The doughnut-like fried dough has a long history of popularity in Kannada, Telugu, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Tamil civilization.

Athrasa is a popular as an offering to the relatives during Deepavali and Ganesha Chaturthi festivals, both at home and in temples in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

[1][2] According to inscriptions from the 16th century during the reign of Vijayanagara emperor Krishnadevaraya, the sweet was made from rice flour, jaggery, butter and pepper and it was invented by palace cook Jadigenahalli Krishnappa.

[3] At the annual festival at the Panchavarnesvar Temple in Thirunallur (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.

For adding sweet "vellam" (jaggery in Tamil) is melted in water by boiling it till it reaches 'soft ball' consistency (235–240 °F (113–116 °C), if using a candy thermometer) and added to the rice flour along with some powdered cardamom to make a thick dough.