Coconut Athirasam

One of the most popular Indian sweets and favorite for many, athirasam is an authentic brown beauty to decorate sweets table in any celebration. Instead of traditional athirasam i made this coconut version athirasma during Diwali and happy that it turns out really well. After Diwali, i made coconut athirasam twice mainly because my girls are fond of this sweet treat. This time, i made quite a big portion and stored the left over dough in the freezer and deep fried it after three days and it tastes the same goodness of coconut and jaggery sweet dough.

I used jaggery in this sweets which is an ideal combination to go with the freshly grated coconut to enhance the flavor. The aroma of powdered cardamom and dried ginger lingered in my kitchen while frying the dough and good news is, the spices well known to aids digestion as well. More reason to snack on this sweet meat.

Ingredients

2 cups rice flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
1 cup grated jaggary
3 cardamom pods,powdered
Pinch of dried ginger powder
Oil for deep frying


Methods

In a bowl, stir well the grated jaggery with water till completely dissolved. Filter to remove scrum,if any. Boil the jaggery in a pan till it thicken. We are not looking for any thread consistency here. Remove from heat.

Add the grated coconut into the thickened jaggery and stir to combine. Add the rice flour,powdered cardamom and ginger powder and stir to make a dough.

When the dough cool off slightly, make a small balls and pat down with your fingers to form disc.

Heat oil in a frying pan/wok over a medium heat. Gently, drop the prepared athirasam into the hot oil and fry both side for about 2-3 minutes at each side.

Drain on kitchen paper to remove excess oil

Serve hot over a cup of chai