Pori urundai is a sweet snack made with puffed rice and jaggery as main ingredients, especially prepared for Karthigai deepam festival as snack. Though nel pori and aval pori are prepared for offering, this is fun for kid's snacking during the festivals.
You can prepare this even for snacking on regular days when you have pori on hand.
Check out my other Kadalai urundai Recipe and Kamarkat recipe in this website.
Wishing you all happy karthigai deepam! As a kid, I always enjoyed this festival and had fun in lighting lamps and decorating. Me and my brother, will save some crackers on Deepavali and burst it on this day.
My mom used to do three varieties of pori, one she will just make it as a brittle (Karthigai Aval pori) and two into balls (nel pori urundai and this arisi pori urundai). And here in Singapore since I couldn't find the varieties, so I just made balls using our ordinary puffed rice.
At out home this regular pori (arisi pori) urundai is not kept for poojai, they offer only the nel pori and aval pori. Only these two are called karthigai pori in my home.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make Pori urundai.
- Arisi pori -Puffed rice - Use fresh stock for best taste
- Jaggery - Dark paagu vellam works best for syrup
- Sesame seeds - Adds wonderful flavour for the snack
- Sukku - Dry ginger - For flavour as well as to avoid gastric issues
- Cardamom - For flavour
- Ghee - For greasing your hands
Pori Urundai Step by step
- Dry roast the puffed rice firstly in a pan just until warm. Do not let it brown. If possible, keep it aside in the same pan so that it stays warm.
2. After that, heat powdered jaggery with ¼ cup water in a wide pan. Stir until the jaggery dissolves completely. Mash any big pieces.
3. Then, train the syrup through a metal strainer to remove impurities. Pour slowly so the dirt settles at the bottom.
4. Rinse the pan, pour the strained syrup back, and heat again. Heat until it reaches a non-sticky rolling ball consistency.
5. To test, drop a little syrup into a bowl of water. You should be able to pick it up, form a firm ball (holds it's shape), and it should not stick to your fingers. If it forms a loose or sticky ball, heat furthermore.
6. Keep the flame low as it nears this stage so you don't overshoot the consistency. Once ready, switch off heat. Add cardamom powder, dry ginger powder, roasted sesame seeds.
7. Then add the warm puffed rice gradually, mix well. Adding it all at once can make the syrup seize/ bloom (especially if the pori is cold).
8. Scrape the mixture from the ladle using a spoon now itself before it hardens.
Shaping
9. Grease your palms with ghee. Firstly roll the mixture gently into a loose ball. As it cools slightly, then roll tightly to firm up the shape. If you roll tightly from the beginning, it will stick back in your hands.
10. Work quickly before the mixture cools completely. For any portion stuck in the pan, heat it gently on low to loosen it and shape it too.
Shiny, tasty and beautiful pori urundais are ready for Karthigai deepam.
FAQ
Here are the tips you can follow to avoid this:
1. Warm up the pori before adding to syrup to avoid temperature shock.
2. Make sure the syrup reaches the right consistency. Keep the flame low when you are nearing the stage. Double ensure you get a non-sticky ball that holds the shape, not the one that is loose.
3. For ½ cup jaggery, use ¼ cup water. This ensures the syrup doesn't thicken fast. If you add more water it takes long time to reach the consistency.
Grease each time with ghee on both hands. This also helps handle the heat.
First roll gently to gather a round with both hands. Then as it cool then tighten towards the end. This will prevent the syrup not sticking to the hands.
- Be sure that your syrup reaches rolling ball consistency, or else you can't make balls.
- If your urundais are not holding shapes even when you are trying to make shape, then your syrup consistency is not right. You switched off too early. Single string consistency will make the syrup bloom and let the balls break as it cools down.
- If it holds shape, but later it becomes loose, then also your syrup has not reached the consistency (probably it was sticky and loose ball). Also you might have added a little lot of pori than needed. There should not be any moisture in your hands (wet) while handling the mixture.
