Adhirasam is a traditional Deepavali snack made in Tamil Nadu. Learn how to make adhirasam with quick video and step by step photos.
Adhirasam is my all time favourite. In my childhood, I used to like it made with sugar instead of jaggery. My mom never forgot to make a special batch of adhirasam with sugar specially for me🙂. So I always wanted to try out myself and make a step by step post detailed for keeping it as record and for the readers too. To be honest, for past 4 years, for every diwali, I tried, tried and tried, but some how I made some silly mistakes and flopped. But each time I learnt my mistake. As we don’t make adhirasam other than for diwali, I had to wait for an year every time.
It is very easy to make for my mom and MIL, so its all about experience. This time, I tried very carefully and followed my moms instructions. And now I can also confidently make adhirsam every year. This post is sure a record for me. If you are also like me who loves adhirsam and want to make at home, I would recommend to buy jaggery (paagu vellam) that is slightly with red shade rather than yellow. Also raw rice (maavu arisi) from the local shops. But any jaggery and raw rice works for this reipe. Just saying if its available in your living area, then you can make best use of it 🙂
Adhirasam
Adhirasam is a traditional Deepavali snack made in Tamil Nadu. Learn how to make adhirasam with quick video and step by step photos.
Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Resting time 1 day
Servings 20
Cup measurementsIngredients
- 1& 1/2 cups Raw rice
- 1 cup Jaggery
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds
- 2 pinches Dry ginger powder
- 2 pinches Cardamom powder
- 1 tbsp Ghee
- Oil as needed for deep frying
Instructions
- Wash and soak rice for 3 hours. Drain, spread in a white cotton cloth for 10 mins. Do not let it dry for long time as it will give rubbery adhirasam. Moisture should be there if you touch the rice.
- Grind it in 2 batches in a mixer to a flour. Wipe down the sides to ensure even powdering.
- Sieve it. My MIL and mom uses rava jalladai (sieve) for this, so I understand its important for the flour to be slightly on coarse side. While you sieve, keep the flour pressed and covered. That is after you sieve and transfer the flour to a narrow container, press it gently so that it locks the moisture and keep covered always so that flour doesn't get dried. Meanwhile, powder the jaggery and heat it with water just to immerse the jaggery.
- Once its completely dissolved, filter it to remove impurities. Again start heating the jaggery syrup.
- Boil in medium flame always and stir occasionally. Keep checking the syrup consistency by pouring in water kept in a small bowl. At beginning stage, the syrup dissolves as you pour in water, then at next stage, it will lay a fine thread in the water, but gets dissolved when you touch. After this, at one stage, the syrup gets thicker and when you pour in water, then it wont get dissolved and you will be able to gather it with your fingers and form a loose ball that stays in hand. This is called soft ball consistency and this is the stage, you have to put off the fire. Immediately pour it to the flour little by little. Add sesame seeds, cardamom powder and dry ginger powder to the flour.
- You may need not all the sugar syrup for sure. So be careful after you add 3/4th of the syrup and keep mixing with a ladle or spatula. The syrup should be super hot directly used from stove. Mix well for atleast 3 mins. The dough should be gooey and on sticky side and it should be very very loose (pouring consistency). After some hours, it will get absorbed and get stiff.
- Keep it overnight (2 days if possible, for better result) at room temperature in an airtight container. You can keep it as such for 2-3 days. If more than that, keep refrigerated. But let it be out overnight atleast for a day. At the time of making, divide into equal sized balls, each of small lemon sized. You can use sesame oil when you roll as the dough will be slightly sticky.
- Heat oil in kadai and once it is hot, reduce the flame to low. In a ziploc, grease it with a drop of ghee and flatten the dough thick. Carefully drop in oil.
- Once it rises up, immediately flip it and cook. Once it turns golden brown, drain from oil.
- You must use another ladle and press it to squeeze out the excess oil as shown, as it may retain some oil in it. Repeat the process for the rest of the dough. Oil should always be in low or medium if needed.
- N
Video
Notes
- The dough should be very loose when you make adhirsam. If it is stiff, then your adhirsam will become hard and chewy. So you have to add a tblsp of milk and knead the dough well again and try making. This will ensure the adhirsam to be soft.
