Maavilaku Mavu (Rice flour Lamp) is an auspicious rice flour lamp. In Kannada, call it as Hittina Deepa, and in Telugu, it is Pindi deepam. It’s made with rice flour jaggery and cardamom and kneaded together as a dough. It is prepared mainly during Aadi velli, Thai velli, Puratassi Sani and karthigai deepam festivals in Tamil homes. It is placed on a banana leaf with a dent in the middle where we pour ghee, place the wick(thiri) and lit the lamp. We also apply Kumkum on all 3 sides of maavilakku and keep with flowers, banana, and coconut for pooja. My Amma is well familiar in making maavilakku for Kulumai (Mariamman festival) and yearly once we used to do in the Samayapuram Mariamman temple. In maavilakku lamp-lit-part (the black part where the lamp is lit) as it tastes so good.
Maavilakku recipe / Rice flour Lamp
Ingredients
Instructions
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Take a raw rice, rinse twice and soaked it in a water for 1 hr.
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Drain the water completely and spread the rice on the clean cloth allow it to dry say for 1 hr.
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Don’t let a rice dried completely. It should be slightly moist. When you touch the rice, there should be some rice sticking on the hand. that is the correct stage.
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Transfer the rice to a mixer jar. Grind it to a fine powder. No need to put over a sieve.
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Take the rice flour in a mixer along with grated jaggery. Give a couple of pulses. Do not over grind it then the jaggery will start giving water and the whole mixture would become clumsy.
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Transfer this on to plate and add cardamom and dried ginger powder.
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Keep kneading, the jaggery will melt in hand heat and you will be able to make a dough.
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Add roasted Chana dal, (its optional) and mix well.
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Separate the flour in to two parts to make two maavilakku. Gather the flour and make it as a desirable shape.
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Place it on the plate/banana leaf, and make a dent in the middle using thump finger to lit the lamp with ghee. If there are any cracks seal it with your fingers.
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Place the kunkumam on the sides, pour ghee and place wick (thread) and lit the lamp.
Note
- You can use readymade, store-bought packed rice flour too but sure the taste will differ. No need add water for making dough, but if you feel it’s too dry then sprinkle few drops while kneading the maavilakku maavu.
- If you add more water there is a chance of lessen the shelf life of maavilakku.
- Use unmelted ghee, maavilakku will stay soft without losing its shape and taste. If you use melted ghee for mixing after some time the ghee hardens, maavilakku will also become hard.
- Adding more ghee , jaggery will make the ball too loose and won't hold the shape.
- This maavilakku can keeps in for 3-4 days in room temperature itself. It can keep it refrigerated but it becomes slightly hard, so bring it to room temperature before serving.
