September 2022 - Recipe of the month - Ada Pradhaman
Recipe & Photograph by: Joby John
INGREDIENTS
- Ada -1 packet (200 grams) - if the ada is long in size break into smaller pieces by hand
- Canned Coconut Milk – 2.5 cans (used Chaokoh Brand)
- Jaggery – 400 grams (Darker the better)
- Cashew nuts – 100 grams
- Kismis – 100 grams
- Coconut pieces – few (cut into small pieces)
- Dried ginger powder – 1 tsp
- Salt – one pinch
- Ghee – 50 grams
- Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp
- Lukewarm water – 4 cups
METHOD
- Boil 8 cups of boiling water to cook ada. Add ada to boiling water and cook well. To check if the ada has cooked, squish the ada between fingers and check if soft. Once it becomes very soft remove from the fire and drain the ada using a sieve. Pour cold water over the ada in the sieve until it’s no longer sticky. Drain the ada completely.
- Fry coconut, cashews and kismis in 1 tbsp. of ghee and keep it aside (fry each of these separately).
- Break jaggery into small pieces (or grate). Add jaggery pieces to a pan along with ½ cup lukewarm water to melt it. Keep stirring until completely melted. Strain jaggery to remove any impurities. Keep this aside.
- Add 1 can (13.5oz) of coconut milk to 2.5 cups of lukewarm water to make 3rd extract milk. Keep this aside. Add 1 can (10oz) of coconut milk to 1 cup of lukewarm water to make 2nd extract milk Keep this aside.
- Heat a deep pan with thick bottom (preferably nonstick) and add the melted jaggery. Now add the cooked ada in to the jaggery mix and stir well. (Sometimes you will find the ada to be hard and sticky, don`t worry it will get separated and become soft while stirring). Stir continuously and cook until the mixture becomes thick and starts separating from the sides of the pan. Now add 50 gm of ghee into it and stir well.
- Then add the 3rd extract milk. Cook the milk and ada mixture stirring occasionally until it thickens (about 10-15 mins). Now, add one pinch of salt.
- After this, add the 2nd extract milk and keep stirring until it becomes thick again (about 5-8 mins). Stirring continuously is important at this stage otherwise coconut milk may split.
- Once the mix has once again thickened, add the remaining half can (6 oz) of coconut milk and stir well. Don’t boil the mix at this stage. Remove from the heat and add the cardamom powder and dry ginger powder. Close the pan with a tight lid and leave for 5 minutes. Mix well, garnish with fried cashews, kismis and coconut pieces. Serve warm.
PS: If the pradhaman becomes thick after leaving it at room temperature for some time, you can dilute it by adding more thick coconut milk or regular milk. Follow the same step if you feel that the pradhaman is sweeter than your preference.