- Keep the dough ATLEAST overnight at room temperature. Do not take our from the fridge and make immediately. Bring to room temperature.
- The rice while grinding should be moist, retain water, also the sieved flour also should not get dry. Otherwise the adhirsam will get crisp and hard.
- Even the syrup consistency is very important. If syrup passes the soft ball consistency, it will get hard or get dissolved in oil. Adding more jaggery to flour also makes it dissolve in the oil.
- Sieving is not necessary, but make sure it is powdered fine.
- If you flatten so thin, the adhirsam will turn very crisp. So make it thick.
- Cook in low flame to make sure it gets cooked evenly and also make sure not to over cook. It makes the adhirsam harder.
- Flip immediately once the it rises up after you add the adhirsam in oil.
- Use ghee when flattening each adhirsam.
- The jaggery syrup will be needed depending upon the quality of rice, some need more, some need less. So for safer side, make more. So the given quantity will be more, so keep that in mind.
- In case, you adhirsam is chewy or hard, steam it for 3 minutes in idli plate/ steamer. It becomes soft. Just for troubleshooting.
Will add more tips as I remember or more from my MIL and mom 🙂 - My MIL brings the syrup to soft ball consistency, put the flame to low and adds the flour and mix, switches off the flame. I add syrup to the floor off fire.
Adhirasam recipe method:
- Wash and soak rice for minimum 3 hours. Drain, spread in a white cotton cloth for 10 mins. Do not let it dry for long time as it will give crispy rubbery adhirasam. Moisture should be there.
- Grind it in 2 batches in a mixer to a flour.
- Sieve it (optional,if you know your flour is fine, then no need). My MIL and mom uses rava jalladai (sieve) for this, so I understand its important for the flour to be slightly on coarse side. While you sieve, keep the flour pressed and covered. That is after you sieve and transfer the flour to container, press it gently so that it locks the moisture and keep covered always so that flour doesn’t get dried. Meanwhile, powder the jaggery and heat it with water just to immerse the jaggery.
- Once its completely dissolved, filter it to remove impurities. Again start heating the jaggery syrup.
- Boil in medium flame always and stir occasionally. Keep checking the syrup consistency by pouring in water kept in a small bowl. At beginning stage, the syrup dissolves as you pour in water, then at next stage, it will lay a fine thread in the water, but gets dissolved when you touch. After this, at one stage, the syrup gets thicker and when you pour in water, then it wont get dissolved and you will be able to gather it with your fingers and form a loose ball. This is called soft ball consistency and this is the stage, you have to put off the fire. Immediately pour it to the flour little by little. Add sesame seeds, elachi powder and dry ginger powder to the flour.
- You may need not all the syrup for sure. So be careful after you add 3/4th of the syrup and keep mixing with a ladle or spatula. The dough will be gooey and on sticky side and it will be very very loose (pouring consistency). Don’t worry. After some hours, it will get absorbed and get stiff. It is a must for the dough to be gooey and loose as after some time it gets thick.
- Keep it overnight (2 days if possible, for better result) at room temperature in an airtight container. You can keep it as such for 2-3 days. If more than that, keep refrigerated. But let it be out overnight atleast for a day. At the time of making, divide into equal sized balls, each of small lemon sized. You can use sesame oil when you roll as the dough will be slightly sticky.
- Heat oil in kadai and once it is hot, reduce the flame to low. In a ziploc/ banana leaf piece, grease it with a drop of ghee and flatten the dough thick. Carefully drop in oil.
- Once it rises up, immediately flip it and cook. Once it turns golden brown, drain from oil.
- You must use another ladle and press it to squeeze out the excess oil as shown, as it may retain some oil in it. Repeat the process for the rest of the dough. Oil should always be in low or medium if needed.
- Wash and soak rice for minimum 3 hours. Drain, spread in a white cotton cloth for 10 mins. Do not let it dry for long time as it will give crispy rubbery adhirasam. Moisture should be there.
You can store the dough for months if keep refrigerated and use it whenever needed. Even fried adhirasams can be in shelf for a week.
Love adhirasam very much
babitha
http://babiscooking.blogspot.in/
One of my fav diwali delicacy… but always scared to make it on my own…my MIL makes the dough and sends it to me..and I use it as and when required. You have made these perfectly..maybe I should also dare to make these lovely adhirsams.
