Karthigai pandigai | Karthigai festival offering | Festival food | Karthigai Pori Urundai | Karthigai Deepam Pori urundai | Jaggery balls | Puffed rice balls | Puffed rice jaggery balls | How to make pori urundai for karthigai | Deepam pandigai
Pori urundai, jaggery balls made of puffed rice and murmura. Both these jaggery balls along with peanut balls are made during the festival of Karthigai Deepam, a south indian festival.
KARTHIGAI FESTIVAL
Karthigai festival, a festival of lights in Tamilnadu, India. The festival falls on full moon day of Tamil month karthigai, between November – December. It is during this festival, we decorate our homes with rows and rows of diyas, just like how North-Indians celebrate Diwali.
Traditional food generally made during kaarthigai festival are
- Kadalai urundai /Peanut jaggery balls
- Pori urundai /Puffed rice balls
- Nei appam
- Milagu Jeeraga Adai
There are few who make other recipes too, but the above is the general list. Apart from the dishes mentioned above, the lunch/dinner spread would have vadai, payasam etc.
Check this Video on Quick Payasam Premix
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Ingredients for the Pori urundai
We are making Arisi pori, called puffed paddy in English. The same recipe can be followed for Nel pori and Murmura/bhel puri puffed rice jaggery balls.
- Aval pori / Nel pori, I usually get one pack of it. Either 200 or 250 grams. In Dubai, we get both the varieties of pori at all branches of perumal stores and tamizh kadai.
- Jaggery, buy paagu vellam/jaggery, it will be mentioned on the cover paagu vellam. Do not try with Achu vellam or jaggery shaped into square cubes, you won’t get proper syrup consistency. Been there and done that
- Flavorings, Cardamom powder is usually used.
- Crunchy bits, toasted coconut is added, amma also adds roasted peanuts. Go on and add some crunchy almonds or cashewnuts.
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HARD BALL OR SOFT BALL CONSISTENCY
What is this hard ball and soft ball consistency. While making jaggery syrup these are the stages of the syrup.
- Soft Ball consistency, When you drop spoon of syrup into a bowl of water, the syrup should stay. You should be able to collect that syrup and roll it into a soft ball. This is soft ball consistency.
- Hard Ball consistency, this is the next stage after soft ball. After rolling the syrup into a ball, when you drop it on a plate, it should make a sound, when a stone hits a steel plate “nngg” sound.
Which consistency is suitable for making Pori Urundai? Hard ball consistency.
I always add the pori past the soft ball stage and towards the hard ball stage. This way when the pori is mixed with the jaggery syrup it is in the perfect consistency to make balls.
If you add the pori prior to the soft ball stage, you wont be able to shape them into balls. This mistake cannot be fixed as further heating the pori mixed jaggery will make it more dry and become like candied pori.
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Step by Step instructions on how to make Pori Urundai
Please check recipe card below for exact measurements of each ingredient used and also for the detailed instructions
- Measure the grated jaggery and keep aside. I have used aval pori in this recipe today. Clean the aval pori, pick the paddy husk from the pori.
- In a wide pan, add a teaspoon of ghee and roast the coconut pieces until they are toasty and aromatic. You should hear cracking sound of it while toasting.
- In the same pan, add the cleaned aval pori and toast it for a minute for it to turn warm and toasty. This step is optional, but i prefer to do it.
- Let us make the jaggery syrup. This is a very important step to get a good urundai. Add 2-3 tablespoon of water to the grated jaggery, and heat it. Let it melt, strain for any impurities.
- Add the strained jaggery syrup to the wide pan, and let it come to a rolling boil.
- To check for the syrup consistency, keep a small bowl of water by the side, dip a spoon in the syrup and add it to the bowl of water, you should be able to roll the syrup into a ball. We are looking for a hard ball consistency.
- Once the syrup reaches the consistency, add cardamom powder, roasted coconut pieces and pori to this and mix well. Take it off the stove and transfer the contents to flat plate.
