Ada Pradhaman

Ingredients

• 100 g rice ada
• 250 g jaggery, chopped
• 120 ml water, for the syrup
• 480 ml thin coconut milk
• 240 ml thick coconut milk
• 4 tbsp ghee
• 20 cashews
• 2 tbsp thin coconut slices
• 1/2 tsp green cardamom powder
• 1/4 tsp dry ginger powder
• a pinch of cumin powder

Before you cook

• Chop the jaggery small so it melts quickly.
• Slice the fresh coconut into thin chips.

Steps

1. Bring a litre of water to the boil in a saucepan.
2. Turn off the heat, stir in the ada and leave it to stand for fifteen minutes, until the pieces are soft but not mushy.
3. Drain the ada and rinse it under cold water so the pieces stop clinging to each other.
4. Melt the jaggery with 120 ml of water in a small pan over medium heat, then strain the syrup to catch any grit.
5. Heat two tablespoons of the ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan and fry the cashews until golden, then lift them out.
6. Fry the coconut slices in the same ghee until deep gold, then lift them out too.
7. Add the drained ada to the remaining ghee and stir it over medium heat for three minutes.
8. Pour in the strained jaggery syrup and cook for ten minutes, stirring often, until the ada takes the colour of the jaggery and the mixture thickens.
9. Pour in the thin coconut milk and simmer for twelve minutes, stirring now and then, until it thickens again and coats the back of a spoon.
10. Turn the heat to its lowest and pour in the thick coconut milk.
11. Warm it through for one minute without letting it boil.
12. Stir in the cardamom, dry ginger and cumin powder with the fried cashews and coconut and the last of the ghee.
13. Serve warm, loosening it with a little extra coconut milk if it tightens as it stands.