Love adhirasam… looks yummy
such a difficult recipe – you make it looks so easy!! well done raji!!
Sowmya
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Superb post, Raks. I have assisted amma in making these and totally love it!
Such an awesome post I am surely going to try this. I have a doubt, what if the rice powder becomes dry, can we sprinkle some water to the powder to retain the moisture?
Very nice and yummy Adhirsam..
Great-secret-of-life.blogspot.com
So well explained..even a beginner will feel confident of trying out this traditional sweet…Looks really Good
wow what a nice write up dear… very impressive clicks…
this is one of my favourite sweets! they have come out perfect for you.
ps: love the moving bar on top too.
This is my fav anytime…can munch it nonstop…looks awesome!
this one is really tricky to make..hats off to you to get such wonderful ones..
Wow lovely adhirasam given me the confidence to do well this time for Diwali thanks Raks..
Aishwarya, Keep it pressed so that the moisture is still there.If it dries, then just proceed making the dough. If the dough is very stiff later, then you can sprinkle milk to make it loose.
Even i never tried making them, its scares me a lot, after many flops i dont have courage to make some, i love that sugar adhirasam too,my grandma brings me specially for every deepavali,missing her now:(.
Prefect looking my fav adhirasam Raji,well done.
Even i have never tried adirasam so far as my mom always scares me that it will make more flop shows.
This one looks so tempting and one of my fav too. Turned out awesome
OMG!!! Looks soooo….good!!!
in Odisha we call it Arisha pitha..they r looking super delicious…..thanks for sharing it..:)
Raji superb!!!! Kalkarae. Looks so tempting.
Raji, I tried your adirasam recipe and it turned out great. Your tip about keeping the rice moist was right, I have tried adirasam before, but this time it was just perfect!
I love adhirasams! Your pic tempts me.
yummy ……usually i dont like adirasam…but seeing yr clicks telling me to taste it
Gorgeous!! I can smell the ghee and jaggery from here
looks amazing…
Mouthwateringgggg
My Mom makes it the same way. I have not tried it myself. You are tempting me to try it this year. Nicely done. Love the sliding menu bar on the top. Nice idea !!
Dear Raks, your way of presentation is very nice and excellent photography. BTW Adhirasam looks yummy….:))
lovely raji 🙂 and Gr8 attempt yeah its tough to prepare 🙂
Dear Raji,
The recipe looks awesome. All your recipes are awesome. Your detailed recipes have transformed my life. I cannot thank you enough for your generosity in sharing your recipes. You rock!
Priya
Thank you everyone for your appreciations 🙂
Thank you Uma for trying and the prompt feedback too! Its super quick! 🙂
My favourite adhirasam! Looks so perfect dear…
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wow I know it takes up lot of hard work, patience and time….you did a great job dear..and nice clicks too…
If you would like to link it to my event:
"DIWALI FOOD FEST" Nov 1th to Nov 30th
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Oh, the scrolling bar of snacks is moving too fast before I can grab some from each picture !! You are so talented !! Love your blog, and tried lots of recipes from here, each one of them a success…!
Unfortunately, in our house, athirasam is made only for death anniversaries !! So it is absolutely forbidden for me to make it for any festivals..!! Have you ever heard of this in any other family?? What a waste of such a good sweet !!
Unknown, You are right. We make only for Diwali , other than that only for 1st death anniversary. Thats y I dont make in between and took so long for me to get it right!
Raji one question i have is if one makes it with the ready made rice flour how will we make the flour moist.I always appreciate your idea of making things from scratch.Looking forward to your reply.
Hi ka!
first of all i wanted to thank you so much for posting such traditional recipes like athirsam . Already I am at an entry level in cooking, but having tried some of your other recipes, whihc has never failed , i confidently tried this one . Thank god and you it came out great at the first time itself ka. To my surprise my MIL loved it very much and appreciated me . Thanks ka. I have taken you as my maanaseega guru ka. I used to tell this to my husband also.:) Thanks again ka keep posting.
