Ariselu

We wish all our blog readers a very happy Sankranthi. May the harvest be bountiful and feed everyone stomach full.

Arisa is a traditional Andhra sweet prepared for Sankranthi. In Andhra, its avakaya for summers and Ariselu for Sankranthi.

Ingredients:
Raw rice (Chawal/Biyyam) 1 kilo
Jaggery (Gud/Bellam) ½ kilo
Ghee 2tbsp
Refined cooking oil 1cup

Method:

For Ariselu, we need new raw rice(Kotta biyyam). Generally for cooking rice on a day to day basis we prefer old raw rice, this is because the older the raw rice, fluffier and harder the output. As ariselu need to be soft and crisp, it is important and necessary to use new raw rice. Also for ariselu, the mixture should bind and stick together. Moreover, it is the harvest season and new raw rice is available now, probably this was the reason why Ariselu were made and are still made especially for Sankranthi.

Wash and soak the 1 kilo of fresh raw rice for 12 hours/overnight. Drain out the water completely and set to dry for 2 hours.

Grind the rice into a fine, dry powder.

In a pan/kadai (Bandli/mookudu), add water and the jaggery to boil to sweet syrup. Keep stirring on low heat till it turns syrupy. (Take a drop of the syrup and press and expand between the thumb and index finger to see it feels and seems like a string. This means the syrup is at right consistency. It is called teega pakam in telugu).

Add the ground rice powder into the jaggery syrup. Add ghee and cover immediately. Leave for 10 mins.

Take average sized lumps of the rice-jaggery mix and pat flat and even on a butter paper/banana leaf to look like flat round bread/rotis.

Deep fry in pre-heated oil and remove onto paper napkins to remove the excess oil absorbed.

Crisp, soft and sweet, Ariselu are done. If stored in a cool dry place they are good for quite a few days. Celebrate Sankranthi with Ariselu and experience the Andhra way of the festival.