The Story behind the divine prasadam Akkaravadisal.
Panguni Uthiram is a very important day for Hindus. In Srirangam, when the star Uthiram is in ascension, Divya Thampadhigal (the divine couple), Lord Ranganatha and Thayar, come together for a day. This is the only occasion of the year when Lord Ranganatha and Goddess Ranganayaki are seen together and hence this is a very sacred occasion. Belief is that a visit to the Srirangam temple on this day will relieve one of all sins. The darshan on this day is called “Serthi Sevai.” In Tamil, ‘Serthi’ means alongside and ‘Sevai’ is darshan. Akkaravadisal is served as prasadam on panguni uthiram day.
Akkaravadisal is a very special dish prepared for lord Ranganatha. This dish has been mentioned in Naalayira Divya Prabandham in a couple of instances. Andal herself has composed the poem below. Here are the verses.
நாறு நறும் பொழில்
மாலிருஞ்சோலை நம்பிக்கு நான்
நூறு தடாவில் வெண்ணெய்
வாய்நேர்ந்து பராவி வைத்தேன்
நூறு தடா நிறைந்த
அக்கார அடிசில் சொன்னேன்
ஏறு திருவுடையான்
இன்று வந்து இவை கொள்ளுங் கொலோ?
To the divine lord who lives in the fragrant garden of Thirumaalirunjolai,
I made hundred thousand pots of butter
And a hundred brimming pots of akkara adisal
Will the most praised lord come today to accept them.
கூடாரை வெல்லும் சீர் கோவிந்தா! உன்தன்னைப்
பாடிப்பறை கொண்டு யாம் பெறும் சம்மானம்
நாடுபுகழும் பரிசினால் நன்றாக
சூடகமே தோள் வளையே தோடேசெவிப் பூவே
பாடகமே யென்றனைய பல்கலனும் யாமணிவோம்
ஆடையுடுப்போம் அதன் பின்னே பாற்சோறு
மூடநெய் பெய்து முழங்கை வழிவாரக்
கூடியிருந்து குளிர்ந்தேலோ ரெம்பாவாய்.
Triumphing over enemies, Oh Govindha,
We’ll sing your praises, and with the reward we get
We’ll dress up with ornaments
new clothes and eat rich Akkaravadisal with ghee dripping down our elbows
rejoicing in your company.
AKKARAVADISAL recipe is similar to sweet pongal / chakkara pongal. But its cooked entirely in milk and generous amounts of ghee.
We will be using raw rice and split yellow lentils – moong dal for this recipe. I have used rice cups for measurement. 1 rice cup equals 160 ml. I have used one cup of rice and 1/4 cup of dal for this recipe.
Wash and soak the rice and dal in water for an hour. Drain the water and set aside. Add in 3.5 cups of milk to the rice dal mixture.
I have used a pressure cooker for cooking the dal-rice mixture. As we are cooking the rice mixture in milk, we will be using pot in pot method to avoid the milk from spewing out of the whistle while cooking. Take a 5 liter pan and add in 200 ml of water. Add the pot with the rice-milk mixture inside the pan. Cover and cook for 10 whistles. It took about 12 minutes. Remove the pan from heat. I allowed the pressure from the cooker to settle on its own for 15 minutes. As we are cooking pot in pot, it needs these many whistles for the rice to be cooked creamy and mushy.
In the mean time, powder the sugar and cardamom in a small mixie and set aside.
Heat the broken pieces of jaggery with water and the sugar mixture until dissolved. Remove from heat.
On opening the cooker, transfer the mixture to the pan and strain the jaggery liquid onto the cooked rice. Mash well with a spatula or a cup. If you want a very creamy Akkaravadisal, mix in a cup of hot milk and let the mixture simmer for a minute.
Add in the ghee. Akkaravadisal is ready.
You can also fry some cashews in ghee and add it to Akkaravadisal. While serving, add a teaspoon of ghee and serve.
- I have used rice cups for measurement for this recipe. 1 rice cup = 160ml
- 1 Cup Rice
- ¼ Cup Split Yellow Moong Dal
- 3.5 Cups Full Fat Milk
- 1 Cup Jaggery
- ⅓ cup Water
- 2 Tablespoon Sugar
- 4 Cardamom
- 1 Cup Milk to be added at the end
- 4 Tablespoon Ghee
- 10 Cashewnuts
- Wash and soak the rice and dal in water for an hour. Drain the water and set aside. Add in 3.5 cups of milk to the rice dal mixture.
- Take a 5 liter pan and add in 200 ml of water. Add the pot with the rice-milk mixture inside the pan. (pot in pot cooking method). Cover and cook for 10 whistles. It took about 12 minutes. Allow the pressure from the cooker to settle on its own.
- In the mean time, powder the sugar and cardamom and set aside.
- Heat the jaggery with water and the sugar mixture until dissolved. Remove from heat.
- On opening the cooker, transfer the mixture to the pan and strain the jaggery liquid onto the cooked rice. Mash well with a spatula or a cup. If you want a very creamy Akkaravadisal, mix in a cup of hot milk and let the mixture simmer for a minute. Add in the ghee. Akkaravadisal is ready.
- You can also fry some cashews in ghee and add it to Akkaravadisal. While serving, add a teaspoon of ghee and serve.
The post Akkaravadisal Recipe, Tamilnadu Akkaravadisal, Akkara Adisil appeared first on Kannamma Cooks.