Ma Vilakku or Mavu Vilakku (Rice flour Deepam)

In Tamilnadu (I am not sure about other states) there is a practice of making Rice dough with jaggery and lighting a deepam for our favorite God or Goddesses on auspicious days like AAdi Velli , Purattasi Sani etc.In olden days sweet was a very rare item at home and children used to wait for this hand grinded dough(iditha maavu).Now those days have gone and making rice flour has become a difficult task. So even the old people who used to keep maa vilakku are in two minds. For the sake of youngsters who have seen their parents keeping maa vilakku regularly and want to continue it, I will try to help you out though I am not an expert. Today is Aadi velli and Aadi Kiruthigai.So I thought of making this. I was not sure of the measurements, so did not think of writing a blog. But to my surprise it came out wonderful and all who tasted it started asking me how I made it. If I don’t write and keep the measurements today, I myself will forget next time.So here is the recipe
Ingredients
Raw Rice (medium quality) – 200 gms (1 azhakku)
Jaggery-200 gms (powdered 1 cup) while buying go for little bit white colored jiggery
Cardomom-3
Ghee-2 table spoons
Procedure
Wash the rice nicely and soak for just 10 minutes. Now strain it and spread it on a newspaper under the fan. Let this dry for just 10 minutes (If it is dried more, you can’t make the flour. Now put all the rice in the big jar of the mixie and grind at a stretch for 2 minutes. Sieve the rice with the help of a medium holed sieve. Grind again till everything is done. Powder the jiggery nicely with a stone or slice it with the help of a knife.
The next part is making the dough. Powder the cardamom along with a teaspoon of sugar in the small jar and take the powder alone. Add it to the rice flour. Slowly add the jiggery to the flour kept in a flat vessel and mix it with your hand. Initially you will feel Oh how am I going to make the dough. Don’t worry. Surely dough will turn perfect. If you find it difficult, keep aside the vessel closed for 5 minutes. Now the dough will be little loose. Add a teaspoon of Ghee and mix again till your dough is perfect. Excess jiggery will make the dough watery. In that case extra flour has to be added. I am sure you will not be short of jiggery if this measurement is followed. Don’t transfer it into the vessel in which you light deepam. Put it in a Zip lock bag and keep it in the vessel in which you want to light the deepam and take to the temple. Just before lighting transfer it into the vessel. Make the dough a round ball and keep inside the vessel. Press the centre of the dough with your thumb. Inside that hole pour half spoon ghee and light the lamp keeping the thread in the middle, Press one end of the thread inside the dough nicely so that the thread stands erect. Now light the lamp.