Rice Pudding Cooked with Jaggery and Coconut Milk (Aathu Akkaravadisal)

Traditional Indian Festive Offering!

Indian Vegetarian Festive Season Special

Tamil Nadu/Andhra Cuisine

Rice Pudding Cooked with Jaggery and Coconut Milk (Aathu Akkaravadisal)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Rice- ½ Cup

Milk- 1 Litre

Jaggery (Gud)- 1-½ Cups

Saffron (Kesar)- a Few Strands

Green Cardamom - 1 Tsp., Finely Powdered

Coconut Milk- ½ Cup

Pure Ghee- 1 Tbsp.

Raisins- 1 Tbsp.

Cashew nuts- 8-10

Method:

Rice should be Soaked for 30 Minutes to 1 Hour

Finely Chop the Cashew nuts & Keep Aside

Soak Kesar Strands in 1 Tbsp. of Warm Milk

Boil Milk in a Thick Bottomed Pot

Add the Rice and Keep Stirring

Check to see till the Rice is completely cooked & the Mixture becomes a little thicker

Remove the Mixture from the Heat

Slightly Mash with a Ladle

In a Sauce Pan, Add Jaggery & Stir on Low Heat

Stir Continuously till the Jaggery Melts

Add Saffron and Cardamom Powder and Mix Well

Remove from the Heat Again

Add Coconut Milk and Mix Well

Lastly, Heat Ghee in a Small Tempering (Tadka) Pan to fry the Raisins & Cashew nuts till Golden Colour, the Raisins Puff a little & Release Pleasant Aroma

Add to the Rice-Dal Mixture & Mix Well

Serve Hot!

Tips:

This Festive Preparation is Tamil Nadu Iyengar (Vaishnavite) Community’s Special mostly served in Temple as Offering to the God (Naivedyam/Prasad)

A Thick Deep Bottomed Bronze Vessel (Vengalapanai) would be perfect to prepare this Dish

Rice-Dal Ratio should be 1:6 & Jaggery should be 1- ½ Times the Rice-Dal Mixture

Be Careful not to let the Milk Stick to the Bottom of the Pot as in this Dish the Burnt part of the Milk should be avoided

Variations:

Addition of 2 Tbsp. Split Green Gram (Payattham Paruppu/Pesara Pappu) along with Rice gives a Pongal- like taste in this Recipe

Next Pressure Cook Rice, Payattham Paruppu, Milk, Water & Let it Cook till the Rice-Dal Mixture forms an overcooked Texture

Can add a Pinch of Camphor in this Recipe

Rest of the Recipe is the same as Pongal (Omitting the Coconut Milk), please visit the link below for the same:

http://globaldhaba.blogspot.com/2012/01/sticky-rice-green-gram-lentil-pudding.html

Tips:

English- Saffron
Hindi- Kesar/Zafran
Telugu- Kunkumapuvvu

Feel free to share your views & do let us know how this one turned out :)