Kavuni Arisi Recipe – Chettinad Kavuni Arisi Sweet Recipe – Black Rice Recipes

 

 Kavuni arisi is a popular sweet recipe in Chettinad region. It is served in all Chettinad wedding feast. Kavuni arisi is prepared with black rice / Karuppu arisi (Oryza Sativa). It can be prepared with red rice/ Sigappu arisi too. Kavuni rice sweet is an easy recipe. Just wash and soak black rice, pressure cook it. Mix with sugar and coconut. Enjoy, its that simple and easy to make. Black rice is also known as purple rice, sticky rice in India. 

Black rice is completely different from brown rice and white rice. Its a popular rice variety in Myanmar, Burma. They call it as Chak-hao. It tastes chewy and slightly hard. Black rice is considered as a super food. The bran hull (outermost layer) of black rice contains one of the highest levels of anthocyanins found in food. It has a deep black color and usually turns deep purple when cooked. Its dark purple color is primarily due to its anthocyanin content, which is higher by weight than that of other colored grains. 

Black rice is also a good source of iron, vitamin E, fiber and antioxidants. It is suitable for preparing dessert, porridge, pongal, idli, dosa and some traditional Chinese black rice cake, bread and noodles. During our recent trip to Karaikudi, people told Chettiars used to bring black rice, burma teakwood and much more by trading all over the world in olden days. 

Nowadays good quality black rice is cultivated in pudukkottai, karaikudi region and is supplied all over Tamil nadu. You can get it online or from any organic millet shops. I bought this black rice, hand pounded rice ( Kaikuthal arisi) and bamboo rice (moongil arisi) from a shop in front of Green park restaurant in Palani road, Kottapatti – Dindigul.

This is the first time I am using black rice. So I went through many websites and watched YouTube videos for cooking this rice perfectly. I also asked Viji akka from Chettinad for Kavuni arisi recipe mainly the rice water ratio and the quantity of sugar, coconut. Based on her traditional family recipe, I tried it twice and made a perfect kavuni arisi sweet. I noticed two things in this recipe. One, black rice is basically hard and wild. So it should be soaked for a minimum of 6 hours to cook well. I soaked overnight, nearly 12 hours. 

Secondly, it takes more water to cook no matter about cooking in an open pot or in a pressure cooker. It takes 1:4 rice water ratio. You should cook till the white part comes out from the red bran. So cooking time varies as per the rice. Old rice takes more water and more time to cook whereas new rice consumes less water. Based on the age of rice, water quantity and cooking time varies. 

Quantity of sugar can be varied as per your taste. Usually it is 1:1 ratio of rice and sugar but I felt its too sweet. So I used 1:3/4 ratio. There is no need to cook the rice after adding sugar and coconut as per Viji akka’s recipe. But I saw many versions with variations in the basic kavuni arisi recipe. However you make it, its a tasty indulgence ! If you are conscious about using sugar, you can always add Karupatti / Palm jaggery or jaggery. Just powder them and add it. 

Ok, lets see how to make Chettinad special Kavuni arisi recipe with step by step pictures.

Check out more Chettinad special recipes !

Kavuni arisi recipe

Chettinad special sweet - Kavuni arisi using black rice, sugar and coconut.

Cuisine: Chettinad

Category: Sweet

Serves: 4

Prep time: 8 Hours

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 8 Hours 20 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 250ml Black rice / Kavuni arisi - 1/2 cup Water - 2 to 2.5 cups Sugar - 1/2 cup (I used 1/3 cup) Grated coconut - 1/2 cup Ghee - 1 tbsp Cashew nuts – Few Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp (optional)

How to make kavuni arisi - METHOD

Wash the black rice / Kavuni arisi twice or thrice to remove the dust. Soak overnight (12 hours) or minimum 6 hours. Use clean water to soak.  In a pressure cooker base, take 2.5 cups of water. Add the soaked kavuni arisi along with remaining water. Pressure cook in very low flame for 5 to 6 whistles till the rice becomes mushy.  Switch off the flame.  After cooking, you should be see the white part and red bran separately. It is cooked soft but it tastes mildly chewy and hard. Do not panic.  Quantity of water and number of whistles to pressure cook depends on the age of rice. (Old rice takes more water whereas new rice takes just 2.5 cups of water for 1 cup of rice. Similarly old rice takes more time to cook than new ones). After the steam is released, open the cooker. You will find a layer of water. Just mash the rice with a ladle. Drain the excess water and reserve it. Add sugar, grated coconut and cardamom powder (optional) in fire OFF.  No need to keep the flame on while adding sugar. As soon as you add sugar, it will melt and mixture becomes watery. But it will thicken as it cools down.    If you feel its too thick you can add the cooked, reserved water to adjust the consistency. Suppose if its too watery, you can boil till thick. But the traditional kavuni arisi recipe doesn't call for cooking after adding sugar and coconut.  After mixing the rice, sugar and coconut, check for the taste. Add more sugar if needed. Lastly add cashew nuts roasted in a tbsp of ghee. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy !

Note

Cardamom powder is optional. You can skip it to enjoy the flavor of black rice. Black rice takes more time to cook than white rice and brown rice. So cook in low flame for more whistles. There is no need to cook the rice after adding sugar and coconut. Just mix them and serve immediately.

Try this yummy Chettinad special Kavuni arisi recipe. You will love it !

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