Akkaravadisal

Akkaravadisal


Akkaravadisal is a popular dessert among the iyengar community although it was not usually prepared by my mom. My memories of enjoying this delicious dessert come from a Brahmin ritual. My paternal uncle and aunt had passed away at an early age and my father used to carry out the anniversary as per Brahmin tradition (shraddam).It was during this ceremony that akkaravadisal would be made by a professional cook in the traditional way. I remember my paternal grandmother also mentioning that she used to make a lot of this and she was one of the best cooks I have known. This recipe below is the one that I put together based on all the bits and bobs of information I gathered from my grandmother and also recalling (which makes me drool even as I type this) the taste of it. The best way of serving this is with generous portion of ghee poured on top of a hot cup of akkaravadisal but I have tried to reduce the fat and yet make it taste great. Here is the recipe…

¾ cup rice
¼ cup mung dal
3-4 tablespoons raisins
3 tablespoon cashew nuts
¼ cup ghee (you could add more if you wish)
2 pints milk (about 1.1 litre)
1 ¼ powdered jaggery
3-4 cardamom pods
Few strands of saffron (optional)

Heat a couple of teaspoons of ghee and fry and cashews until golden brown and the raisins until they puff up

Wash the rice and mung dal, drain and add it to the left over ghee, add another spoon of ghee if needed. Fry until you get the aroma of the mung dal

Add little over half the milk (about 700ml) and pressure cook until 3-4 whistles. Once done, mash it down well

Add just enough water to dissolve the jaggery and boil

Filter the jaggery solution and add to the cooked rice and mung dal, add another cup of milk, cardamom and saffron and bring to boil

Simmer for 10-15 minutes and keep adding more milk if you like and stir every now and then

Serve warm with some melted ghee on top.

Some like it thick while some like a bit more milk like me. If you add milk later, heat the milk first and then add only to the portion of akkaravadisal that will be consumed immediately. The final colour will depend on the colour of the jaggery.