Ari Unda / Kerala Rice Ladoos

Ari Unda/ Rice Ladoos are one of the traditional sweets of Kerala. It is prepared during festivals and even when there are sudden guests at home. In the earlier days it used to be prepared in the 'Ural' the traditional stone mortar. The pounding stick is called as 'Ulakka'.I still remember my mom pounding the rice and jaggery in the stone mortar. And she used to do it with so much ease. The way she used to do as if in a musical motion. I remember giving it a try and my it was heavy indeed. As I don't have a stone mortar, I made it in a grinder. Do give it a try.

So here is my mom's recipe to make soft and yummy Ari Undas.

INGREDIENTS

Rice ( Matta rice/ Red Kuttari/Par Boiled Rice) - 1/2 kg
Jaggery - 700 gm
Scraped Coconut - 2 1/2 cup (tightly packed)
Cardamom - 8 pods

METHOD
Pick stones if any in rice and wash.
Strain the water well.
Divide the rice into 3 portions.
In an aluminium (thick bottom) kadai roast the rice, one portion at a time. Keep stirring on medium flame.Roast it till the rice breaks. Bite the rice to see if it cracks easily. The rice pops up.
Transfer to a wide plate or lid to cool a bit. Roast the other portions in a similar way.
When the rice is cooled a bit and still warm add the cardamom and powder it real fine.
Pass the rice powder through a strainer and keep aside.
Transfer the scraped coconut into a grinder and grind it for 3 minutes before adding jaggery.
Pound the jaggery into very small pieces*.
Add this slowly into the grinder.
Grind the mixture into very fine paste.
Now add the rice powder slowly into the grinder.
Grind till everything is well mixed.
Roll it into balls and serve.

Tips:
Use a mixture of dark and light coloured jaggery.
The secret to soft ari undas is the right level of roasting the rice. It has to be very well roasted. The rice breaks and pops up. It cracks easily in your mouth. And the rice powder has to be strained to remove any husk.
*Make sure the jaggery is pounded into small pieces else it will be difficult to grind in a grinder. Add slowly.
In the same way add rice powder slowly. Do not be tempted to add all of it at one go as the grinder stone will get stuck and become messy for you to handle.
The mixture will be very soft. Not to worry the ladoos harden the next day.
Consume it in 2 days if kept at room temperature. Else refrigerate it and consume in a weeks time.