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Anarsa is a crunchy Indian pastry made with rice, jaggery or powdered sugar, poppy seeds, and ghee. The dough is made by mixing rice powder and sugar, letting it rest for 4-6 days, kneading it into balls, coating them with poppy seeds, and frying them in ghee until golden brown.
Anarsa is a type of Indian pastry traditionally served during the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali. Considered a snack, anarsa are cookie-shaped crunchy discs made with rice, sugar, and poppy seeds. Although anarsa is simple to prepare, the snack normally takes at least seven days to prepare.
Rice and jaggery, a type of unrefined sugar common in Africa and India, are the main ingredients in Anarsa. Poppy seeds are also included. A small amount of milk is also usually added. Although oil can be used to fry anarsa, ghee, a type of butter, is often used.
To make anarsa, the rice is first soaked for three days. Every day the water is changed to keep it fresh. The rice is then rinsed and allowed to air dry, usually for a few hours. Once dried, it is ground into a powder and then sieved, like flour. Older, rather than fresh, rice is best used for this purpose.
The jaggery should be finely grated, but if jaggery is not available, powdered sugar can be used. Sugar is mixed thoroughly with rice powder. Then the mixture is covered and set aside for 4-6 days. Some versions suggest adding a small amount of milk to make a dough during this step, but most don’t. Occasionally, a release may allow the mixture to sit for a few hours.
After the mixture has rested, small amounts of milk are added and it is kneaded into a smooth dough. Once the dough is thoroughly kneaded, it is broken into small balls. The exact sizes of the balls vary slightly, some versions calling for golf ball-sized pieces, others for larger portions than eggs.
The poppy seeds are then spread out on a flat surface and dough balls are pressed into the seeds. Each ball will end up as a roughly cookie-shaped disk with seeds coating only one side. When all the balls are pressed flat and coated, they can be fried.
Frying anarsa is done over low to medium-low heat due to its tendency to fall apart when cooked quickly. The anarsa are placed, in batches, poppy seed side up, in a pan with ghee and are fried until golden brown. They are not flipped, but ghee is spread on top as they cook. Once browned, they are allowed to drain and chill, usually up to five or six hours, until crispy.
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