Kaun Arisi - Kavuni Arisi - Kavunarisi - Sticky sweet rice

A 'must have' Chettinad delicacy; served on auspicious occasions. A sweet dish with a Malaysian flavor. Rice is available in a stunning palette of shades, from white to brown to red, to a deep purple-black color. Delving into blogs I also see a Chinese connection - Forbidden Rice.

Pic - Wikipedia

Forbidden rice is a type of black rice, which turns to a deep purple when it is cooked.The black color of uncooked forbidden rice is due to its outer coating of black bran, which gives the rice a rich nutty flavor when cooked, and adds to its nutrition. The bran provides important dietary fiber. Forbidden rice is also known as Chinese black rice, and was served only to the Emperor!!!

Trading took the Chettiars to many countries. So my guess is that this recipe could have been adapted from the places they have traded in - Singapore / Malaysia / Burma... 

This is my first recipe post in this blog. A true favourite!

Kavunarisi

Ingredients:

Kaun Rice : 1 cup

Water : 5 cups

Sugar : 1¼ cups

Coconut : ½ cup

Cardamom : 3, powdered

Ghee : 3 tbsp

Method:

Wash and soak the rice for 6 hours, or overnight.

Drain out the soaked water. Pressure cook the rice with 5 cups of water. After three whistles, reduce flame and cook on a slow flame for half an hour.

Cool and mash slightly. Add grated coconut, cardamom powder, ghee and sugar to taste. Mix well and reheat.

Serve warm.

Note:

Kaun rice is purple in color. It is a specialty rice (wild rice), available at Nilgiris departmental stores in Chennai.