- Grease your hands with ghee and start making ping-pong sized balls out of the mixture. You have to act quick, and not let the mixture to cool down.
- Towards the end the mixture might have cooled down and you might not be able to make balls, that case, just heat the pan and shape them again.
- Once done, let the pori urundai sit on the counter and cool down well. Store it in an air-tight container and enjoy.
TIPS & TRICKS TO GET IT RIGHT
- First do not panic with regard to jaggery consistency. Be calm and prepared so you will know when the syrup reaches the right point.
- Keep a bowl of water handy while making the syrup, so you can test the syrup consistency.
- One way to know is, the syrup will start frothing and blooming. As you get used to making such sweets you will know it by looking.
- If you feel it is too hot for you to make the balls, use little rice flour on your ghee greased hands and try.
- After everything, if you are still not able to shape them into perfect round balls, then enjoy the jaggery mixed pori as such like candied pori.
Recipe Card for Pori Urundai
Pori Urundai | Aval Pori | Nel Pori Urundai | Karthigai Deepam
Ingredients
- 4 cups Pori puffed paddy
- 1 cup grated jaggery Heaped cup
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 2-3 tablespoon ghee roasted coconut pieces
- ghee for roasting and shaping the pori urundai
Instructions
- Clean and remove the paddy husk from the nel pori. This is a bit time consuming process, but once this is done, then it is fairly easy recipe and gets done in minutes.
- Grate the jaggery and keep it ready. Crush cardamom pods and discard the skin, crush the seeds well and keep aside.
- Let us roast the coconut pieces. Add a teaspoon of ghee to a wide pan, when hot, add the chopped coconut pieces to it. Roast in a medium flame until golden brown and crisp, you will hear crackling sound when it is roasted well. Remove and keep aside.
- In the same pan, add the cleaned pori and toast it for a minute in medium flame. This step is optional, but i prefer to do, this way the pori also retains crispness. Remove the toasted pori to another plate.
- Now lets prepare the jaggery syrup, take the grated jaggery in a pan, add 2-3 tablespoon of water and heat it, when it melts, strain for impurities.
- Add the strained jaggery syrup to the wide pan and let it come to rolling boil. Keep a bowl with water to check for the syrup consistency.
Checking for Hard ball Consistency : (Please Read Notes )
- When it starts bubbling well, use a spoon, dip it in the syrup and drop it in a bowl of water. The dropped syrup, must stay and you should be able to gather and roll the dropped syrup into a ball.
- Now quickly add the toasted coconut, cardamom powder to this and mix well. Add the pori to the sugar syrup, take it off the stove and mix it well.
- Remove the jaggery mixed pori to a wide plate. Grease your hands with ghee and start making balls out of it. The balls has to be shaped while the mixture is still warm. You need to act quickly and not allow the mixture to cool down.
- Towards the end, the pori and jaggery might get stuck to the pan and you will not be able to remove and shape them, that case, take the pori mix back to heat. Let it get warm for a minute, then remove from heat and start shaping again.
- Once done, let the pori urundai's cool down. Then store them in air-tight container on the kitchen counter.
Video
Notes
- The above measurements makes around 18-20 puffed rice balls.
- The number totally depends on the size of the puffed paddy balls.
- The same recipe can be followed for Aval pori and murmura balls also.
- Adding the pori after reaching hard ball consistency is important to get the balls shaped.
- I usually add cardamom and the coconut bits once the syrup is pasts the soft ball consistency and going towards the hard ball consistency. This way when you add the pori the syrup will be in the perfect syrup consistency.
- If you add the pori prior to the soft ball stage, you wont be able to shape them into balls. This mistake cannot be fixed as further heating the pori mixed jaggery will make it more dry and become like candied pori
The above measurement makes around 18-20 puffed rice balls. These delicious jaggery balls made with puffed paddy, nel pori, stays good on the kitchen counter. It usually gets over in a week.
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