Ari unda recipe – Traditional Kerala method

Want to try a traditional Kerala sweet? Here it is.

Ari unda / Rice balls /Rice laddu is a traditional snack of Kerala which is easy to prepare, light on the stomach and nutritious as well. It can be prepared in less than one hour time.

Preparation of Kerala Ari unda

1. Wash the rice well and remove stones if any. You can use Palakkadan Matta rice/ Red Kuttari / Par Boiled Rice.
2. Strain the water well.
3. In a thick bottomed Aluminium kadai / skillet, roast the rice on medium flame – Keep on stirring – Roast it till the rice grains breaks/popping up.
4. Transfer this to a wide plate or lid and let it cool.
5. Grind this into fine powder in a mixer/food processor.
6. Strain the rice powder.
7. Add the powdered jaggery, grated coconut and cardamom to the mixer jar and just mix it with a spin. Don’t grind them into a paste.
8. Transfer everything into a bowl and mix them together.
9. Crush any jaggery lumps if present with your fingers.
10. Make lemon-sized balls with this mixture and serve it immediately or keep it in air tight dry containers.

Tips

• The main secret for soft ari undas is the right level of roasting the rice. The rice has to be roasted very well until the rice breaks and pops up. It cracks easily in your mouth.
  
• You can rinse with some water if you finds it difficult to make the balls.
• It will take at least one day time for the ari unda to get harder.
• Some people add nuts, raisins, dates etc to the mixture.