Adhirasam ( ta, அதிரசம்), in Kannada, in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

, in

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

, in

Chhattisgarhi Chhattisgarhi ( / ) is an Indo-Aryan language, spoken by approximately 16 million people from Chhattisgarh & other states. It is mostly spoken in the Indian states of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra. It is closely related ...

or in

Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...

) is a type of

Indian sweet This is a list of Indian sweets and desserts, also called ''mithai'', a significant element in Indian cuisine. Indians are known for their unique taste and experimental behavior when it comes to food. Many Indian desserts are fried foods made wi ...

from Tamil cuisine,

Karnataka cuisine Karnataka cuisine includes the cuisines of the different regions and communities of the Indian state of Karnataka, namely, Uttara Karnataka cuisine, Dakshina Karnataka cuisine, Udupi cuisine, Mangalurean cuisine, Kodava cuisine, Saraswat cui ...

, Telugu cuisine, Chhattisgarhi cuisine,

Marathi cuisine Maharashtrian or Marathi cuisine is the cuisine of the Marathi people from the Indian state of Maharashtra. It has distinctive attributes, while sharing much with other Indian cuisines. Traditionally, Maharashtrians have considered their food to ...

and Odia cuisine. The

doughnut A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franc ...

-like pastry has a long history of popularity in Kannada, Telugu, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Tamil civilization. They are similar in shape to

vadai Vada is a category of savoury fried snacks native to South India. Vadas can be described variously as fritters, cutlets, or dumplings. Alternative names for this food include vadai, vade, and bada. Vadas are sometimes stuffed with vegetables and ...

, but are not savoury and are eaten as a

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and ...

. Adhirasam is a popular as an offering to the relatives during Deepavali festival, both at home and in

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Historical and cultural significance

According to inscriptions from the 16th century Vijayanagara emperor

Krishnadevaraya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the g ...

's time, the sweet was made from rice flour,

jaggery Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Africa. It is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can ...

, butter and pepper. At the annual festival at the Panchavarnesvar Temple in Nallur (located near

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headq ...

, Tamil Nadu), an offering of 6000 Adhirasams along with 6000

vada Vada or Vayda may refer to: People *Gunnar Vada (1927–2018), Norwegian politician *Vada Nobles, American record producer *Vada Pinson (1938–1995), American baseball player *Vada Sultenfuss, fictional character in the 1991 film ''My Girl'' * ...

s is made to the Gods; the entire lot is cooked in the temple kitchen between sunrise and 11 pm, for the prayers that take place at midnight. It is most common Deepavali sweet preparation for Tamil people.

Preparation

The authentic preparation takes about a week. First the rice is soaked in water and dried in shade and ground into a fine powder when the rice is 3/4th dried and retains some moisture. For adding sweet "vellam" (jaggery in Tamil) is melted in water by boiling it till it reaches 'soft ball' consistency (, if using a candy thermometer) and added to the rice flour along with some powdered cardamom to make a thick dough. It is then transferred to an

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids by coating it with a ce ...

pot and the top of the pot is closed with a thin white cloth. It is then allowed to

ferment Fermentation is a metabolism, metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic Substrate (chemistry), substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in ...

for about 3–5 days by placing it in the sunlight during the day time. Finally when the batter is ready for preparation, small balls of the dough is taken and flattened using fingers in a small piece of oil brushed banana leaf and deep fried in oil until golden brown. Then it is pressed with a flat bottomed bowl to remove the excess oil. File:Adhirasam Picture.JPG, Adhirasam File:Aesthetic Adhirasam.jpg, Adhirasam File:Athirasam of Salem.jpg, Athirasam of Salem

References

External links

Recipe on Foodista.com
{{Indian dishes, state=collapsed Karnataka cuisine Tamil cuisine Indian desserts Indian snack foods