Southindian Dessert Athika Palagaram Recipe

Athika meaning fig in Tamil,  which is normally prepared on festivals. Blackgram dal (urad dal) is soaked for this dish then ground to form a smooth paste and deep fried in ghee then soaked in coconut milk spiked with cardamom and served chilled. Traditionally Tamil families prepare this dish on special occasions and festivals.

Recipe video uploaded on Youtube English and Tamil Channel 😊

Ingredients:

250 Grams Black Gram Dal (Urad Dal)

2 Cups Thick Coconut Milk

1/2 Cup Sugar 

3 Pods Cardamom

1/4 Tsp Salt

Oil and Ghee For Frying

Garnish: Chopped Almonds, Pista, Cashews 

Prep: Wash the black gram dal thrice, then add enough water to soak the black gram dal, cover and allow the dal to soak for an hour. Once the dal has doubled in volume, drain the dal in a colander. Allow the dal to drain for 15 minutes. Add the dal to a mixer jar in batches with just 2 to 3 tsp water grind the dal to a smooth batter. Add the ground batter to a mixing bowl. Add 1/4 tsp salt and beat the dal batter to form air and reserve. Using a coconut grater start to grate the fresh white part of the coconut. Add the grated coconut to a mixer jar and grind to form a paste we can add warm water and grind it further. Place a sieve on a mixing bowl then pour the ground coconut paste in the sieve and squeeze the pulp to extract coconut milk. For this recipe we will require only first extract coconut milk. The ground coconut can be used in curries or in chutney. In a mixer jar add sugar and cardamom and grind to form a smooth powder and reserve. Place a wok with oil for frying on medium flame. Chop the almonds, pista, and cashew for garnish.

Method:

Add the ground sugar and cardamom powder to the coconut milk an stir well allow it to rest in the fridge until use.

Once the oil has reached temperature, take small portions of the dal batter, forming even size ball gently drop in hot oil. Try to fry a batch of 5 to 6 vadas.

Flip the vadas every 2 minutes and fry till golden. Once the vadas are fried drain from excess oil and place it on a tissue or rack.

Add the fried vada to the coconut milk and garnish with chopped nuts and serve chilled ... Enjoy!