Name: Pori Urundai Recipe – Nel Pori Urundai
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: Nel Pori – 4-1/2 cups; Jaggery - 1/2 cup (grated); Thinly sliced coconut pieces – 3 tbsp; Halved Peanuts - 3 tbsp (roasted and de-skinned); Dry ginger powder or Sukku thool - 1/4 tsp; Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp; Water – 1/4 cup

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Pori Urundai – Nel Pori Urundai with step by step photos. Karthigai Pori Urundai is made in all households across Tamil Nadu on Karthigai Deepam to celebrate “Maha Deepam”.

While many make these balls using Arisi pori, it is a custom in our home to make it with Nel Pori. The Urundai (balls) made using Nel Pori, which we call to differentiate as “Karthigai Pori Urundai”, is only offered to God as Prasad and the other one using arisi pori is given to neighbors and eaten at home as just a snack.

In my home, my Grandma uses the fresh Nel (Paddy) and roasts them to pop before making these balls on the day of Maha Deepam. They do not even buy the pori from shops.

She does that in a clay pot on the stove fuelled by fire wood in the backyard as that’s how its roasted, not on any other cook ware. You have to be really fast and keep stirring the “Nel” to roast without a gap. No ladle is used to turn them, but a bunch of sticks are used.

Though it might look easy when you watch, it really is difficult that if you leave a moment unattended half the nel would have popped and will begin to get tossed out of the pot all around the stove.

The process is almost like how you pop corn. I would like to try it out in a micro wave oven next time, just to see if it is possible.

Points to note before making Pori Urundai:

1. Use only “Paagu Vellam”, the darker variety of jaggery for the recipe. Only then, you will get the right consistency and the balls will stay put.

2. I used un-processed jaggery that I got from the village where they make it, So I got a rich brown color.

3. Add the peanuts and coconut slices to the hot syrup, only then they will not spoil quickly.

4. Do not add all the pori at one go. First use 3-1/2 cups then add by 1/2 cup. The pori needed depends on the quality and consistency of the jaggery. I used all the pori that I had mentioned in the ingredients. If I had used store bought jaggery, I would have used only 4 cups.

5. The one string consistency of the jaggery is very important. If you take it off the stove before that, you will not be able to make the balls.

There will always be husk sticking to the pori here and there. Pull them out manually as you cannot blow them off in any way possible.

How to make Nel Pori Urundai:

1. Boil water and grated jaggery together in a thick bottomed pan.

2. Once it dissolves, pass the syrup through a sieve and filter it. Rinse the pan and return the syrup to the pan.

3. Let the syrup cook over medium flame and keep checking for soft ball consistency. Keep a bowl half filled with water.

4. If you pour a few drops of syrup in a bowl it should stay put at the bottom without getting dissolved. You should be able to collect a make a soft ball of the settled syrup.

5. Add roasted peanuts, sliced coconut pieces, dry ginger powder, cardamom powder and mix well.

6. First add 3-1/2 cups pori first and mix well.

7. If you see syrup in the bottom of the pan then add 1/2 cup till you are able to mix it up. When you pull the ladle from the mixture you should be able to see fine, thin strings of the syrup.

8. Grease your palm with either ghee or sesame oil and make balls. Press the ball by giving pressure from both your palm so that the syrup could bind the pori to remain as a ball. Pori Urundai will harden further when the syrup cools down. Store the Urundai (balls) in an airtight container and enjoy.

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