Ariselu for ICC

This post couldn't come at a better than this, tomorrow being Ugadi. HAPPY UGADI ( Happy New Year) to all in India. Our day will come tomorrow :) Happy Ugadi pachadi eating to everyone!! :) and special dishes eating too...

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This is my first ICC challenge. And when I saw Ariselu as the dish we were supposed to make, I was hmmm...skeptical. I always thought making ariselu was a tough job, or thats what we were made to think!!! I didn't know that there was an easier way to make them and they would just as yummy and delicious.

Only couple of weeks before a friend had come from India and gave us a few ariselu and they disappeared in a jiffy. The eaters and likers are my husband and my younger son. This thought was the one which changed my skeptical grin into a happy grin. 'I could now make them at home' was what I thought. The next challenge was that I make them before my husband leaves to India on work and he would come back only after the challenge was over, so I had to make them soon.
Therefore I made them way in the beginning of the challenge, maybe I will some more after my husband come back. And also my parents would be coming over too. Now I can make even more. :)
I made these ariselu using the second method given to us by Srivalli from ICC. Its very easy and simple to make.
I wasn't sure if they would come out good if I used the store bought rice flour, so I just decided to make my own rice flour instead and moreover I didn't have much time to do trials. So I went ahead with the second method, the easier method.
I used the exact same ingredients and method given to us. Only for the glass measurement, I used a cup measurement (1 glass = 1 cup). And for the jaggery, I used the round one (paku jaggery) not the blocks one.
The recipe given to us is as follows:

Ingredients:

Rice Flour - 1 glass (standard measurement)
Jaggery - 1/2 glass
Coconut grated - 2 tsp
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Water - 1/2 glass
Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
Oil for deep frying

Method:

I grated 1/2 cup jaggery and added enough water to cover them. Then added the cardamom powder.
Once it starts boiling, add the grated coconut. You will see lot of bubbles coming out.
At this stage, add the rice flour slowly and stir it together well. You will know when the consistency is correct, so till then you got to keep adding the flour. You may or may not use the whole cup of rice flour.
Get it to boil, while you keep stirring it. The mix should become soft again. When you handle it, it should come together as a soft dough. At this point, I put in the sesame seeds and mix them into the dough.
Divide it to equal balls. Heat a kadai with oil to deep fry these. In a greased plastic sheet, pat them down to equal sized discs.
Once the oil is hot, gently drop these into them. Fry on both sides. Once they are golden brown, remove and drain them on a kitchen towel

Srivalli from ICC gives us these TIPS: "The beauty of this dough is, you can store and use whenever you want. If it becomes too hard, just add about 2 tsp of water along with 2 tsp of sugar."
Press down the sesame seeds over the top or if you don't want sesame seeds in the oil, mix it into the dough (which is what I did).

VERDICT: I think I made them little thin. They turned out crispy when they cooled. This is why my younger son liked them. Even my husband liked them. So overall it was a good experience making ariselu. I will later try out the first method and tell you all how they turned out to be. For now I am happy that I learned a new dish which always has been on my mind. Thanks to ICC.