Start the day before. The resting alone is 4 hr, against 55 min of actual work.
Allergens in Arisa Pitha: sesame.
Ingredients
Quantities for 6.
- 300g Rice Flourtraditionally soaked rice ground fresh; fine rice flour works
- 250g, chopped or grated Jaggery
- 150ml Water
- 4 tbsp Sesame
- 1/2 tsp, ground Cardamomoptional
- 600ml, for deep frying Neutral Oil
- a pinch Salt
Cookware
stovetop, kadhai
Checked against the ingredient list for ten allergens: milk, egg, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, mustard, soy and gluten. Brands vary, so read the label on anything new to you.
Before you start
- Sieve the rice flour and dry-roast it in a pan over low heat for 4 minutes, just until warm and loose. Do not let it colour.
- The kneaded dough must rest at least 4 hours, ideally overnight, before shaping; it firms up and stops sticking.
- Keep a small bowl of oil beside you for shaping. Arisa dough is worked with oiled palms, never with flour.
Method
- Melt the jaggery with the water in a pan over medium heat, stirring until dissolved, then strain out any grit.
- Boil the syrup 5 to 6 minutes until a drop pressed between finger and thumb pulls a single short thread as they part.Undercooked syrup gives a dough that will not hold its shape in the oil. Test twice before you trust it.
- Take the syrup off the heat, add the pinch of salt and the cardamom, and let it cool 2 minutes.
- Pour the hot syrup over the roasted rice flour in a wide bowl and mix with a spoon until it comes together as a shaggy mass.
- When it is cool enough to handle, knead 5 minutes with oiled hands into a smooth dough the softness of an earlobe.
- Cover and rest at least 4 hours or overnight at room temperature.Skipping the rest is the usual failure. Fresh dough spreads and disintegrates in hot oil.
- Divide into 14 balls, flatten each between oiled palms into a 7cm disc, and press one side firmly into the sesame seeds.
- Heat the oil in a kadhai to medium. A scrap of dough should rise slowly and sizzle steadily, not fizz violently.Too hot and the outside darkens while the centre stays raw and sticky. Medium and patient is the rule.
- Slide in 2 or 3 discs sesame-side down and fry 3 minutes a side, spooning oil over, until deep reddish brown.
- Lift onto a rack, not paper, and let them cool completely; they firm from soft to chewy as they cool.
Storage
Keeps 2 weeks in an airtight tin at room temperature and gets chewier with time. Do not refrigerate. The jaggery weeps and the crust goes soggy.
Nutrition Good estimate
One serving of Arisa Pitha (137 g) is about 502 calories, or 367 calories per 100 g.
Low protein: 4 g a serving, 3% of the calories
| Per serving137 g | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 502 kcal | 367 kcal |
| Protein | 4.1 g | 3 g |
| Carbohydrate | 83.4 g | 61 g |
| of which sugars | 41.7 g | 30 g |
| Fibre | 2.0 g | 2 g |
| Fat | 17.5 g | 13 g |
| of which saturated | 2.0 g | 2 g |
| of which unsaturated | 14.6 g | 11 g |
Ingredients given to taste count as zero, so the real figures run a little higher. Nearest database match used for jaggery. Estimated from raw ingredients using USDA FoodData Central.
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Times, yields, allergens and nutrition are guidance. Use your own judgement on doneness and on storing. More in About.