Ingredients
-
3 & 1/2 cups Aval pori or Nel Pori(Puffed rice)
-
1/2 cup Organic jaggery powder
-
Few tablespoon Water(Just enough to wet the jaggery powder)
-
(as required) Cardamom powder
Directions
KARTHIGAI DEEPAM ‘NEL PORI’
That’s how we call in our language for this dish. Sweet nel pori is made out of puffed rice (in Hindi we call it murmura or bhel); unlike the clear puffed rice, it has some tiny brown spots on it. Because they are being puffed with the rice husk itself, later the husk is dusted off.
What is the belief behind this?
It is believed that just like the way the rice puffs out of the husk when exposed to fire/heat and turns into a beautiful edible product, so is our life too. On this auspicious day, our ancestors passed down the belief that our lives too would turn out to be beautiful after going through whatever pressure it might have been.
How does the tradition follow?
- Lighting up oil lamps throughout the house, decorating with flowers and praying to Lord Muruga with utter meditation.
- Playing kandha sasti kavacham on those sound systems.
- The house is full of ‘malli poo’ fragrance.
- Dhoopam deepam, sambrani, aarati and karpooram smell all around.
- Maa kolam at the entrance and around the house is the key to feeling the divine spirituality within you.
…
So any freshers or first-timers can make this sweet nel pori on this occasion without having to fear the outcome. The only thing to note is the jaggery syrup consistency, which I am going to show below with the picture. If I can do it, then definitely anyone can do it! Haha…!
Melt the jaggery with one parts jaggery
and a few tablespoons of water.
In a bowl of water, drop a tspn of melted
jaggery syrup. after boiling for 3-4 mins.
Take it out on your fingertips. Roll it until it holds shape.
If it doesn’t, then let it boil for a few more minutes.
Mind you don’t burn it. So keep stirring.
Immediately transfer the puffed rice over
the syrup. Keep mixing thoroughly.
Keep mixing until well coated. If you want to make
balls you need to start making shapes while it’s
still hot. Once it is cooled down, it will not
hold shape, and that too tastes yum!
3 important steps to remember:
To make jaggery syrup: Combine jaggery and water in a pan, then filter to eliminate contaminants without verifying consistency. To make jaggery syrup, put it in the pan once more and heat it up.
Jaggery syrup consistency: When dropped upon a vessel, it will first form a soft, loose ball and then solidify into a shape-holding ball. It is something we are looking for.
Balls or loose: While it’s hot, start making balls, aka ladoos, aka urundai. Or just mix and set it aside. After sometime you can separate them once it cools down.
