Ariyunda - A Powdered Rice Snack

I always used to ask Mom for this snack when coming home for the breaks. Consuming it in numbers had the power to quench my thirst for home made food. Not surprising since it is made up of powdered rice, freshly grated coconut and jaggery/brown sugar for sweetness. The most difficult part is preparing the rice. We had a cutely shaped pot - kudam- made of clay for this purpose. It was not your run of the mill clay pot but a special type with very thin walls and a most beautiful shape optimized for dry frying the rice. She always had preferences as to who among her help should do this particular task because of the patient frying involved.

Once the powder is fried, ground and sieved, it is stored away and will keep for up to a year according to Mom. My Grandma was a contender for this snack while growing up. Most of the time the two of us can finish all the prepared stuff in a jiffy. So...... Mom has brought a bag full of this powder and armed with fresh grated coconut and jaggery, what is there to stop me from snacking on it for the rest of the year? Nothing really except for the very end of the powder which would be rather sorrowful. Till then it is me and my rice balls because as fortune has it, the husband does not like it and nor do the kids. Sad indeed. NOT!

In The Mix

Fried powdered boiled rice - 1 cup
Fresh grated coconut - 1/2 cup
jaggery/brown sugar - 1/2 cup

How To do

Never having done or really witnessed the rice frying part I cannot describe it here in detail. But you use boiled rice for this purpose and keep frying on low fire till the rice turns brownish and shows sings of puffing up. It is important to get it of off the fire at the right time. Now grind it to a fine powder form and the rice part is all set.

When you feel like snacking, all you need to do is mix all of the above together.


The method and consistency is as that of puttu. Of course there is no need to add water. The natural water content in the freshly grated coconut and jaggery are enough. You can use a pestle and pound gently for a while to make sure that all blend together.


Now squeeze together into yummy balls. I was so impatient after all this time that I finished most of it in the pestled form before the mix could fulfill its destiny into being delicious balls:-) Yum... can't wait to make the next batch.