Raks you are a eeal genius Like I always say I am always hooked on to ur site love the scrolling bar in ur site all sweets look yummy. I was planning to do adhirasam had few flops before now got tips form my athai and trying to do it and seeing ur site gives me more confident thank you for the lovely post.
hi raks /raji,
i made adhirasams for the first time following your recipe and they came out pretty decent. i feared of the the dough disintegrating in oil, but it did hold onto the shape. but the problem is the inside is soft but the outer covering is pretty crisp like murukku. donno what could have gone wrong….i did everything as u hav said…am i missing something in the frying part? the outer cover did break a little here and there while frying. by the way but for your post i wud have never got the gut to try it out. i can eat adhirams like crazy. thank u so much…planning to make another batch before diwali. lemme see if i can get it rgt this time. and you are doing an awesome job here in this blog. keep up the good work. 🙂
Hi raks
I came across your blog while checking jeyashree's blog.. wow simply superb.. just looking at your receipes, presentation and especially your clicks makes me very hungry. u do with such an ease. great work. i am planning to make your badushas. hope it comes great like yours. Advance deepavalli wishes. keep up the good work.
Raji i made adirasam today.The smell of the dough was very tantalizing but to my disappointment this was not come upto my expectation.Maybe too much of jaggery.It was very cripsy as in the case of masala vada but the inside was a bit too gooey.
Your adirasam looks perfect and you have explained the entire process very well.
Hi raks am back I've posted recipe on my blog and linked you ..do check it out when you find time…thanku for the wonderful recipe instructions my family just loved the adhirasams…
Forgot to post the link on my comment.
http://sabcancook.blogspot.in/2012/11/adhirasam.html
mouth watering
very nice rak but i tried didnt turn good some where i messed up its so crunchy
Your dough should be moist and loose. If its tight, it tends to get crunchy. Add milk and knead the dough again to a loose consistency. That will sure work.
Hi sukanya,
Try making a little bit more thicker and keep the flame always in lowest possible. Flip as soon as it comes up in the oil and do not over cook. Add milk and knead again and try.
Some times if the flour we using gets dry before we make the dough, it gets crispy. Hope this helps.
very nice…
Hi, I tried making the dough just now and I guess my syrup is either too thick or I added too much Flour. Now the dough is like puttu flour. Should I add milk right now, or should I make extra syrup and add it or should I add milk tomorrow before frying in oil. Please reply. Wishing you a very happy Diwali.
If you can you can try making extra syrup and mix, or easy way is to add milk and mix just before making adhirsam…hope this helps
This one looks so exotic,,,,:)
wow!adhirasam..mmmm….looks grt…my mom use to prepare this for diwali.i miss her a lot and her adhirasam too…hereafter i will prepare this on my own
thanks for this wonderful traditional recipe
Hi Raji,
Adhirasam is my hubby's favorite, mine too.. I tried making adhirasam twice b4 reading ur post n it was not up to the mark.. after reading ur recipe I made it for Diwali n it turned out to b perfect.. I was complimented by my hubby n in-laws;-) all d credit goes to u.. ur tips were so useful.. thanks alot n keep d good work.. sorry for my delayed comment.. gonna do my nxt batch 2mrw, dough is ready already.. thanks to u once again.. I hv tried many of ur recipes n it always turns out b wonderful:-)
Hi Raji,
Adhirasam is my hubby's favortie sweet, mine too..! I tried making adhirasam twice b4 reading your post n it was not up to the mark.. after reading ur recipe I made it for Diwali n it turned 2 b perfect..! I got compliments from my hubby n in-laws 😉 all d credits goes 2 u.. ur tips were really useful.. thanks u so much.. keep d good work.. sorry for my delayed comments.. I'm gonna do my nxt batch 2mrw, dough is ready already:-)
Hi Akka.
am very big lover of adhirasam , but bit afraid of tat consistency, now after seeing ur recipe am confident tat tis time i wil do it
Can i use ready made rice flour? i'm not sure how rice will dry in my climate(london)
I have tried once, it came out very crisp.
Hi can you specify the quantity of jaggery. Also if it is ready made flour what is the quantity
Sorry, while re editing, got deleted, updated now. And I am not sure if its ready-made flour if it would turn out nice.
I tried it. Came out really well. Thanks..
