Sweet Anarasa

One of the most popular Nepali sweets, Anarasa is mostly used made the festival of Tihar to offer it to the goddess Laxmi and also include it among the sweets and dry fruits given to the brothers on the occasion of Bhai Tika. It is like a buttered rice cookie but bigger in size. Here is the process of preparing the Anarasa in your kitchen.



Ingredients:

3 cups Basmati rice soaked for a few hours

1 cup soft butter

3 cups sugar

1 tsp rose water

1 tbsp ground cardamom

¼ cup almond nuts

¼ cup cashew nuts

½ cup whole milk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups melted butter for trying

1 cup almond slices

Procedure:

First of all, grind the soaked rice, soft butter, almond, cashew nuts, sugar, rose water, milk, baking powder and salt into relatively dry dough, cover it and leave it overnight in refrigerator. By doing this, the sugar in the mixture would melt and the dough would gain needed softness. After taking it out, make two-inch balls from the cookie dough. Now, place a plastic wrap on a board and coat the surface lightly with melted butter and sprinkle almond slices over it. Then, flatten the dough ball into a one-quarter of inch thick patty that measures approximately 4-5 inches in diameter. After that, pierce holes on the patty using a fork and repeat the same process with other dough balls as well. Then, heat butter in a shallow cast-iron frying pan, known as Tawa or Tai in Nepali, and gently drop a rice patty in the pan with the almond-coated side facing upwards. Let it fry until the downwards portion turns golden brown and gradually scoop up hot butter and apply to the top surface but do not turn it over on the other side. When the cookie turns golden brown and looks crispy, remove it from the oil and place it on a paper towel to absorb excessive oil. Do this for all the patties and dust the Anarasa with sugar powder before you serve it. Your sweet Anarasa is ready for the feast.