Atola – Traditional East Indian Rice Pudding recipe with Coconut Milk. This is traditionally prepared with newly harvested rice and offered as a tribute to our Ancestors on All Souls Day. This Rice Pudding is cooked with black-eyed peas (chowli) and is flavoured with cardamom. We use cane jaggery as a sweetener.
This traditional Rice Pudding is made once a year with rice from the newly harvested rice as a tribute to our dearly departed. The tradition has been followed by the East Indian Community for generations and is considered a sign of gratitude to our ancestors on All Souls Day.
Table of Contents
What is All Souls Day
All Souls’ Day, is a day dedicated to the dead and it is observed on 02 Nov every year. It is a day of remembrance and prayers for the souls of all those who have departed.
As per the Catholic church, it is the day of Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed. Masses are offered for the dead. People also visit and decorate the graves of their departed loved ones and offer flowers, candles, and prayers.
There is also another tradition that the East Indians observe on All Souls Day. They make a rice pudding of the newly harvested crop and offer it as a tribute to the ancestors.
According to tradition, we believe that as we progress from generation to generation we must also remember the sacrifices and devotion of our ancestors towards their family and land. So as a gratitude to our ancestors, we offer them the first harvest of the season.
Know more about All Souls’ Day and its traditions: https://www.britannica.com/topic/All-Souls-Day-Christianity
Rice Pudding (Atola) Ingredients
Getting back to the recipe for Rice Pudding, let’s go through the ingredients first.
- RICE – Traditionally, we use rice from the first harvest of the season for this All Souls Day recipe. But if you don’t have rice from the new harvest then use any other rice of your choice. But new rice is glutinous and perfect for the recipe. Glutinous rice has a subtle aroma and a soft and sticky texture.
- COCONUT – We add milk from one coconut to make this delicious rice pudding. You could even add readymade coconut milk or coconut milk powder. Going with the tradition we prefer to use freshly extracted coconut milk.
- JAGGERY – Use any good-quality cane or organic jaggery for this recipe. Though black jaggery is considered healthy we do not use it in this recipe.
- CARDAMOM POWDER – Cardamom powder adds traditional flavour and aroma to the rice pudding. Just blend a few cardamom pods in the dry blender with a little sugar to get a fine powder. Use this towards the end of the cooking to retain its flavour. You can also use your mortar and pestle to crush the cardamoms.
- CHOWLI/BLACK-EYED PEAS – Some use chana dal or split gram instead of black-eyed peas. But my mum always made Atola with chowli that we soaked overnight. Keeping up with the family tradition I continue to do so. Notwithstanding that, the black-eyed peas taste wonderful in this rice pudding recipe.
Traditional Rice Pudding (Atola) Recipe
- We start by soaking the rice and the chowli or black-eyed peas for a couple of hours. Also, dice the jaggery and set it aside. Now that you have got all the ingredients ready we can start making the rice pudding.
- In a deep vessel, add the washed and drained rice, Also add the chowli or black-eyed peas and 2 cups of water and allow it to cook. We also add 4 cups of thin coconut milk at this stage and salt to taste.
- If you are using coconut milk powder then make the thick milk as per the instructions and use it only towards the end.
- Cook till the chowli turns soft, the rice will cook anyway. Now add the jaggery and cook further till the jaggery melts.
- Once the jaggery has melted add cardamom powder and finally add one cup of thick coconut milk. Let the rice pudding simmer for a few minutes and then turn off the heat.
- Try this Traditional Rice Pudding Recipe (Atola) on All Souls Day and offer it as a tribute to your ancestors. Then enjoy it with your family either hot or cold.
PS : You can make the pudding thick by adding less water or coconut milk. Spread this into a thali or a round flat dish. When the pudding dries up, cut it into diagonals or cubes and serve. This is called ‘Kandi’.
Other Traditional Desserts that you may like to try
China Grass Milk Pudding (Agar-Agar Pudding)
Printable Recipe
Traditional Rice Pudding Recipe (Atola)
Ingredients
- 2 cups Rice from the new harvest washed and drained
- 1 cup Chowli beans soaked overnight
- Coconut Milk one whole coconut (1 cup thick & 4 cups thin milk)
- 1 cup Jaggery
- 1 tsp Cardamom powder
- 1.5 tsp Salt
Instructions
How to make Rice Pudding
- In a deep vessel add the rice, chowli beans, salt and the thin coconut milk & water as required
- Bring it to boil and cook until the rice and chowli beans are soft.
- Add the jaggery and cover the vessel and cook until the jaggery melts.
- Add cardamom powder and the thick coconut milk.
- Switch off the flame.
Video
Notes
- Â Add warm water if you want the pudding to be thinner.
- To make cardamom powder add 4 to 5 cardamom with a little sugar and grind it into a fine powder.
- I used organic jaggery for this recipe, you could add any jaggery you wish.
If you like my recipe please share it on Facebook, Pinterest & Instagram @flavoursofmykitchen #flavoursofmykitchen2019.
Please leave your comments and also give the recipe your star ratings. You can also get in touch with me at flavoursofmykitchen2019@gmail.com.
For the recipe, and updates please subscribe to our Newsletter and also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and Twitter.