Top tip
Here are some points to note to get it perfect:
- Do the jaggery measurement only after powdering well or grating it.
- No need to keep stirring after the jaggery is dissolved, let it bubble well until you smell nice jaggery flavor.
- Warming up the pori by roasting slightly helps for a fresh taste as well as it prevents blooming instantly (becomes brittle if you suddenly cool the mixture).
- Make sure there is no moisture in you hands or it is wet. Handle only with dry hands.
- Let the balls completely cool down before storing. If there is moisture in there, then it will fall apart later.
- If you add more pori than needed and keep stirring after adding pori, the mixture will cool soon and will not hold shape. Make sure just gently mix and add pori as needed. If you add less pori, then there will be some syrup left at the bottom of the pan which is okay, you can heat up a little and add pori to make the balls. But if you add more than needed it will cool and bloom/ become dry and cannot make the balls.
Browse all karthigai deepam recipes
Recipe card
Pori Urundai For karthigai deepam
Ingredients
- 2 cups Puffed rice Arisi pori
- ½ cup Jaggery grate & measure
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Sesame seeds Roasted
- ⅛ teaspoon Cardamom powder
- ⅛ teaspoon Dry ginger powder
- 1 teaspoon Ghee Divided
Instructions
- Dry roast the puffed rice in a pan just until warm. Do not let it brown. Keep it aside in the same pan so that it stays warm.
- Heat powdered jaggery with ¼ cup water in a wide pan. Stir until the jaggery dissolves completely. Mash any big pieces.
- Strain the syrup through a metal strainer to remove impurities. Pour slowly so the dirt settles at the bottom.
- Rinse the pan, pour the strained syrup back, and heat again. Heat until it reaches a non-sticky rolling ball consistency.
- To test, drop a little syrup into a bowl of water. You should be able to pick it up, form a firm ball (holds it's shape), and it should not stick to your fingers. If it forms a loose or sticky ball, heat furthermore.
- Keep the flame low as it nears this stage so you don't overshoot the consistency. Once ready, switch off heat. Add cardamom powder, dry ginger powder, roasted sesame seeds.
- Then add the warm puffed rice gradually (start with 1 cup and add then add full 2 cups). Mix well. Adding it all at once can make the syrup seize (, especially if the pori is cold.
- Scrape the mixture from the ladle using a spoon now itself before it hardens.
- Grease your palms with ghee. First roll the mixture gently into a loose ball. As it cools slightly, roll again tightly to firm up the shape. If you roll tightly from the beginning, it will stick in your hands.
- Work quickly before the mixture cools completely. For any portion stuck in the pan, heat it gently on low to loosen it and shape it too.
Video
Notes
- Let the pori be warm while adding to the syrup as it will avoid temperature shock.
- Do not add more pori and mix too much, this will make the mixture cool and become dry.
- Make sure syrup consistency reaches, you should double check for perfect results.
- The number of pori urundai depends how big you make.
- You can add roasted sesame seeds, fried gram dal(pottukadalai) , dry ginger too.
- At the end it will harden. so keep again in stove for a fraction of minute to make it loose and roll again.
LG says
ohoo..I love pori urundais. They are crunchy and perfect snack.
Purnima says
Wow..just remembered joining a friend for Kolam n Deepam for Karthikai!The urundai's are so perfectly done! Wow!!
Priya says
Gorgeous Pori urundais..Happy Karthikai deepam too...prefectly shaped pori urundais..
jeyashrisuresh says
nice poriurundai.here in little india we can get nell pori.this time i didnt make poriurundaisince i m leaving india tom.so busy.we will add small pices of coconut roasted in ghee.and my mom will add dried ginger powder.(sukku)as the pori gives some gastric problem sometimes.
Mahimaa's kitchen says
my goodness.. that is such a nice picture.not fair to tempt us with such sweets dear...send some across.
