Wikipedia
Adhirasam is a type of Indian sweet from Tamil cuisine. The doughnut like pastry has a long history of popularity in Tamil civilization. They are similar in shape to vadai, but are not savoury and are eaten as a dessert.
Adhirasam is a popular as an offering to the gods during puja prayers, both at home and in temples in Tamil Nadu. According to inscriptions from Krishnadevaraya's time, the sweet was made from rice flour, jaggery, butter and pepper. At the annual festival at the Panchavarnesvar Temple in Nallur (located near Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu), an offering of 6000 Adhirasams along with 6000 vadas is made to the Gods; the entire lot is cooked in the temple kitchen between sunrise and 11 pm, for the prayers that take place at midnight.
It is one which is top in the list when it comes to the matter of Diwali sweet preparations in the Tamilians home. The authentic preparation takes about a week. First the rice is soaked in water and sundried. Then it is ground into fine powder. For adding sweet "vellam" (jaggery)is melted in water by boiling it and added to the rice flour along with some powdered cardamom to make a thick dough. It is then transferred to an earthenware pot and the top of the pot is closed with a thin white cloth. It is then allowed to ferment for about 3–5 days by placing it in the sunlight during the day time. Finally when the batter is ready for preparation, small balls of the dough is taken and flattened using fingers in a small piece of oil brushed banana leaf and deep fried in oil until golden brown. Then it is pressed with a flat bottomed bowl to remove the excess oil.