Anarsa is the Diwali sweet and the one that defeats people. Rice is soaked for three days with the water changed daily, drained, dried in shade, and ground; the flour is then worked with jaggery and left to sit for another few days, during which it ferments faintly and changes character entirely. Only then can it be shaped — pressed into flat discs, one face pushed into poppy or sesame seeds, and lowered seed-side down into ghee, where it must not be turned or moved for a long minute or it collapses. What comes out is crisp at the rim, chewy in the middle, faintly sour behind the sweetness from the resting. Gaya makes the khoya-filled version. The reason it is bought more often than made is that the whole thing takes the better part of a week before any cooking happens, and there is no way to shorten it.
INGREDIENTS
- 500 g short-grain white rice
- 300 g block jaggery (gur, grated)
- 3 tbsp ghee (for the dough)
- ½ tsp ground green cardamom
- 4 tbsp white poppy seeds or sesame seeds
- ghee (for shallow frying)
- 2 tbsp milk (if needed)
METHOD
- Soak the rice in plenty of water for three days, changing the water every morning.
- Drain, spread on a cloth, and dry in the shade until damp but not wet. Do not dry it in the sun or on a radiator.
- Grind to a fine flour and sieve.
- Mix the flour with the grated jaggery and the 3 tbsp ghee, working it with your hands until it comes together into a heavy dough. Add a spoon of milk only if it will not hold.
- Cover and leave at room temperature for three days. It will darken, soften and take on a faint sour smell. This is the fermentation the sweet depends on.
- On the day, add the cardamom and knead briefly.
- Spread the poppy or sesame seeds on a plate.
- Take a walnut of dough, flatten it into a disc about 6mm thick, and press one face firmly into the seeds.
- Heat ghee in a shallow pan to a low-moderate heat.
- Slide the anarsa in seed-side down and do not move it for a full minute. Spoon hot ghee over the top instead.
- Once the base is set and golden, turn it once and cook briefly on the other side.
- Lift out and drain on a rack. Cool completely before eating; it firms as it cools.
