Akkaravadisal
The signature Iyengar temple prasadam — raw rice and moong dal slow-cooked in milk till creamy, then sweetened with jaggery and finished with copious ghee, edible camphor (paccha karpooram), cardamom and cashews. Offered in the early hours of Margazhi at Srirangam, Kanchipuram and other Vaishnavite temples.
Ingredients
- raisins — 20 g
- Moong Dal — 50 g (dry-roasted)
- Cardamom — 3 g (powdered)
- Jaggery — 250 g (powdered)
- Sona Masuri Rice — 150 g (washed)
- Milk — 1000 g
- Cashew Nuts — 25 g (broken)
- edible camphor (optional) — 1 g
- Ghee — 80 g
Method
- Dry-roast 50 g moong dal until light golden. Wash with rice (150 g).
- Pressure-cook rice + dal with 500 ml water and 500 ml milk, for 5 whistles. Mash gently.
- In a thick-bottomed pan, bring 250 g jaggery + 100 ml water to a syrup. Filter to remove impurities.
- Pour the jaggery syrup into the cooked rice-dal-milk. Stir continuously on low — mass will leave the sides in 6-8 minutes.
- Add another 500 ml hot milk, 60 g of the ghee in instalments, and stir for 5 minutes till creamy and unctuous.
- In remaining 20 g ghee, fry cashews till golden, then raisins till plumped. Add to akkaravadisal with cardamom powder and a pinch of edible camphor.
- Switch off, rest covered for 5 minutes. The temple-style finish is creamy, glossy and golden. Offer hot.
Common questions
- How many calories in one plate of Akkaravadisal?
- 827 kcal per plate.
- How much cooking time?
- 55 min — 10 min prep, 45 min cooking.