Happy Tamil New Year

 A very quick post folks for the festival!

Wish you a A Happy and Prosperous Tamil New Year! 

Sakkarai Sooru (sugary rice) is prepared twice a year in my mom's kitchen. Pongal ( Jan 14 th) and for Tamil New Year (April 14 th), this orangey color sugar rice is served as a first course. The festival meal is served in banana leaf and the "dessert item/sweet" is first eaten by everyone before moving to whole spicy meal. The sweet is not for hiking the blood sugar level, belief is the whole year we should be Blessed & Filled with Happy Moments :)

Print:

Ingredients:

Cooked rice: 1 cup

Edible camphor: a pinch - crushed

Cardamom: 4 to 5 pods crushed

Food color: (orange /kesari color): 1/8 tsp (mix in a tsp of water)

Sugar: 3/4 cup or 1/2 cup (if you want less sugary)

Water: 1/4 cup

Garnish:

Ghee: 1 tbsp or may add more for flavor at the end

Cashew or any nuts: 1 to 2 tbsp broken

Raisin: 2 tsp

Cooked Rice: should be  slightly overdone. Spread in a plate and cool it. If it is cooked perfectly once dumped in sugar syrup it may turns grainy!

Make a sugar syrup:

Mix sugar + water and bring to boil. Remove any impurities by straining or scoop out by a spoon. Sugar syrup should be in one string consistency. Add the orange (kesari) water mix.

Now add the cooked rice in sugar syrup and stir well.

Keep covered in low flame until the syrup is absorbed.

Once the rice is dry, Ghee can be added + the cashew + raisins , sprinkle the cardamom and edible camphor.

Switch off the stove, serve hot or warm.

Rice variety: Only raw rice/new crop is better (Basmati can be used too)

It looks like Kesari but taste cannot be compared- totally different as the main ingredient is Rice and camphor gives an extra kick - sending to Priya who is celebrating Sweets with Rice created by Nivedita.