Diwali / Deepavali is incomplete without this delicious lentil based dessert Ukkarai also known as Okkarai. Enjoy this delicious sweet with friends and family.
Ukkarai also pronounced Okkarai is a traditional sweet made during the festival of Deepavali / Diwali. Growing up I have never eaten this as it is not in our tradition, but after coming to the blogging world, I have seen this many times and I was very tempted to make it sometime.
This very closely resembles the rice puttu in texture and appearance, but that is made out of rice and the ukkarai is made out of lentil or paruppu.
Talking about arisi / rice puttu, that is something I have never made too and last November, amma made it back in India and she told me that it was the best one she had made yet and she was eager to give me the recipe.
I was busy with other work that day and also was getting ready for my surgery that was scheduled end of November, so I told her to hold the thought and I would write down the recipe later. Who knew that later would never come and she would leave the world.
When making this ukkarai, my thoughts went back again and again to our conversation and I was so mad at myself for not having listened to her and written down her recipe. I adapted the recipe from Meenakshi Ammal.
Variations in Ukkarai recipe
When reading about it, I came across many different variations of the ukkarai made with different lentils. People make it with just chana dal or moong dal or a combination of both.
I also saw that few had made it with toor dal. I stuck to what Meenakshi Ammal mentioned and used equal quantities of chana dal and moong dal.
The process of making ukkarai is slightly lengthy but it is very easy to make and is absolutely delicious. It stays in the refrigerator for over a week. My husband is the one who loves sweet the most in our house, but this time, I literally fought with him to have a little more of this.
Preparation time – 10 minutes plus about an hour of soaking time
Cooking time – 1 hour
Difficulty level – easy
Ingredients needed
- Kadalai paruppu / channa dal – ½ cup
- Payatham paruppu / Moong dal – ½ cup
- Vellam / Jaggery – 1 cup
- Nei / ghee – 4 tbsp
- Cashews – a handful
- Coconut – ¼ cup (grated)
- Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp
Step by step process
- Dry roast both the dals until slightly golden brown. Make sure that you keep stirring the pan as the dals can get burnt very easily.
- Wash the roasted dals and soak them for at least an hour.
- Drain the soaked dals and grind them into coarse paste adding very little water. Make sure you add very less water when grinding as we want a semi solid paste that we can steam.
- Make small mounds of the ground batter and place it on a steamer plate or idli mould and steam for about 12 to 15 minutes. The mixture will appear stiff and hard when done.
- Let this cool down a bit and then break the dough into small pieces and place it in a blender jar. Pulse it a couple of times to make it into a fine powder.
- In the meantime, heat a pan and add about a tablespoon of ghee. Fry the cashews until they are golden brown. Remove it in a plate. In the same pan, heat 1 more tablespoon of ghee and fry the grated coconut until light brown. Keep it aside as well.
- In the same pan add the jaggery and just enough water to immerse the jaggery. Bring it to a boil and let the jaggery dissolve completely. Strain the syrup at this stage if needed and then return it to the flame.
- Let the syrup come to a one string consistency. This is when you touch the syrup in between two fingers and pull it apart; it will form a single thread. You could also use a candy thermometer to check the consistency.
- Now add the ground dal powder to the jaggery and mix well. Cook it on low heat until it appears dry.
- Now add the fried cashews, coconut and cardamom powder and mix well. Also add the remaining ghee at this stage and keep cooking in low flame until it becomes dry and powdery.
- Remove it from heat and serve warm or at room temperature. We enjoyed it for over a week refrigerated.
Expert tips
- Roast the lentils in a slow flame to evenly roast them. Lentils could burn easily and that would spoil the flavor.
- Grind the lentils with less water.
- Jaggery syrup has to come to single thread consistency. If the syrup is too thin, it will take longer to bring the okkarai to the right texture.
- Do not overcook the ukkarai as it will make the texture to be hard. Okkarai should be soft and crumbly.
Frequently asked questions
Different families use different lentils to make ukkarai. Some make it with just moong dal, some make with toor dal. Some make with a mixture of rice and lentil. I used a mixture of chana dal and moong dal.
Okkarai and Ukkaria is made with jaggery. We have to make a syrup with jaggery and that is used to make okkarai.
Ukkarai can be kept outside in room temperature for a day or two. Then we can keep it refrigerated for up to a week. Warm slightly before serving.
More Diwali sweet recipes
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Recipe
Diwali Special Ukkarai | Okkarai
Equipment
- bowl
- pan
- Steamer plate
- spatula
- Blender
Ingredients
- ½ cup Kadalai paruppu / channa dal
- ½ cup Payatham paruppu / Moong dal
- 1 cup Vellam / Jaggery
- 4 tablespoon Nei / ghee
- Cashews a handful
- ¼ cup Coconut grated
- ¼ teaspoon Cardamom powder
Instructions
- Dry roast both the dals until slightly golden brown. Make sure that you keep stirring the pan as the dals can get burnt very easily.
- Wash the roasted dals and soak them for at least an hour.
