Thiruvathirai Kali
Thick rice-jaggery festival porridge — raw rice dry-roasted in a heavy pan until it turns golden and nutty, then ground to a coarse powder, simmered with jaggery in water with coconut milk, cardamom, and a generous amount of ghee until it thickens to a glossy, pulling mass with a lightly sandy texture from the coarse-ground rice. Made for the Thiruvathirai festival in the Tamil month of Margazhi (December-January) and for Karthigai Deepam; eaten alongside kootu and in some traditions with karadaiyan nombu adai. The kali's caramelised-rice flavour deepened by jaggery and coconut milk is one of the most evocative tastes in Tamil Brahmin festival cooking — inseparable from the winter festival memory.
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Recipe
Ingredients
| 1 cup | raw rice |
| 1/4 cup | moong dal |
| 1 cup | jaggery |
| 2 tablespoons | ghee |
| 1/4 cup | grated coconut |
| 1/4 teaspoon | cardamom powder |
| 1 tablespoon | cashew nuts |
| 1 tablespoon | raisins |
| 1 pinch | salt |
Instructions
- 1 Dry roast the raw rice in a pan until it turns light golden brown. Let it cool and grind into a coarse powder.
- 2 Dry roast the moong dal until it becomes aromatic. Set aside.
- 3 In a pot, add 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Add the roasted moong dal and cook until soft.
- 4 Add the jaggery to the cooked dal and stir until it dissolves completely.
- 5 Add the ground rice powder gradually to the jaggery-dal mixture, stirring continuously to avoid lumps.
- 6 Cook on low heat until the mixture thickens and the rice is cooked completely.
- 7 In a separate pan, heat ghee and fry the cashew nuts and raisins until golden. Add them to the kali.
- 8 Add grated coconut, cardamom powder, and a pinch of salt to the kali and mix well.
- 9 Serve warm as a traditional offering or as a dessert.
Tips
Ensure the rice is ground to a coarse consistency for the best texture.