[Chitvish]

Buy good quality, grainy Bomabay rava. ..
Rava - 1 cup
Boiling water - 1 ¾ cups
Jaggery (powdered) - 1 ½ cups
Ghee - 1-2 tbsp
Cashews chopped - 2 tbsp
Cardamom powder - ½ tsp
Dry roast rava in a kadai on a low flame till light pink & transfer to a shallow vessel.
Boil water, pour on the above & keep covered.
It will become crumbly in 10 mts.
Add ½ cup of water to jaggery & simmer, stirring, to boil.
Strain & boil again.
[FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]The consistency should be very thick as for jaggery puttu.
Pour it on the cooked rava, stirring brisklyThe lumps are likely to formUse a potato masher to disintegrate them – this step is importantWhen well blended, coolRun in the mixi for 5-6 secs for it to become grainyAdd cardamom powder & cashews roasted in gheeMix well & store.

[Chitvish]

Thi recipe is rich in iron, in particular.

Dough:
Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Warm milk - to knead the dough
Make a soft dough, rest for 30 mts & make 6 balls.
Puran:
Finely chopped dates - ¾ cup
Til seeds - 2 tbsp
Brown sugar - ¼ cup
Milk - 2-3 tbsp
Soft butter - 1 tbsp
Toast the til seeds on medium flame rill light brown, cool & powder coarsely
Mix all ingredients and divide into 6 portions.
Proceed as for stuffed parathas.

Shallow fry using little ghee.

Serve hot.

[Chitvish]

This is a very traditional recipe, made with jaggery for deepavali.
Originally, it used to be made thick & formed into balls or served 'uthir uthir' - the first is only for convenience.
Now, it is made in thenkuzal press & thin. I am posting photos for both.
First posted is the more traditional thick type.
For recipe, please go to
Manoharam

[Chitvish]

Photos are continued.

[Chitvish]

The thin 'thenkuzal' type variety

[Chitvish]

Photos are continued

[Chitvish]

For athirasam with freshly mill-ground flour:
Thin variety of rice is not recommended for athirasam. Use rice with big grains. In Chennai we get

Mavu Arisi which is suitable for athirasam.

Raw rice - 2 cups

Urundai vellam (round jaggery, also called pagu vellam) - 2 heaped cups ( jaggery suitable for syrups )

Cardamom powder - 2 tsp

Oil - to deep fry

Wash & soak 2 level cups raw rice for 1 hr.Drain very well & spread on cloth between sheets of

newspaper for 1/2 hr.Powder it in the mixi as fine as possible (in India, send it to the flour mill ).It is

not necessary to sieve this. Now add 1/2 cup water to 2 heaped cups of jaggery, keep on a slow

fire & keep stirring till it dissolves.Strain to remove the dirt. Again boil the syrup till the correct

consistency is reached- take out 1 tsp syrup & put it in 2 tbsp water.You should be able to gather

it like soft butter(this may sound tricky, but when you do it , you will see it yourself easily).Now

remove. In the meanwhile keep the flour in a slightly broad vessel ready & an electric hand

blender or electric dough kneader (if you do not have either, a wooden spatula) ready. Go on

adding the syrup gradually with one hand& hand blend (or knead )with the other hand (or mix

with the spatula) thoroughly without leaving out any dry lump in any corner.The consistency is,

formation of bubbles in the dough-slightly softer than chappathi dough &thicker than idli

dough.Do not add any more syrup even if some is left.The proportion varies with the quality of

rice, so it is safer to have a little extra syrup.Now blend the mixture thorughly after adding cardm

pdr. Spread 2 tsp ghee on top & rest it at least for a day.( For all the effort we take, I usually make

with 4 cups mix with, put in 3-4 ziplock covers & freeze. The more it matures, the better it turns

out !) Next day make athirasam.Usually the consistency on kneading again thoroughly will be O

K. It is supposed to get losened with the warmth of the palm while kneading. If too tight, add 2-3

tsp curds.Take a (slightly big) lemon size, pat it into a small circle with your palm, not fingers(only

then the pressure is even) on a plastic sheet, drop only one at a time in hot oil, change to med

flame.Splash oil on it from around & it will bloat. When one side becomes honey coloured, slowly

turn over. Don't keep this side for long , few seconds is sufficient- otherwise it will become hard.

Now lift it with a holed laddle, gently press on it with another ladle(do this very gently-if not, it

will become tough) & transfer to a tissue. Don't keep the hot athirasams one over the other.Spread

horizontally on a tray. Cool completely & store.

Do not overcook it –it will become tough. If you try to savour it when hot, you may think there is

raw dough inside. Actually it will get cooked in the heat.( ulle, irundhu veganum)
The following recipe is with rice flour available outside India & processed rice flour, available here.

Processed rice flour available in stores, can be ideally used.
Rice flour - 1 cup

Powdered jaggery - ¾ cup

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Oil – to deep fry

Take 1 cup of flour in a shallow bowl & go on adding water little by little & mixing with one hand. This is to make the flour moist. The flour should be crumbly as for puttu. You should be able to hold it in your hands, but if you let it go, it will fall as powder. Sieve in a rava-salladai (sieve), rubbing the flour nicely to fall. Keep it ready in a vessel. This will be very soft.
Heat jaggery with water, stirring, till it dissolves. Strain & put to boil.

