Ariselu

Ariselu is an Indian pan fried sweet treat. It is made with rice flour, sesame seeds and jaggery. This food is often flavoured with cardamom powder. It is also called as Arisa or Athirasallu.

This dish is made for Makara Sankranti, a festival that occurs 21 days after the shortest day of the year, known as winter solstice. Though this particular dish is most common to northern and eastern - central India, similar dishes by other names are popular in other parts of India. A related dish called Athirasam is served in Tamil Nadu. The main difference between ariselu and athirasam is the addition of sesame seeds and coconut in ariselu.

Preparation time :
Makes : 8

Ingredients :

Rice : 1cup
Jaggery : 3/4 cup
Sesame seeds : 1 tsp
Ghee : 1tbsp

Method :

Soak rice in water, traditionally it is soaked overnight.
(The amount of time the rice needs to soak depends on the quality of the rice)
Next day morning, drain out water and spread that rice on a clean dry towel for 15 mins to 1/2 hour depending on humidity.
Make a fine powder out of this rice, sieve the rice powder.
Take this rice flour to a bowl and cover it with a lid and set aside.
This powder should be little wet don't leave it to dry.(we want that dampness)
Now take a pan, add grated jaggery, add water just to cover the jaggery.
When all jaggery melts strain it to remove if any dirt in jaggery.
You can skip this if your jaggery is good.
Keep the flame in medium and cook the jaggary till it foms a thick syrup ( vunda paakam).
(To check syrup take a bowl add some water, drop little jaggery mixture and if it forms a ball then it is ready)
Add rice flour to the syrup slowly while stirring it.
Remove pan from heat and add ghee and mix it well to make a soft dough, make sure that there are no lumps.
Cover it and leave it aside for few seconds to cool down, or cool it so that you can handle it.
In most households, the dough is pre prepared and chilled for quick fresh frying.
Make small balls out of this dough, roll these balls in sesame seeds.
Now heat oil in a deep frying pan.
Grease one banana leaf (or) plastic sheet and put one ball on it and press it to form a circle, do not make them too thin.
Now take it out and deep fry it.
Fry these till they are brown in colour.
While taking out, place this arise in between two ladle's and press to remove extra oil.
Take 4 kitchen tissues and keep this in between them and press them real good, this is to take excess oil from ariselu, traditionally they use arise press to take excess oil out.
If these ariselu are deep fried in ghee, then they are called as " nethi ariselu " .
Do all of them like this.
After they become cool store them in a air tight container.
These delicious Ariselu will stay for 15 to 20 days.

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