Bellam Annam
Jaggery rice — freshly cooked hot plain rice mixed while still steaming with small pieces of raw cane jaggery (bellam), ghee, and crushed cardamom, stirred until the jaggery melts completely into the rice and the whole becomes a golden, fragrant, warmly sweet preparation. A handful of freshly grated coconut and a few cashews fried in ghee are folded in. The preparation takes less than five minutes and requires almost no cooking skill, yet the quality of the jaggery — whether it is the mildly sweet pale-brown variety or the intensely caramel dark-brown variety — determines the entire flavour of the dish. Made as a quick offering to the deity on Tuesday and Friday evenings; also prepared for newly born children's first food ceremony (annaprasana) and for young children as an afternoon snack. The simplest of Telangana's sweet preparations.
Cuisines
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Recipe
Ingredients
| 1 cup | basmati rice |
| 2 cups | water |
| 1 cup | jaggery |
| 2 tablespoons | ghee |
| 1/4 teaspoon | cardamom powder |
| 2 tablespoons | cashew nuts |
| 2 tablespoons | raisins |
| 1 pinch | salt |
Instructions
- 1 Wash the basmati rice thoroughly and soak it in water for 20 minutes.
- 2 In a heavy-bottomed pot, add the soaked rice and 2 cups of water. Cook until the rice is fully done.
- 3 In a separate pan, heat ghee over medium flame.
- 4 Add cashew nuts and fry until they turn golden brown. Remove and set aside.
- 5 In the same ghee, add raisins and fry until they puff up. Remove and set aside.
- 6 In the remaining ghee, add the cooked rice and mix well.
- 7 Add jaggery to the rice and stir continuously until it melts and blends well with the rice.
- 8 Sprinkle cardamom powder and a pinch of salt, and mix thoroughly.
- 9 Garnish with fried cashew nuts and raisins before serving.
Tips
Ensure the jaggery is free of impurities by melting it in a little water and straining before use.