer the flame.
16. Slip the adhirasam into the oil. It will sink initially and will then rise to the top.
17. Flip it gently for the other side to cook. It will puff up a bit like a poori. Drain and transfer to a plate.
18. Immediately, press the cooked adhirasam with the bottom side of a bowl, to remove excess oil and to flatten it. You can press it between two ladles over the stove itself but this method is safer or you can also use a adhirasam kattai for this.
19. Once the adhirasam cools down completely, store in a container, one next to the other to avoid them from sticking together.
20. The Adhirasam stays well for a fortnight at room temperature itself.
How to repair Adhirasam dough:
After you slip in the pea sized ball, it should gently rise to the top. It should retain its shape and not separate. If it does, then:
1. Add 1 to 2 tsp of wheat flour for every cup of rice used, mix well and knead for few and then go ahead. You will get it perfectly.
2. After resting, if the dough is too hard, add 1 to 2 tbsp warm milk and knead well. The body heat will soften the jaggery and make the dough malleable.
3. If the dough is still loose, transfer to a heavy, thick bottomed pan and cook over low flame for 5-7 mins and the dough will thicken. Do not cook over high flame, else the dough will burn and stick to the pan.
Note: As soon as you finish grinding the rice flour, the syrup has to be made and mixed with the flour. You cannot rest the flour. But once the adhirasam dough has been prepared it can be rested.
You can find below the video for Thinai Adhirasam. Only the rice and water ratio for the jaggery syrup is different. Other than that the ingredients and the method for making syrup are all the same. Do check it out.
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Adhirasam Recipe details below:
Adhirasam | For Beginners with Step by Step Pictures
Ingredients
- Raw Rice – 2 cups or 400 gms
- Jaggery – 1+1/2 cups or 300 gms grated
- Cardamom Pods – 2
- Water – 1 cup or 200 ml
- Ghee – 1 tbsp
- Oil – For deep frying
Instructions
Preparation:
- Wash and soak rice for 2 hours.
- Drain the water and spread the rice on a cloth and let it dry for 10 minutes.
Preparing Rice Flour for Adhirasam:
- When the rice is still damp place the rice in a mixer along with cardamom pods and grind it to a powder.
- If you want, you can sieve to a fine powder. But I didn’t as I prefer it to the consistency of fine sooji or rava.
- Transfer the flour to a bowl and press it tight and place a clean cloth over the bowl to prevent formation of water droplets as the flour will be still warm.
Making Jaggery Syrup for Adhirasam:
- Heat water in a thick bottomed vessel and add the jaggery to it. Mix well and let it dissolve completely. Pass the jaggery syrup through a sieve to remove impurities.
- Transfer the syrup again to the thick bottomed vessel and let it come to a boil over full flame. First the syrup will be thin and you can swipe the bubbles to the side to see the clear syrup.
- After some time, the syrup will thicken, color will darken and the bubbles will be incessant as it will boil from within. Simmer the flame completely. You will not be able to swipe away the bubble to the side with the spatula. This is the stage to start checking for string 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. (In tamil, it is called as “Uruttu padham” or “Thakkali Padham”).
- Take the vessel off the stove. Add ghee and mix well.
Making Adhirasam Dough:
- 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 syrup cools down.
- You can store this dough at room temperature in an air tight container for a week. You can either make adhirasam the next day or straight away. As I don’t make more than 2 cups, I make it immediately after the dough cools down.
How to make Adhirasam:
- Divide the dough into equal lemon sized balls.
- Grease a plastic sheet or a plantain leaf with ghee. Place a ball on the leaf and pat with your finger tips into a flat disc. It should neither be thick nor too thin.
- Heat oil in a kadai. After it gets hot, take a pea sized ball, gently press between your fingers and drop into the oil. If it rises slowly to the top, the temperature is correct. Now completely simmer the flame.
- Slip the adhirasam into the oil. 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. Drain and transfer to a plate.
- Immediately, press the cooked adhirasam with the bottom side of a bowl, to remove excess oil and to flatten it. You can press it between two ladles over the stove itself or you can also use a adhirasam kattai for this.
- Once the adhirasam cools down completely, store in a container arranging one next to the other to avoid them from sticking together.
- Homemade Adhirasam stores well for a fortnight at room temperature.
Video
Notes
The adhirsams have came out perfect.
one of my fav sweets…looks delicious.:)
This look yummy!
Beautifully done, superaa irruku Radhika, rendu yedukalam pola irruku..
Wow lovely description with step by step instructions . Luv the adhirasam too
this is my hubbys fave snack. but ive never made it..will try soon
Love
Wonderful step by step pics n awesome write up too redhika…
Perfect sweet for festive season..looks tongue tickling.
