Aanarsa is an amazing sweet dish that can make any occasion special—it’s the perfect dish for the festive season and is incredibly tasty and refreshing. The traditional pastry-like dish first originated in Maharashtra and Bihar. It is packed with the sweetness of jaggery and the goodness of poppy seeds. These two, in fact, form the secret of its mouth-watering taste that is admired by everyone. Alright then, let’s dive right into the recipe.
Health Benefits
One whole aanarsa is packed with many healthy ingredients that keep heart diseases away. Poppy seeds are also beneficial for the skin and hair. The mineral iron in the poppy seeds helps maintain muscles and bones. Furthermore, it also regulates brain activity.
Rice provides you with carbohydrates which will keep you active all day. Milk is well-known for its protein and calcium content. Jaggery, on the other hand, is rich in iron and various other vitamins. It also cleanses the digestive system preventing anemia, jaundice, cough, and common cold.
Ingredients
½ cup kolam rice
½ cup grated jaggery
7 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp semolina (rava/suji)
2 tbsp sugar
How To Make Aanarsa
- Soak rice for approximately 7 hours in water. After a good soak, let it drain, and then spread on a towel for 20 minutes to dry.
- Put the dried rice in a mixer or a grinder jar and let it grind to a soft powder. Transfer the smooth powder into a vessel/bowl with a fine sift.
- Add 1 tbsp ghee and jaggery, blending them into a half mushy dough without water. You can use milk if required. Lid and let it rest for 6 hours.
- Cut up the dough equally and form small circular balls. Blend sugar and semolina and mix them well.
- Flatten the ½ cm thick circular balls coating them equally with the semolina-sugar mixture. You can follow the same flattening process for all the remaining balls.
- Take 6 tbsp ghee and heat it in a non-stick pan. Fry the balls until they turn brown. Keep dribbling ghee on from the sides of your pan while you fry. Clear out on an absorbent paper.
Trivia
- Did you know rice grows in every corner of the world except Antarctica? There is evidence of the use of rice 13,500 years ago!
- Poppy seeds too have been grown for more than 3000 years now!