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Adhirasam | For Beginners with Step by Step Pictures

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Adhirasam-recipe
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.

Adhirasam

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.

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.

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:

Adhirasam Recipe01

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.

Adhirasam Recipe02

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.

Adhirasam Recipe03

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.

Adhirasam Recipe04

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.

Adhirasam Recipe05

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”).

Adhirasam Recipe06

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.

Adhirasam Recipe07

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.

Adhirasam Recipe08

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.

Adhirasam Recipe09

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.

Adhirasam-recipe

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.

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Adhirasam Recipe details below:

4.7 from 3 reviews
Adhirasam Recipe
 
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Adhirasam recipe with tips, tricks and step by step photos.
Author:
Recipe type: sweets
Cuisine: South Indian
Serves: 20
Ingredients:
  • Raw Rice – 2 cups (400 gms)
  • Jaggery (grated) – 1-1/2 cups (300 gms)
  • Cardamom Pods – 2
  • Water – 1 cup (200 ml)
  • Ghee – 1 tbsp
  • Oil – For deep frying
Instructions:
  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 bubble 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 syrup 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 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. Homemade Adhirasam stores well for a fortnight at room temperature.

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Comments

  18. 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

    Reply

  24. 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 🙂

    Reply

  42. Adhirsams look penultimately perfect! 😀 And it is so true: If you can make adhirsams & appams & seeyams, you are the best cook in the world! 😀

    Reply

  43. Adhirsams look penultimately perfect! 😀 And it is so true: If you can make adhirsams & appams & seeyams, you are the best cook in the world! 😀

    Reply

  48. 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

    Reply

  51. 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.

    Reply

  53. Nice explanation to make kajjaya. Before reading dis I thought its a difficult process but its easy thank u

    Reply

  54. 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………. 🙂

    Reply

  55. 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

    Reply

  56. 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

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  57. 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.

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  58. 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.

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  59. 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

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  60. 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?

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  62. Hi Radhika, very nice explanation for adirasam. I can see your involvement in making adirasam.

    Reply

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