Lovely…step by step picture are really useful. I think I can manage Diwali by learning from you all.
Cheers,
Uma
You pics are making me drool …looks so yum and am craving to eat these
wow delicious adirasam,luks very tempting…
THIS is the sweets recipe that I have been searching high and low!! Thank you!!
Mmmmm….very very inviting clicks…adhirasam looks super good
wow…wonderful presentation..hats off for the timely post Radhika..:)
Awesome!
That looks soo yummy! Lovely pictorial:-) Cant wait to try!
Perfectly done Radhika.. thanks for the step-by-step pics…
Adirasam looks so delicious,well explained with step by step pictures.Bookmarked, will try it soon.
Dear Radhika
Thank you so much for this detailed recipe and the tips. I am now confident I will be able to make it. In the past I was only 50% successful while trying orissa version.
Will try soon
Best wishes for Durga Puja
This is one of my fav !! Perfectly done and thanks for step-by step pics !!
Wonderful looking Adhirasam Radhika..my son also loved ur pics so much he asked what it was & learnt how to pronounce it 🙂
They look so perfect and delicious…Nice detailed explanation too…
Thanks for the mail sent and also for the courier package. Love ya…. Sangeetha.
well explained!!..looks very tempting!!
Lovely adhirasams. My grandma used to make it perfectly. After her demise, we buy it in stores only. Good to know the step by sep recipe for this classic bakshanam. Thanks Radhika. I’m just drooling at those pics 🙂
one of my fav sweets.. look delicious 🙂
I am still in learning process,never got it so right! But love it a lot,you have got it so perfect,will be handy for this festive season!
Awesome dish & a very beautiful presentation…..Thanks Radhika
This looks very similar to ‘malpua’. We don’t dip it in syrup although some people does.
Looking at this .. i am super craving for it!
I love Adhisaram but has never made this as I didn’t have any idea as how to make this.Great step by step tutorial.
Wow.. your pics look awesome… perfect.. bookmarking it..
Lovely post…These looks delicious…
Looking very nice…Step by step pics makes gives a clear idea!!Too colorful pics..loved it 🙂
lovely adhirasams…so well explained and made:-)
Yummy and perfect. Nice step by step pictures. I am yet to attempt these at home. May be some day 🙂
Love this…looks perfect and absolutely yummy…Nice click.. 🙂
Thats a very tempting sweet, perfect for the festive season ahead…
perfect for the festival season..I miss the banana leaves, they look so vibrant and festive too!
Ahh.. They look simply superb and delicious. Is it same as Kajjaya they make in Karnataka? Looks very similar..
Very well explained. Maybe i should try this again, the first i made this…it was a HUGE disaster.
those adhirsams have come out so beautifully!!! really awesome!! 🙂
They look perfect & yummy!!! And so well explained Radhika!!
Prathima Rao
Prats Corner
Adhirsams look penultimately perfect! 😀 And it is so true: If you can make adhirsams & appams & seeyams, you are the best cook in the world! 😀
Adhirsams look penultimately perfect! 😀 And it is so true: If you can make adhirsams & appams & seeyams, you are the best cook in the world! 😀
looks perfect…..one of my fav….
I will bookmark this. I wish I had seen this earlier ( before Diwali). I will make it on a weekend.
Thank you. Tried it. Excellent instructions.
Instructions are very easy to follow , thanks, I am trying it…my wife loves them and I am going to make it…..that’s enough of depending on someone….
Joseph, london
hi radhika well explained and gave a try but ended in a mess dont know what went wrong one clarification can rice flour be replaced with wheat flour to get the same adhirasams reply please bye malini
Malini, Basically adhirasams are made with rice only. The only thing you have to take care is the paagu padam. If you miss the right consistency of the jaggery, then only you will end up with a mess.
will make it today
This is mouth watering.. will try it today.. thanks
I made it for Diwali following your instructions and they turned out excellent and my mom was so proud that I made adhirasam without her help. Very well explained. Turned out just like in your picture. Love all your recipes. Bye ~ Madhu.
Thank you for the feedback Madhu. So happy that the adhirasams turned out well for you.
How many does this recipee make?
Nice explanation to make kajjaya. Before reading dis I thought its a difficult process but its easy thank u
hi chef…
i try adirasam…. easy procedure and useful tips………….. gives very amazing soft adirasam….. my family members are encourage me im so happy for ur tips…. thank u so much………. 🙂
So happy to hear that it turned out well for you Sathya. Thank you for stopping by and keep visiting.
