Athirasam

Athirasam is a sweet made in South India especially during festivals..I remember my grandmother preparing this during festivals and sending them to all our neighbours and relatives..This was my all-time favorite..I never had a chance to have this sweet since I came here to the US..When my dad came here, my aunt had prepared the dough to make athirasam and sent it through appa..I made this yesterday and it came out too good..Brought back my childhood memories..Here goes the recipe..

Ingredients

Raw rice - 3 cups

Jaggery - 1 1/2 cup

Water - 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder - 1 teaspoon

Oil for deep frying

Directions

Soak the raw rice for atleast three hours in water..Allow it to dry..It should be partially wet.Grind it in a mixer-grinder and sieve it to get a fine powder..The powder should be slightly wet..Keep it aside..

Powder the jaggery..Heat the water in a saucepan and add the jaggery to it..Simmer until a syrup is formed..Filter to remove the stones..After filtering bring it to a boil again until softball consistency (drop a small amount of jaggery in cold water,it should form a soft,flexible mass) is reached..When the jaggery syrup is ready,mix in the cardamom powder..Mix the syrup with the powdered rice flour to form a smooth dough..Keep the dough aside for atleast an hour..

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed vessel..Apply oil in a plastic sheet and also in your fingers..Take a small amount of dough and flatten in out into small discs..It should be thinner than that of vada and thicker than that of chapathi..A hole can be made in the center so that it cooks evenly..

Deep fry in the oil until it turns crispy and deep golden brown..

Sending this to RCI: Andhra Festival Foods hosted by Vani..

This sweet always brings back my memoirs of my childhood days,where we used to wear new dresses,having fun with my cousins during all festivals..

So this goes off to Jeena's It's all about memories

Sending this to Sweet Series hosted by Paajaka.

And also to Yummy Festival Feast-Diwali..

Also sending this to Satisfy your sweet tooth hosted by Sudeshna