RAKS KITCHEN says
Thankyou all for ur lovely words!
Jeyasri,
My friend too have told me that we get in little india,but i hardly go that side,for me Mustafa is the only place I shop for our groceries;D
My mom too adds coconut bits fried in ghee,but to the nel pori brittle only she adds...
for this we just make it as such...Adding sukku powder is a nice idea,I read in some other blog too....but never tried....
Have fun in India...:)
Happy cook says
Wow that look yummy delcious.
Cham says
I use to sit near those agal and pour the oil whenever needed and take care of them... How good was those days? Lovely pori urundai as we don't like sweet I am skipping those traditional sweets... Hope u had a wonderful Deepam!
Yasmeen says
Sweet treats,wonderful shots:)
AnuSriram says
That looks perfect and lovely..
Anonymous says
Oh pori urundai for kaarthigai, brings back such good memories : ) This looks amazing, I am now inspired to try this tonight!
Jaishree says
Happy Karthikai deepam .pori urundais r so perfect & yum...
Andhra Flavors says
Wow beautiful picture with lamp.
Nags says
lovely pics, nice that you celebrated 🙂
rekhas kitchen says
lovely pori urundai looks very tempting and very divine with that deepam
Premyscakes says
It looks perfect and crunchy.
Rachel says
my fav snack to munch on...
srikars kitchen says
wow.. super.. looks perfect & nice clicks..
Kitchen Flavours says
Kurum Kurum Kurum iam eating it off. Looks yummylicious.
Seena says
I love this Raj!
nice pics too.. 🙂
Viki Xavier. says
Pori urundai looks so perfect and yummy. The way u explained is very useful. Happy karthigai dear.
vidhas says
YOur urandai is perfect. So tempting. Thank you for lovely comments and support.
Laavanya says
Lovely pics Raks and thanks for the detailed steps. Will try to make these urundais next year.. We used to keep aside some of the fire crackers to enjoy on kaarthigai as well... 🙂
Sangeeth says
wow! you have a great blog too...celebrated deepam huh? great looking pori urundais yaar...for us it is only today so i think i'll be making this but let us see.....
SriLekha says
wow! pics with deepam is very nice!
pori urundai is my all time favorite!
join in the sweet event going in my blog!
Rathna says
Lovely 🙂
Uma says
ooh yummy murmura laddus. pretty lights.
Srivalli says
yum yum!..looks so great..missing it this year...:(
Uj says
Wow..looks beautiful.. Loved the last click.. I love these laddus.. but unfortunately don't get that variety of Jaggery here and also Murmura is rarely available..Looks delicious
Bharathy says
Hayyyoo Raji..this is a keeper for me!!!!I was serching the whole of net for karthikai and ended up in doing nothing as I was not happy with a good recipe!...
And Hurraaah here it is..BOOK MARKEDOOO!!!;)
LOVVVELY and PUURRFECT!!
Bharathy says
two varieties of pori(paddy puffed rice and ordinary puffed rice),..
Sorry Raji...Puriyaliye??
one..sada pori..innonnu???
Suma Rajesh says
mouthwatering urundai...happy karthikai deepam
Cynthia says
Your pictures of the rice balls and lighted diyas are beautiful.
Adlak's tiny world says
wonderful pic that too last one with lamp light... chance less dear... thanks for the sugesstion given. I ll do that.
yum yum karthikai balls.....
Kalai says
Beautiful pics!! Pori urundai looks simply delicious!! 🙂
Daily Meals says
Nice pictures...
Anonymous says
i love these....perfect pics!
Gita's Kitchen says
The pictures look awesome, gr8 post 🙂
Ramya's Mane Adige says
oh, I used love these as a kid!!! Been ages since I had them...Last was at my own wedding, I guess 😀
the last pic with the lamp is beautiful!!
Sharmi says
waw Raks, those deepams look so beautiful!! your pori urundais are heavenly!! wish I could taste!
