- Submitted by Dahlia
(Akkara Adisal, Rice pudding, Sweet Pongal, Sweet Milk Pongal, Rice pudding)
Akkaravadisal is a variation to the traditional sweet pongal. It is a famous sweet made by the Tamil Brahmins. Rice and yellow moong dal is slow cooked in milk and the result is a delicious and creamy rice pudding. The pudding is sweetened with jaggery and flavored with saffron, cardamom and camphor.
This dish is not something that I grew up with. I first tasted it in my friends’ house and loved it. The addition of milk takes the dish to a whole new level. It is a very simple dish to put together for a big crowd. So, be sure to try this dessert for your next get together or party.
Recipe For Akkaravadisal
Ingredients
- Raw Rice - 1/2 cup
- Moong Dal - 3 tbsp
- Jaggery – 3/4 cup
- Milk – 4 cups
- Water – 1/2 cup
- Ghee – 4 tbsp
- Cashews – 5-7
- Raisins – 5-7
- Cardamom – 3 (crushed)
- Saffron - few strands (soaked in 1 tbsp of warm milk - optional)
- Edible Camphor - a very tiny piece (optional)
Method
- Wash the rice and moong dal. Drain it well.
- Take a heavy bottomed pan and add 2 tbsp of ghee. Fry the cashews and raisin for just a minute. Remove it using a slotted spoon and keep aside.
- In the leftover ghee, fry the rice-dal mixture for few minutes.
- Add the milk and bring to a boil. Reduce the flame and cook on medium low heat till all the liquid is absorbed.
- By now, the mixture will be cooked, mashed up and creamy.
- In the meantime, prepare your jaggery. If the jaggery is high quality one and there are no impurities, then just powder it. If not then melt it in ¼ cup of water and strain it to remove any impurities.
- Add the prepared jaggery to the creamy pudding and continue to cook on low flame.
- Once everything comes together, add the remaining ghee, crushed cardamom, soaked saffron, camphor, toasted cashews and raisins. Cook for few more minutes.
- Switch off and enjoy the Akkaravadisal hot for the beat taste.
Serving Suggestion
- We don't need any side dish for Akkaravadisal. It tastes very good all by itself.
- During pongal in Tamilnadu, Akkaravadisal is made along with a savory pongal like paal pongal (milk pongal) or ven pongal.
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