Adhirasam recipe
Recipe Cuisine: Indian | Recipe Category: Sweets
Prep Time: 2 Hours + doughresting time | Cook time: 30 mins | Makes: 20
Ingredients

Raw rice 1 & 1/2 cups
Jaggery 1 cup
Sesame seeds 1 tblsp
Dry ginger powder 2 pinches
Elachi powder 2 pinches
Ghee 1 tblsp
Oil as needed for deep frying

Method
Wash and soak rice for 2 hours atleast. Drain, spread in a white cotton cloth for 30 mins. Do not let it fry for long time as it will give rubbery adhirsam. Moisture should be there.
Soak,drain,spread
Grind it in 2 batches in a mixer to a flour. Not really fine like store bought rice flour.
grind to fine flour
Sieve it (optional,if you know your flour is fine, then no need). My MIL and mom uses rava jalladai 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, press it gently so that it locks the moisture and doesn't get dried.Meanwhile, powder the jaggery and heat it with water just to immerse the jaggery.
sieve,jaggery
Once its completely dissolved, filter it to remove impurities. Again start heating the jaggery syrup.
filter,heat
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.
soft ball
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 dough will be gooey and on sticky side and it will be very very loose. 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.
add to flour,mix
Keep it overnight 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.
store,divide into balls
Heat oil in kadai and once it is hot, reduce the flame to low. In a zip loc, grease it with a drop of ghee and flatten the dough thick. Carefully drop in oil.
flat,fry
Once it rises up, immediately flip it and cook. Once it turns golden brown, drain from oil.
flip,drain
You must use another laddle and press it to sqeeze 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.
squeeze
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(need not drip) 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 sugar syrup passes the soft ball consistency, it will get hard or get dissolved in 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. It will be sticky.
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 trouble shooting.
Will add more tips as I remember or more from my MIL and mom :)