January 2022 - Recipe of the month - ARAVANA PAAYASAM
Recipe & Photograph by: Saritha Ayyappan
INGREDIENTS
- 500 g Matta Raw Rice
- 1 Kg Dark Jaggery
- 200 g Ghee+50 g Ghee for frying the coconut pieces, cashews and raisins
- 1/2 cup Coconut pieces
- 100 g Cashews
- 100 g Raisins
- 10 g Cardamom Powder
- 1 to 1.5 tsp Dry ginger powder
METHOD
FRY COCONUT PIECES, CASHEWS AND RAISINS
- In a pan, add 20 g Ghee and once the ghee is heated, add the coconut pieces and sauté till golden brown on a medium flame. Once the coconut pieces have turned golden brown, transfer the pieces to another bowl and set it aside.
- In the same pan, add another 15 g Ghee and add the cashew pieces. Sauté till golden brown. Transfer and set it aside.
- In the same pan, add another 15 g Ghee and add the raisins. Sauté until the raisins puff up, transfer and set it aside.
COOK THE MATTA RAW RICE
- In a pot with a heavy bottom or uruli, add the washed and drained Matta Raw Rice and add sufficient water to cook the rice. Cook the rice in medium flame and stir occasionally to avoid the rice sticking to the bottom of the uruli.
MAKE JAGGERY SYRUP
- While the rice is cooking, add the crushed jaggery in a pot. Add 1.5 cups of water and melt it on a medium flame. Make sure to stir the jaggery occasionally. Once the jaggery is melted completely, pour the hot melted jaggery carefully into an iron sieve and set aside the strained jaggery syrup.
MAKING OF ARAVANA PAAYASAM
- Add the strained jaggery syrup to the cooked rice on medium flame. Keep stirring until the jaggery is mixed thoroughly.
- Wait until the mix comes to a boil.
- Add the dry ginger powder, cardamom powder and mix again.
- Keep adding the 200g ghee at regular intervals and continue stirring on low flame so that rice, jaggery and ghee blends together and the required consistency is achieved.
- This process may take up to an hour.
- Once the required consistency is achieved, add the toasted cashews, raisins, coconut pieces and mix again.
- Switch off the flame.
Enjoy the Aravana Paayasam!
