Akkaravadisal

40 mins

Serves 4 people

Author: Rajni Ram

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Akkaravadisal or Akkara vadisil, is a very traditional South Indian sweet dish. Lord Mahavishnu is offered this sweet as prasad(holy offering), in the temples of Srivilliputhur and Sri Rangam. The main ingredients are Rice, moong dal, jaggery, milk and ghee. The ingredients are similar to the Sweet Pongal but both taste very different. It tastes heavenly when served a little warm. A liberal amount of ghee makes it taste heavenly.

In the temple kitchen , it is slow cooked to perfection. In our everyday kitchen, there are a few tricks and tips to get it right. Slow cooking does really enhance the taste. Cooked in a Bronze vessel ( called vengalam in Tamil), the taste intensifies. The Bronze vessels retain heat for a longer time, and being heavy,they don’t let the milk burn easily. The texture is perfect when cooked in a bronze vessel. Though for every day cooking, I have two methods of making it. One is this one,where I cook the rice in a pressure cooker with milk, and then finish it off in a heavy bottomed vessel. The other method is a One Pot method, where they whole recipe is concluded in the pressure cooker.

While you are here I request you to checkout other recipes on the blog like- Carrot kheer, Pineapple Rabri, Akkaravadisal(one pot), Gajar Halwa Barfi, Beetroot Halwa, Doodh Peda, and more…

Ingredients

Rice 1 cup
Moong dal/ green gram 1/4 cup
Milk 6 cups
Jaggery 1 cup
Water 1/4 cup
Sugar ( optional) 1 tbsp
Ghee 3/4 cup
Cardamom/ elaichi powder 1 tsp
Saffron ( optional) 2 pinches, soaked in warm milk
Raw camphor( optional) 1 pinch powdered
Cashewnuts 8 to 10
Raisins 8 to 10

Assemble all ingredients.
Dry roast the Moong dal to a light brown colour. Take rice in a vessel that fits inside the cooker and add the roasted dal to it. Wash them a few times, add 4 cups milk and place the vessel inside the cooker with sufficient water at the bottom. Cook until 5 to 6 whistles. To the remaining 2 cups of milk add saffron and let soak.
Until the pressure releases let’s get the jaggery ready. In a small vessel take the jaggery, add 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil, put out the stove and stir the jaggery to dissolve it.
Once you open the cooker mash the contents while they are hot as it’s easier to do it then. Set aside.
In a pan/ Urli take a tablespoon of ghee and heat, fry the nuts and raisins in it and keep aside.
In the same pan/ Urli transfer the cooked rice and dal and strain the liquid jaggery on it directly. Pour the saffron added milk to the mixture and stir. Add in the cardamom and raw camphor and turn off the stove. Lastly, add the ghee, garnish with the fried nuts and raisins and the Akkaravadisal is ready.

Dry roast the Moong dal to a light brown colour. Stir constantly and take care not to burn the dal. It will give out a nice aroma. Put the jaggery in a separate vessel, add water and bring to a boil. Put off the heat and stir to dissolve the jaggery. Keep aside. Take a vessel that fits inside your pressure cooker and transfer the rice into it. Add in the roasted Moong dal and wash both the rice and dal together. Pour 4 cups milk and arrange the vessel in the cooker. Close lid and cook for around 5 to 6 whistles. After pressure releases open lid, the rice should be well cooked and not grainy. Mash the cooked rice and dal while it’s hot, keep aside. In a pan or Urli( heavy-bottomed brass vessel ) pour 1 tbsp ghee and heat. Fry the cashew nuts and raisins in the ghee to a nice golden colour and keep them aside. To the same pan add the cooked rice and dal. Strain the liquid jaggery into the rice directly and the sugar and the remaining milk( 2cups, to which saffron was added). Stir nicely. Add the cardamom powder and raw camphor powder and stir. Put off the stove and add the ghee finally. The divine tasting Akkaravadisal is ready. Tastes best when hot/ warm. Enjoy. Bone Appetite.

Notes:

We strained the jaggery to remove the impurities from it.
Do not cook rice directly in the cooker as we are coking with milk, the milk may stick to the bottom and the dish will give a burnt taste and odour. That’s why we are cooking with a vessel inside the cooker.( to make directly checkout One pot Akkaravadisal recipe)
Saffron and raw camphor are optional, they give added flavour.
Be liberal with ghee. Cook the rice soft. If grainy add more milk and pressure cook again.
I have used normal rice( Sona Masoori/ Ponni). If using Basmathi avoid the raw camphor as both aroma and flavouring of both may clash.

If you made this recipe and liked it, please comment below. I would love to hear from you.