I tried it . came out really well.. Thanks!!
Hi Raks !!
I just tried ur recipe…the 1st 3 samples tat I tried turned out to be crisp n the dough was too loose..so I added 2 tblp rice flour n now its jus getting seperated in oil…any tips on how to get it back in shape..please reply !!
Adding rice flour later never works. Making dough before the rice flour looses its moisture is the key in making. I have no solution for adhirasam getting separated in oil. I will consult with my elders at home and get back if at all there is any solution.
sure thanks a lot !!!
I tried out this recipe over the weekend and it came out perfect. The adhirasam came out so soft so please follow every single word from Raks! Thanks for the wonderful step by step recipe.
I tried the adhirasam recipe over the weekend and I couldnt believe it came out perfect following this recipe. It was just perfect! Thanks a ton
Hi Raks,
Can i use thai white rice for make this adirasam
Thanks for wonderful recipes and perfect measurements. I tried Adhirasam,Muruku, Ribbon pakoda and boondhi from your site. It came wonderful . Thank You very much to make me cook wonderful
Hi Raks i tried making dough for adhirasam but
the measurement for syrup which u gave was
not enough then again i prepared syrup and added..
I want to know whether it should be fine…
Hi Raks i tried making dough for adhirasam but
the measurement for syrup which u gave was
not enough then again i prepared syrup and added..
I want th know whether it should be fine…
Oh i have given more syrup quantity, not sure why it wasnt enough. I think ther should not be problem. try and see
Hi raks,
I tried this…what I scared was happened,but it's ok,it turned out crispy and chewy,don't know what happened? One request ..next time when u make athirsam can u pls upload the full video,that will be really helpful to know the right dough consistency and thickness…thank you
Try kneading the dough with milk and make it it thicker. Sure will try to do a video
Thank you
Hi Raks, just preared the dough following your suggestion it is a little bit loose & gooey .. hopefully it would get stiffer …what to do with leftover syrup any suggestions ??? thanks for sharing this receipe.. its one of my favorite sweet.
I always want to try adhirasam but i keep on posting it bcz its diff task.But your detailed pic gives me enthusiasm to do it quickly. Adhirasam looks too soft (you got fantastic texture)
My wife did this, now the dough too rough and not able to make as a ball and it got too dry and powered again. So we added more Jaggery then put in oil but it was melt in oil and lost its shape. too much tired and we dont know what to do with dough. We started with half KG of rice flour and now it is become 1.5 KG by adding Jaggery and rice flour repeatedly!!!!!!
Just mix with luke warm milk, it tastes great. Or add some grated coconut and heat to get a chewy coconut candy.
Can palm jaggery used for adhirasam?
i tried making adhirasam today .. As soon as i dropped the adhirasam in the oil , it immediately broke in the oil… Can u guide me where did i do the mistake?
May be the syrup consistency is not right.
hi raji… i have tried ur recipe with sugar…. came out very good.. I had this sugar method adirasam in salem during childhood days.. so just tried. came out awesome.
Can we make immediately too…
can I use organic sonamasoori rice.. thanks
Yes sure!
What is the difference for overnight mixture or fresh pls suggest
Athirasam mixing breaking in the heat oil … how can solve this give me any suggestions
You can try adding flour and milk and try again, but first try in small amount, if it works. But I would suggest to make paniyaram with it. Add little water, wheat flour, 1/2 banana.
Can I make athirasam using sona masoori rice?Please reply. Thanks
The flour is smaller than rava in size. Is that fine? Else should it be like idiyappam ready made flour?
Smaller than rava can be fine. It gives different texture that's the difference. If its coarse more pola pola adhirsam.
Just now I prepared dough but I did mistake by doubting that I crossed the consistency because it took long time but I can form the syrup but not like round and I tried many times it form and melt . Please suggest me whether I can make with this dough
I followed your recipe to the T. They turned out a little crisp(hard). A mistake I know of is I did not grind the rice fine …you can call it coarse. But they taste great. Thanks for the recipe. You made a tricky recipe sound easy. Il try again any advice?