- Drain the soaked dals and grind them into coarse paste adding very little water. Make sure you add very less water when grinding as we want a semi solid paste that we can steam.
- Make small mounds of the ground batter and place it on a steamer plate or idli mould and steam for about 12 to 15 minutes. The mixture will appear stiff and hard when done.
- Let this cool down a bit and then break the dough into small pieces and place it in a blender jar. Pulse it a couple of times to make it into a fine powder.
- In the meantime, heat a pan and add about a tablespoon of ghee. Fry the cashews until they are golden brown. Remove it in a plate. In the same pan, heat 1 more tablespoon of ghee and fry the grated coconut until light brown. Keep it aside as well.
- In the same pan add the jaggery and just enough water to immerse the jaggery. Bring it to a boil and let the jaggery dissolve completely. Strain the syrup at this stage if needed and then return it to the flame.
- Let the syrup come to a one string consistency. This is when you touch the syrup in between two fingers and pull it apart; it will form a single thread. You could also use a candy thermometer to check the consistency.
- Now add the ground dal powder to the jaggery and mix well. Cook it on low heat until it appears dry.
- Now add the fried cashews, coconut and cardamom powder and mix well. Also add the remaining ghee at this stage and keep cooking in low flame until it becomes dry and powdery.
- Remove it from heat and serve warm or at room temperature. We enjoyed it for over a week refrigerated.
Notes
- Roast the lentils in a slow flame to evenly roast them. Lentils could burn easily and that would spoil the flavor.
- Grind the lentils with less water.
- Jaggery syrup has to come to single thread consistency. If the syrup is too thin, it will take longer to bring the okkarai to the right texture.
- Do not overcook the ukkarai as it will make the texture to be hard. Okkarai should be soft and crumbly.
Radji N says
I have never heard of okkarai. I am going to try this one. Sounds delicious !
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thanks Radji. It is such a lovely and protein loaded recipe.
seema sriram says
my mother in law religiously makes ookarai for deepavali. I can still picture her going hours over the stove with getting them in the right texture. Your recipe looks much more simpler.
sasmita says
Such a traditional sweet for Diwali. Okkarai using lentils sounds so yummy. Although the process is quite lengthy still the outcome is superb dear. One should try this for festive time
Priya Srinivasan says
i m yet to try okkarai sandhya, looks delicious! there are so many traditional recipes in our cuisine, which we are yet to explore,love how beautifully you have got that consistency right!
Jagruti's Cooking Odyssey says
The first time I saw the picture, I thought it was the gujarati recipe Lapsi but seeing the recipe, you have used daal! So interesting and looks delicious!
Padma Veeranki says
I completely understand how it feels when you mentioned about your mother as I have gone through this a couple of months back!! But, I'm sure you mom will be proud that you have recreated this traditional recipe. Though there are many variations to this recipe, it is very nostalgic to me as it reminds me of my grandmom, who used to make it often....Lovely share!!
amrita says
I know life is so fragile...l believe your mother must have made the similar way you have prepared this traditional recipe... The recipe is lengthy but you have well explained it
Sandhya Nadkarni says
I can just imagine the depth of flavor in this fabulous recipe Sandhya! The roasting, then soaking of dals is new to me. I am a big fan of the jaggery flavor for sweets versus using white sugar, so that is another reason I want to make this Ukkarai.
Lata Lala says
Diwali Special Ukkarai | Okkarai recipe using lentils sounds so yummy. As mentioned by you that the process is lengthy but it seems its worth the hard work.
Never tasted this recipe and I am tempted to give it a try.
Swati says
Very interesting and new recipe for me!! Looks delicious!! Though it is a lengthy process to make it, I will love to try it someday!!
Vandana says
Such an interesting recipe. I had never heard of it before but loved it. It sounds and looks delicious. Can't wait to try it.
Malini says
My mom makes this recipe for festivals. We love it, I never tried on my own, Now your recipe is reminding me to give a try. I can sense the aroma and taste right from your picture. It must have been very delicious.
Rafeeda - The Big Sweet Tooth says
That mix of lentils is I guess what gives this dish all its charm. It looks delicious and an easier version to making laddoos...
Pavani says
That is such an interesting sweet dish made with lentils. It is totally new to me and would love to try it out this festival season. Thanks for sharing.
Mayuri Patel says
An interesting recipe Sandhya. Its amazing how lentils in South India are used not only for curries and sambhars but also to make chutneys, podi, and sweet dishes. Making Ukkarai is a lengthy process but I'm sure its worth all the effort.
Geetha says
Okkarai is one of my favourite festive treats. This recipe looks simple to make, I am bookmarking to try this upcoming festival.
Lakshmi Ramanathan says
Oh, Sandhya Sooooper, ukkarai.
Actually I don't want to do this time, but after seeing your detailed step by step Receipe, I will definitely try your method.
But how long this will be kept in outside.
Or can we do one day before Diwali.
Your method looks like Paruppu Usili Method. Fantastic...👏👏👍👍👌👌💟💞💝