I was searching since long now I got it n d exact step by step changes n minuet changes as swipe of bubbles all d same n very well explained as if standing with us in our own kitchen u helped a lot for my favourite sweet thanks a lot Radhika n one request preparation of instant rasam just add hot water n rasam ready teach us
Hi Jayalakshmi!! Thank you very much for such nice words. Sure will share instant rasam soon.
Hi…I tried making adhirasam. It retained shape for a couple of seconds after putting in oil but as soon as bubbles appeared on the surface it broke into 2-3 pieces and each became a sort of loose structure. But it didn’t disintegate completely into powder. Please tell me what to do
Hi Sowmya, If it disintegrates, it means that the consistency of the paagu is not right. If it breaks into pieces, it means that the consistency of the rice powder is coarse and not fine enough. This will make the dough not smooth enough. So it cracks up when you let the adhirasams be in the hot oil for some time, making it to break into pieces.
Thanks a lot for this post..i followed ur tips nd the adhirasam came out very well, nd iam happy for this was my debut..nd i have bumped into a classic recipe.
Hi !! Thank you very much for your lovely feedback. you really made my day, as lot of people get scared to try out a traditional recipe like this adhirasam. Its my favorite sweet.
Hi , I tried but failed , it looked all fine till I dropped them in oil , the whole thing split into pieces , I have so much of batter left , can I repair it and use it , I have used all the best ingredients.
It is because the jaggery consistency is not right. You have taken the syrup off the stove, before it reached the required consistency, that’s why it split. Try adding 1 to 2 tsp of wheat flour to every of cup of rice you used to make the dough and then proceed, it will not break.
Radhika….thanks a ton for the recipe…though it’s a tricky recipe…..you made it seem so so simple….The way you have explained to the detail is commendable. ..Also how to rectify if things go wrong.
My kajjaya came out perfect in the first attempt. …all thanks to you. …..
God bless you
Prachi !!! Thank you so much for your lovely feed back and good wishes. So happy to hear that the recipe worked out well for you. Adhirasam is indeed tricky but you can get it right when you pay total attention. I’m sure you can make them too like a pro. Good luck.
i prepared adhirasam ,it came out welll.thank u .i prepared rice powder as u said .it is dry now can i use it ?or damp powder only needed?
Thank you for your lovely feedback Lakshmi. Glad it came out well for you. If the rice flour is dry then use it in some other recipe. Adhirasams will come out well only if you use freshly ground moist and damp rice flour. Dry flour will not work out even if you made it at home.
Good explanation for beginners.. Going to try it.. thank you for sharing..
Hi Radhika, very nice explanation for adirasam. I can see your involvement in making adirasam.
Thank you.Keep visiting 🙂
I have made adhirasam for the first time and they are crispy and tasty. I love every bite of it. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
Hi Vaishnavi, Thank you for trying giving your feedback. I’m so happy to hear that you nailed it in your first try itself.
I Tried it , came out very crispy. How to get the soft adhirasam?
Hi radhika thank u very much today I tried it..I did not have paagu vellam. .but instead used panavellam came out nicely???
Dear Radhika thank you very much. I tried with panavellam came out well.
Hhi Dheepa, thank you for your lovely feedback. I’m so glad you got good results using panavellam
Really thank u Radika i like very much that u r teaching method step by step photo its so helpfull for all lots of thanks keep going put the biriyani recepi like this?
Thank you so much. I’m glad you find the step by step method useful. will put our a biryani recipe soon
Lovely Radhika. Looks delicious and yummy!!! Will definitely try as it is one of my favorite sweet 🙂
Amazing Recipe, Tranks For it
Radhika, I prepared the dough even before I could see this post. It was little loose. I was searching for a repair procedure and truly speaking your suggestion helped. I took a thick bottom kadai and put the dough and heated it for 5-7 mins in low flame. It did work. Usually my mother-in-law does it and I used to help her. This was the first time I tried myself and I believe I took the syrup 2mins before the right stage. I was so disappointed and thinking of throwing the batter. But your tip helped. I did made the adhirasams with the rest of the dough and it worked. Thanks to you. There are people who just post the recipes but there are only few who give tips to repair incase if it goes wrong. You are doing a great job. Kindly continue. Thanks again!!!
Hi Rekha, I’m so glad that the tip helped you to repair the dough instead of dumping it into the bin and thank you so much for your kind words.
Hi, your recipe explanation is too good but i have one question
my dough is soft and perfect but when i fry its doesn’t fluff up
can u please advise
Hi Sujatha, all adhirasam need not have to fluff up and even if it does fluff, we do press it out to remove the excess oil. As long as it does not break & spread all over the oil, you are good to go.