Anarsa

Anarsa: Anarsa is a pastry-like snack commonly associated with the Hindu festival of Diwali in Central and Northern India. Its ingredients include jaggery (unrefined cane sugar), rice, poppy seed and ghee (clarified butter). Anarsa are small flat discs with about 2 inches in diameter, usually created by flattening a small ball of the dough over a layer of poppy seeds – just on one side. These disks are fried with poppy coated side first into hot ghee.

Ingredients (serves 6-8):

• 3 cups rice
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds (khuskhus)
• 3 cups grated jaggery (gur)
• 1/2 cup milk
• Oil, for deep frying

Method:

• Wash the rice two to three times, under running water.
• Soak the rice in water for 3 days, changing the water every day.
• After third day, drain and spread the rice evenly on a clean cloth sheet for 3-4 hrs.
• Grind the rice to a fine powder.
• Sieve the rice powder through a fine mesh to remove coarse rice particles.
• Mix grated jaggery and powdered rice, in a bowl.
• Knead the mixture into pliable dough, adding milk little by little.
• Keep the dough covered with a clean moist cloth.
• Make the small lemon size balls from the dough.
• Sprinkle some poppy seeds on a plastic sheet.
• Take a dough ball and press over poppy seeds, to make a thin disc of about 4”size with hands.
• Heat the oil, in a thick bottomed pan to about 150°C.
• Fry the dough disc in the hot oil, with poppy seed side up.
• Shallow fry, till golden on low medium heat.
• Keep pouring the hot oil on the centre of the anarsa so that it gets evenly brown.
• Drain and keep aside to cool.
• Anarsa is ready to be served.
• Anarsa can be stored in an airtight container, for about 1 week, after completely cooled and crisp.

Notes:

• Do not dry out the rice too much. The rice should be damp when you grind the rice into powder so that dough can be made with jaggery.
• Always use rice which is not too sticky.

If you have any queries regarding the Anarsa recipe, please leave a comment.