Karthigai pori recipe is one of the easiest and fastest to make on the day of Periya Karthigai. Periya Karthigai is celebrated throughout Tamilnadu during the Tamil month of Karthigai. It is a colourful celebration filled with lights. Every house will be filled with rows and rows of deepams and colourful rangolis. It is such an amazing festival and we look forward to it every year.
There is also a tradition of fasting until evening and only after lighting the lamps and completing the pooja, the fast is broke. I have fasted for the festival when in college, but then, I stopped it. But the lamp lighting, rangoli and pooja are must. My daughter loves it to the core and so I have made it a habit of celebrating it every year.
Amma used to make an elaborate meal with 21 side dishes, sambar, rasam. The highlight was the twenty one side dishes and it becomes a really filling meal. I attempted it twice after marriage, but then it was too tough for me. The next day, she used to add all the leftover side dishes to the sambar and that kadamba kulambu lasted two or three years. The taste improves a lot by boiling it again and again and it was called as sunda kulambu. Hmm, I can’t even describe the nostalgia this creates. I really miss it now.
Karthigai pori is a tradition I picked up after I started blogging. Amma never did it, but when I tried it for the first time, I made it into urundai. I have it in blog ( click to read it) Then Sruti became a great fan and she would ask me for every karthigai. I felt that pori is easier to make than the urundai and it also includes lots of peanuts and coconut, that Sruti loves it a lot. But I never even added it to my blog.
Karthigai Pori recipe – Syrup consistency
The only technical thing you need to know about is the consistency of syrup. When you make the jaggery syrup, it should reach the soft ball consistency so that it coats the pori properly and sets crisp. If the syrup is too soft, then it would make the pori soggy and if the syrup is taken to hard ball stage, then you won’t be able to mix it properly and it would clump up.
But don’t worry, it is a very easy method. Even if you are new to making syrups, follow my tip to get it right. Take a plate with water. When the jaggery boils, take two drops of it using a spoon and drop it in the water. While doing this, reduce your flame to sim.
At first, the syrup will dissolve. Next it won’t dissolve, but would be soft jelly like. But then, it will be slightly thicker and you can easily make it into a ball. But it will be real soft. That is the stage you want your syrup to be.
Immediately switch off gas and pour the syrup into the pori. Ask for help if you are afraid. And keep stirring the pori until everything mixes well. Then you need to keep stirring now and then to break the clumps. Once it cools down, you will have crisp pori in the pan.
Karthigai Pori Recipe – Type of pori used
The pori/ puffed rice used in this recipe is different from the regular puffed rice. This one is called as Nel pori, made directly from paddy. So you can even find the paddy husk on them. They are slightly rough in texture and we get this only during Karthigai. If you can’t source this type of pori, then use the regular one.
Karthigai Pori Recipe – Jaggery Used
There are a lots of type of jaggery available in the market. Some are golden and some are dark. We even get dark jaggery powder nowadays and they don’t have any type of sand or impurities in them. I have used jaggery powder only because that is what I regularly stock my pantry with.
You can use any type of jaggery. Depending on the type, the colour of your pori will differ. Also if using the block jaggery, you should strain the melted jaggery before making the syrup to get rid of all the impurities.
Karthigai Pori Recipe
Ingredients
- 100 gm Nel Pori/ Aval Pori
- 1 tbsp Ghee
- 2 tbsp Cubed Coconut
- 15 gm Fried gram/ Pori Kadalai
- 35 gm Peanuts
- ¼ tsp Ginger Powder
- ¼ tsp Cardamom Powder
- 75 gm Jaggery
- 50 ml Water
Instructions
- In a large pan, heat ghee and add the coconut cubes.
- Once they slightly change colour, add in fried gram and peanuts.
- Keep stirring until they brown a little.
- Add the pori and switch off flame.
- Keep stirring to distribute heat.
- Add ginger and cardamom powders and mix well.
- In a saucepan, combine jaggery powder and water.
- If using block of jaggery, you need to strain once the jaggery dissolves in water.
- Let the syrup boil until it reaches soft ball consistency.
- When you add a drop of the syrup to water, it shouldn’t dissolve immediately and you should be able to make a soft ball out of it.
- Now immediately pour the syrup on the pori mixture and stir it to evenly coat all the pori with jaggery.
- Keep stirring now and then until the mix cools down. It might clump up a bit, but you need to break them while stirring.
- Once cool, store the pori in an airtight jar.
