Ellorai, a nutty roasted sesame powder is rice dish brought together with wood pressed sesame oil, is a recipe that brings back fond memories.
Some food memories begin with taste. Mine began with an aroma.
Right from childhood, I have always been deeply drawn to the smell of toasted sesame seeds. There was something magical about it — warm, nutty, comforting, and impossible to ignore. The moment my mother began dry roasting sesame seeds in the kitchen, even if it was only for a chutney podi, the entire house would slowly fill with that earthy fragrance.
Among the many dishes that carried this beautiful flavour, Ellorai always held a very special place in my heart. A dish traditionally mainly served as Prasadam in South Indian temples, very few homes made Ellorai, and our Parthangal home was one among them. Even there, my mother prepared it only occasionally, almost rarely. Which meant that whenever Ellorai was made, it instantly transformed into an event.
For me, Ellorai feels even closer than Puliyodarai. Maybe it was the rarity that made it extra special, maybe the fact that you would get just a small portion of it as prasadam — never enough to satisfy the craving it awakened. One spoonful would only make you long for another.
Perhaps that rarity is what made it even more precious. Sacred almost. Even today, that first whiff of toasted sesame seeds can transport me instantly back to my childhood kitchen — to the sounds of tempering, the warmth of home, and the quiet excitement of knowing that something rare and beautiful was about to be served.
Ingredients
- Raw Rice (preferably short grain thin rice) - 1.5 cups
- White Sesame - 100 gms
- Black Sesame - 100 gms
- Whole Urad Dal - 50 gms
- Chana Dal - 50 gms
- Dried Red Chillies - 10 to 12
- Black Pepper - 25 gms
- Tamarind - Amla-sized piece
- Salt - To taste
- Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
- Gramiyaa Wood Cold Pressed Sesame Oil - 150ml
Method
- Cook the Rice with salt. Ratio of rice to water is 1:2
- Dry roast the Til. Roast all other items individually with some Gramiyaa Sesame oil
- Powder the masala items after they cool down
- Heat 150 ml Gramiyaa Sesame oil in a pan
- Add seasoning:
- Mustard seeds
- Urad dal
- Chana dal
- Red chillies
- Pinch of Hing
- Curry leaves
- Fry some cashews
- Mixing
- Transfer the cooked rice to a large mixing bowl.
- Add a table spoon of Sesame oil and fluff up the rice
- Add 2 to 3 table spoons if the sesame powder
- Mix well
- Pour the hot seasoned sesame oil and cashews and mix well
Your Ellorai is ready to serve. Serve it with Appalam or Kootu.
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