Maya says
Wow, these look just perfect..Haven't had in a long time, but am craving for some now.
Sanghi says
Good clicks and recipe.. Check out my blog too..
notyet100 says
the last pic looks so divine,..:-),thnks for the step by step pics,..
raaji says
Vowwwwwww...I always saw them in theaters in India....my mom never made them...love to taste them.
Khaugiri says
Oh! I love pori urundais………. And such a nice picture, I'll try it immediately.
vidhas says
Thank you Raji for your comments. Waiting for your new post.
Tina says
Hai raji im new to ur beautiful blog.Superb recipes nd perfect presentations....
DEESHA says
lovely pics out there
Mangala Bhat says
wowowo! Yummy!Happy Deepavali!visit me when u have a time !:)i am back 🙂
nk says
wow! looks perfect. which pori is best for pori urundai? sometimes I get the fat puffed ones and other times I only see skinny pori in the store and avoid it!
RAKS KITCHEN says
nk, the flat ones are the traditional must 'do' ones in our family,but this is the tastiest ones 🙂
meenachi says
hi rak, i'm a graphic designer + printer from spore. i was looking for some shots of pori urundai and i chanced upon yours. it was a perfect shot with the karthigai vilakku and i wanna use it for my 2011 tamil calender which i'm designing. i dont wanna use it w/o your permission so my dear. u got really wonderful shots which i can really use in da future. I'll make sure i'll write at the corner 'rak' or something like dat in small print.
pls say okie..
[email protected]
RAKS KITCHEN says
Hi meenachi,
I appreciate that you wrote here and asked permission,sure you can go ahead and use this click 🙂
Chandrashekar R. Gaajula says
Hi,
My wife liked your recipe and we tried it, got some great Urundais. Here's a video we made out of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37Ot9waUhxM
~Chandra & Chethana
Sharanya says
beautiful post... pic with the lamp is awesome...
Anjana says
Hey lovely urundais.. Liked the clicks more:)
Janani says
Raks I have made this many time and I always bring the jaggery syrup to that ball consistency but when I start mixing to the pori in a min they all get separated and I am not able to make balls.I feel so frustrated plz give me tips how to get those shape or how to bind them together plzzzzzzzz.This i sthe only sweet that is troubling me and I feel so frustrated.
GeethuSathiyaN says
Raks,tried tis today,as u told i added pori b4 the consistency is reached,so cant get the urundais 🙁
Faseela Noushad says
yummy snack
Hemalatha says
Hey I tried it out just now.. Came out very well.. thnx a lot for the recipe.. 🙂
Janani says
Happy karthigai deepam raks.
RAKS KITCHEN says
Janani, it should be the uruttu padham, please check the post I have updated with a tip.
Umayal rukku says
Thanks a lot for d recipie..... Hv done it twice..... Perfect snack... n evry1 lovd it in r family 🙂
Umayal rukku says
Thnks a lot for d recipie..... Hv done it twice.... nd it tastes perfect
Charu Mathy says
v bought pori for ayudha pooja i was wondering wat to do with it then i saw ur recipe and tried it has cum soooo well i luv pori urundais and am so suprised it has cum out really well 😀 bcos i was scarred about the padham 🙂 i wil share the pics soon thanks a lot for the lovely recipe
Prabha Sivaram says
Tried the recipe. Came out very well. Thank you
Thivi ashok says
Hi today I tried this pori urundai.....but can't make urundai dont know why?I think I used less water to make jaggery syrup....plz say the water level...
Raks anand says
You can make little more syrup and try making. Make sure the consistency is right.
Ezhilarasi Anandan says
This comment has been removed by the author.
radha says
Thanks a lot. Your description was perfect. I made perfect pori urandai todayl
Ram Lakshmi says
Tried today... Came out well... Thanks for the recipe n detailed explanation 🙂
Loga Suhas says
Hi,I tried it today, came out so delicious. Perfect snack 🙂 Best explanation. Thanks