Kobbari Boorelu | Kobbari Vadalu | Deepavali Recipes

I am sure many of you might not be familiar with this sweet called 'Kobbari boorelu'  or 'Kobbari Vadalu' which are prepared only in Andhra and few places of Karnataka.Also do not get confused with the name boorelu and do not assume the dal based boorelu,these are different.When ever my mom prepares Ariselu(or Adhirasam) she also prepares Kobbari boorelu along with them.As she does not eat jaggery(yes you read it correct,she does not eat jaggery at all and that's my mom..;) ) she always makes one variety among those to make with sugar and as she loves Kobbari boorelu she always ends up making kobbari boorelu with sugar and Ariselu with jaggery.However we get to eat both the varieties. When you see them looks wise they are very much similar to ariselu(or adhirasam) and in fact even the preparation process is similar but the difference comes in the addition of fresh coconut in this recipe.Coconut not only makes the boorelu soft it also gives a nice bite when you eat them and I must say they are very very tasty.

 

Let me point out all the differences between those two varieties to avoid the confusion.The main difference between the both ariselu(Adhirasam) and boorelu is the addition of coconut which definitely changes the taste and texture of them.The dough consistency for both of them is different which gives a drastic change in texture.Kobbari boorelu are very soft when compared to ariselu.Also the shape of boorelu would be like medu wada and the ariselu would be flat discs.Boorelu are not pressed like ariselu after they are fried and hence boorelu are soft,slighly spongy.Some prepare boorelu like flat discs like ariselu but we always prepare in the shape of vada and hence we usually call it kobbari vadalu but in Andhra it is called Boorelu.I have included few more differences in their preparation methods so please have a look at my notes.

When I posted Ariselu last week many mentioned that the addition of sesame seeds over the top is new to them.Yes it is true and the reason why we add them over the top is it not gives a nice look to ariselu but also adds to the taste with the extra bite of sesame seeds and so is the case with kobbari boorelu too.

Kobbari Burelu(Boorelu) | Kobbari Vadalu Recipe:

Shelf life:up to 2 weeks

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups(1/2 kg) Rice
1 3/4 cups grated fresh Coconut

2 cups(approx 400 gms) grated Jaggery

1/2 tsp Cardamom powder

1/3 cup white Sesame seeds

2 tbsp Ghee

Oil,for deep frying

Method:

to make rice flour: 

• Soak rice in water overnight.My mom uses a slight red colored variety of rice for this,she says it tastes the best but you can use regular white rice variety too. 
• option-1:Drain the water through a colander.Dry under the shade by spreading on a clean dry cloth.Once it is three-fourth dried(it should not dry completely),you need to send it to mill to get it powdered.Sieve it well
• option-2:Drain the water through a colander and leave it for 10-15 minutes.Grind half the portion to a powder in the mixie and do the same with the remaining half.Sieve it well.
• option-3:Drain the water through a colander.Immediately pound it using the typical stone grinder using the pestle,this is the most traditional method.Sieve it well.

• I followed the option-2  as it is very convenient to make the quantity for a small family.

to make Boorelu:

• Grate jaggery and keep it aside.
• Take a heavy bottomed thick kadai and add grated jaggery and 1/4 cup of water and let it melt completely.Strain through a fine strainer to remove the mud and dirt from it.

• Now pour it back to the cleaned kadai and boil the jaggery syrup until it reaches the SOFT BALL consistency.In order to test the consistency of soft ball - put little syrup in cold water,when you roll it with fingers you should be able to make a ball out of the syrup.This means a correct soft ball consistency which is very important to get in this recipe.

• Once you get the soft ball consistency add grated coconut,cardamom powder to it and mix well.Remove it from flame and keep it in a sturdy surface.

• Sprinkle rice flour(prepared above) quickly little by little and keep stirring so that it does not form lumps. Keep adding the flour until the syrup holds.You need to stop adding the flour once all the syrup is absorbed and the dough should be very soft and slightly loose.Because of the addition of coconut this will be a soft dough not like the dough we get for ariselu.So keep it in mind and do not add more rice flour which will make the boorelu hard.
• Pour the ghee on top of it and keep it covered and keep aside.
• Let the mixture sit for a while for an hour or you can even make them immediately.
• When you are about to prepare the boorelu,check the consitency(if you keep the dough aside for long) if you think it has become slightly hard,add a couple of tbsps of milk to the mixture and can be mixed to get a soft dough.
• Meanwhile heat oil in a kadai to deep fry them.
• Take a small gooseberry sized ball and pat it on a greased plastic sheet or banana leaf to a 1.5 inch diameter round discs and then make a hole in between like how we do for medu wada.

• Sprinkle some sesame seeds in top of them and gently press them.
• Deep fry them over MEDIUM-HIGH flame until they turn brown in color.They turn to dark color very quickly and hence do not need to be fried for long,so you should remove them when they start turning color.Few sesame seeds float up in the oil but it is fine,you can remove them with the slotted spoon later.

• Remove it with a slotted spoon and drain them in a colander,this will remove the extra oil from them.
• Repeat the same process with all the dough and drain them.
• Let them come to room temperature.

Store them in a dry container.They can be stored up to 2 weeks.

Notes:

1. You can even make the same with sugar by replacing the jaggery with equal quantities of sugar in the recipe.Follow the same recipe.
2. These would be softer than ariselu because of the addition of coconut.
3. Do not fry them for long,these are supposed to be soft.Also fry them over Medium-High flame.
4. Few shape the boorelu like ariselu,like 3 inch discs.You can even do that way and please remember we do not need to press them after they are deep fried like how we do it for ariselu.
5. The consistency of jaggery syrup to reach the soft ball is very important in this recipe.If you mess up with it- you will even mess up your end product.
6. Sesame seeds can be added into the dough but we always add over them.
7. My mom uses a slight red colored variety of rice for this,she says it tastes the best but you can use regular white rice variety too.

 

Check out my other Diwali Sweets Recipes and Diwali Snacks Recipes.