Boil the syrup till the correct consistency is reached- take out 1 tsp syrup & put it in 2 tbsp water.You should be able to gather it like soft butter (this may sound tricky, but when you do it , you will see it yourself easily).Now remove. A candy thermometer should read 235 deg F.
In the meanwhile keep the flour in a slightly broad vessel ready & an electric hand blender or electric dough kneader (if you do not have either, a wooden spatula) ready.
Go on adding the syrup gradually with one hand& hand blend (or knead )with the other hand (or mix with the spatula) thoroughly without leaving out any dry lump in any corner.
The consistency is, formation of bubbles in the dough slightly softer than chappathi dough &thicker than idli dough.
Spread 2 tsp ghee on top & rest it at least for a day.( For all the effort we take, I usually make with 4 cups mix with, put in 3-4 ziplock covers & freeze. The more it matures, the better it turns out !)
Next day make athirasam.Usually the consistency on kneading again thoroughly will be O K.
Take a (slightly big) lemon size, pat it into a small circle with your palm, not fingers (only then the pressure is even) on a plastic sheet, drop only one at a time in hot oil, change to medium flame.
Splash oil on it from around & it will bloat.
When one side becomes honey coloured, slowly turn over. Don't keep this side for long , few seconds is sufficient- otherwise it will become hard.

Now lift it with a holed laddle, gently press on it with another ladle (do this very gently-if not, it will become tough) & transfer to a tissue.
Don't keep the hot athirasams one over the other.
Spread horizontally on a tray.
Cool completely & store.

Do not overcook it –it will become tough. If you try to savour it when hot, you may think there is raw dough inside. Actually it will get cooked in the heat ( ulle, irundhu veganum)

[Chitvish]

This is the traditional method of making neyyappam.
The following recipe is with rice flour available outside India & processed rice flour, available here.

Processed rice flour available in stores, can be ideally used.

Rice flour - 1 cup

Powdered jaggery - ¾ cup

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Oil – to shallow fry

Take 1 cup of flour in a shallow bowl & go on adding water little by little & mixing with one hand. This is to make the flour moist. The flour should be crumbly as for puttu. You should be able to hold it in your hands, but if you let it go, it will fall as powder. Sieve in a rava-salladai (sieve), rubbing the flour nicely to fall. Keep it ready in a vessel. This will be very soft.

Heat jaggery with water, stirring, till it dissolves. Strain & put to boil.

Boil the syrup till the correct consistency is reached- take out 1 tsp syrup & put it in 2 tbsp water. It should form a soft mass called tomato patham. A candy thermometer should read 235 deg F.Now remove.
In the meanwhile keep the flour in a slightly broad vessel ready & an electric hand blender or electric dough kneader (if you do not have either, a wooden spatula) ready.
Go on adding the syrup gradually with one hand& hand blend (or knead )with the other hand (or mix with the spatula) thoroughly without leaving out any dry lump in any corner. Add cardamom powder also.
Spread 2 tsp ghee on top & rest it at least for a day.( For all the effort we take, I usually make with 4 cups mix with, put in 3-4 ziplock covers & freeze. The more it matures, the better it turns out !)
Next day make appams. The dough may need 1-2 tbsp of water to be added to get a pouring consistency. Beat well to aerate.
Shallow fry in an appam or paniyaram pan, half filled with oil. Once you pour the batter in all depressions, cover for 1-2 mtes & then flip. The second side cooks faster. Remove to a strainer & keep partially closed to keep it soft. Then transfer to airtight box & close it without waiting to become completely cold. This keeps well for 3-4 days. Bananas are not necessary to be added because the shelf-life will be affected then.

[Chitvish]

Good quality, clean jaggery, powdered - 1 cup

Mixed, chopped almond + cashew + pista + walnuts - 1 cup

Crisp murmura (pori) - 3 cups

Ghee - 1 tbsp + oil - 2 tbsp

Keep a plate smeared with oil ready, with a small bowl of water near.

In a kadai, heat oil + ghee.

When very hot, add powdered jaggery & stir.

Boil till a tsp dropped in water forms a firm ball.

Remove, add nuts + murmura.

Mix thoroughly & well for 2-3 mtes.

Empty on an oiled plate & pat the top with wet palms.

Press to make it compact.

After 5 mtes, cut pieces.

cool & store airtight.

[Chitvish]

For outer covering, make a dough with:

Chiroti rava - ½ cup

Maida - ½ cup

Powdered sugar - 1 tbsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

The dough should be very soft, but not loose.

For filling, I used copra/desiccated coonut/coconut powder.
You can use fresh coconut, but this is easier to cook & keeps better.

Coconut powder - heaped ¾ cup

Powdered jiggery - ¾ cup, flat

Cardamom & nutmeg powders - each ½ tsp

Simmer the together till blended – this is fast.

Please follow the photos. The filling is encased in the ball of dough & all balls are completely soaked in oil for a minimum of 2-3 hrs.

Then drain each ball, roll between plastic sheets & carefully transfer to the tava.

Shallow fry lightly, not very long. Only then it will be soft. This makes about 10 obbattus.