I followed your recipe to the T. They turned out little hard with a few cracks. But they taste good. The only mistake I know of is I did not grind the rice fine …you can call it coarse. Il try again any suggestions…? Thanks for the recipe you made a tricky dish sound easy…
is there any other option to loosen the dough, other than adding milk/
Grinding coarse is fine, try to retain more moisture in the flour (keep the flour covered and let it be moist)
I dont know, sorry ….
My dough was little loose. .. pls help me. . Is there is any option to make the dough to the correct consistency
I tried doing this today. But upper layet is coming out. What should I do now ?
I tried doing this today. But upper layet is coming out. What should I do now ?
If you keep for few days, could get stiff. If too loose, cant do adhirasam. You can add rice flour , little banana and make appam/ paniyaram.
Tried adding milk?
Going to try….
I made the dough yesterday and let it rest overnight. It was stiff and crumbled when I checked this morning. I am going to add luke warm milk and try frying it tonight, I am little scared..wish me good luck. Will let you know how it comes.
Hi
I tried adhirasam for this Diwali. Came out delicious.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hi, can I store this dough in fridge?? If so, for how many months can I keep it?? Would it affect the taste and texture?? Lastly, If I were to take this dough in flight from India to UK, would it not get spoiled??
I added 3 spoons of heavy cream + 2 spoons of atta and a pinch of baking soda as advised by a friend. I could able to make a pretty decent adhirasams.
For 1 and half months may be. Coz, my MIL told she will bring me next month 😉
Sure it gets thickened, but you can keep in room temperature to bring back to its consistency also add little milk. You can sure fly the dough, it wont get spoiled.
Thank u for ur reply
Hi… Its 15 hrs since I prepared the dough.. buy still it's very loose..how to troubleshoot if its still loose after 24 hrs
I think I made the dough loose.. it's 15 hrs now but better thicker than when I made.. how can I troubleshoot of its still loose after 24 hrs
You can try adding a tbsp of rice flour, maida. If still it is loose, if you keep adding flour, it wont be in good texture. You can make appam with it by adding wheat flour and making a batter. (sweet paniyaram) You can add a pinch of cooking soda and banana too to make it soft
Hi. I got it with crispy .not smooth….can u say why..
Hi i made it by following ur recipe …but i got it with crispy ….can u. Say why…but tast is very. Fine….thank u
To get soft adhirasams, soak for long time, say 5 hours. spread in cloth for less time without drying too much. Just 5 mins is enough. After grinding, keep the flour press and covered. Add soft ball consistency syrup until you get gooey runny dough as you see in my video. Lastly give 2 days fermentation time. Cook quickly not for long time. Hope this helps.
Hello i grinded rice not to a fine powder it was granulated suguar type as i mixed jaggery syrup it didnt form a dough ..it become like wet sand type ..what shall i do now?any correction i cn do ..this is the first attempt of mine..plz tel me the solution..
You should grind little more finer, not like granulated sugar. You can try adding little more rice flour, ground in the same way mentioned in the post (fine flour) and add to the batter and try slightly heating the mixture (just warm it up) and make adhirsams. I am not sure about this, just a thought. If it doesnt work, add wheat flour, mashed banana (1/2) to it and a pinch of cooking soda, make paniyaram.
Hi raks, please reply
I tried 3-4 times but, it was be cripy, broken in oil. Corrected with u r all above steps, but not statisfy. I have kitchen scale, so can you able to tell in gram measurements? How much gram rice nd jaggery? Because cup measurements goes to fail for me.
Hi raks, I tired today adhirasam and it came out very well. Thank you very much for the step by step explanation
Hi raks, I tried today adhirasam and it came out very well, thank you very much for the step by step explanation
Tried today,it's very nice,thank you
Hi mam, today i made adhirasam,it just like store bought.thank you so much for sharing
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Raks, you did not mention water quantity to make syrup!!!
Hey raks… I really love your recipes… yours is my go to page for most my cooking…!! recently I tried your adhirasam recipe but I had a issue. My batter looks gooey after keeping it for rest for two days now. Am not able to make the balls. Apparently my syrup came out perfect, still the batter is not firming up. Is there any way out?? I would be glad to hear from you. Thank you. And happy Deepavali in advance….!!!
Can you try adding 1 or 2 tbsp of wheat flour to a small portion of batter and test? I am not sure if adding fresh flour again will work.