Payasam

Kshirannam, Paal payasam, Badam kheer, Sago payasam, Vermicelli payasam, Poori payasam, Rava kesari, Paruppu payasam, and Rice- coconut payasam

Kshirannam

Ingredients:

Raw rice – 1 cup

Green gram dal –1/4 cup

Milk – 4 cups

Sugar – 2 cups

Cardamom powder – 1 tsp

Saffron – a pinch

Cashew – 10 – 15 (broken to small pieces)

Raisin –1 tbsp

Ghee – ½ cup

Method:

Wash rice and green gram dal together, drain water. Put in a tall vessel and add milk.

Cook in a pressure cooker.

Once the pressure is eased, remove vessel and mash contents to a paste.

Take a kadai, dissolve sugar in a little water and boil to thick syrup.

To the syrup, add cooked rice, saffron and cardamom powder. Stir well and bring to boil.

Heat ghee in another small kadai, fry cashew and raisin (cashew will become pink and raisin will bubble up).

Pour nuts in rice mixture. Stir well.

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot.

Paal Payasam

Ingredients:

Milk – 2 litres

Raw rice – 1 ½ tbsps

Sugar – ½ cup

Saffron – a big pinch

Method:

Wash rice with water and boil in a thick bottomed kadai with limited water.

Once rice is fairly cooked, add ½ litre milk and saffron.

Once milk is condensed to half, add another ½ litre and continue adding the remaining milk in intervals.

Milk and rice will be almost homogenised and be thick and slightly pink in colour.

Add sugar and bring to boil.

Remove from stove and transfer to a serving bowl.

Badam Kheer

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Ingredients:

Badam (Almond) – ¼ cup

Milk – 1 litre

Saffron – a big pinch

Sugar – ½ cup

Method:

Soak almond in hot water for one or two hours. When cool peel the skin.

Wash nuts in water and drain.

Grind with saffron and water to a fine paste in a mixie.

Take a thick bottomed vessel and pour in almond paste. Add sugar and a glass of water. Bring to boil till sugar is dissolved. Remove from stove.

Boil milk separately and cool.

Add this cooled milk to almond mixture and stir well.

If milk is very hot, it may curdle.

Badam kheer can be served either hot or cold.

Sago Payasam

Ingredients:

Sago – ¼ cup

Sugar – ½ cup

Milk – 2 cup

Cashew – 10 (broken to pieces)

Raisin – 1 tsp

Saffron – a pinch

Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp

Ghee – 1 tbsp

Method:

• In a kadai, pour ghee, fry cashew and raisin and remove them in a cup.
• Add sago to remaining ghee in the same kadai and fry for a few minutes.
• Add 2 to 3 cups of water and saffron and boil.
• Sago will become colourless once it is cooked.
• Add sugar and bring to boil.
• Add cardamom powder, cashew and raisin.
• Once sago is cooled, add milk and transfer to a serving bowl.

Vermicelli Payasam

Ingredients:

Vermicelli – ½ cup

Milk – 2 cups

Sugar – ½ cup

Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Saffron – a pinch

Cashew – 10-15 (broken to pieces)

Raisin – 1 tbsp

Ghee – 2-3 tsp

Method:

In a kadai, fry vermicelli with a little ghee. Once it is golden brown, add water (1 ½ cups) and cook well.

Add sugar and bring to boil.

Add saffron and cardamom powder.

Heat ghee in a small kadai, fry cashew and raisin and add to vermicelli mixture.

Boil milk separately and cool.

Add this cooled milk to vermicelli.

Stir well and transfer to a serving bowl.

Poori Payasam

Ingredients:

Maida – ½ cup

Semolina (rava) – ½ cup

Saffron – a pinch.

Cardamom powder – ½ tsp

Milk – ½ litre

Sugar – ¾ cup

Oil – 2 to 3 cups

Water to knead – ¾ cup

Mrthod:

• Knead maida and semolina with a little water to hard dough. Add one tsp oil and knead again. Keep aside for ½ hour.
• Boil milk in a thick bottomed large vessel. Add saffron, cardamom powder and sugar. Stir well till sugar dissolves. Remove from stove and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a kadai.
• Make small poories from dough.
• Fry poories crisp and put in hot milk.
• Repeat this process till all dough is used up.
• If milk is absorbed fully, some more milk (hot or cold) can be added while serving.

Semolina Halwa (Rava Kesari)

Ingredients:

Semolina (rava) – ½ cup

Sugar – ¾ cup

Ghee – 4 tsp

Cashew – 8 (broken to pieces)

Raisin – 1 tsp

Saffron – a pinch

Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp

Water – 1¼ cup

Method:

• Heat kadai with one tsp of ghee. Add semolina and roast to light brown.
• Boil water in a container and add to semolina.
• Water will be absorbed immediately and semolina will be cooked to a mass. Add saffron and cardamom powder. Stir well.
• Add sugar. Continue to heat till sugar melts and the mixture becomes homogenous.
• Fry cashew and raisin in a separate small kadai with ghee. Add to semolina mixture and mix well.
• Remove from stove and transfer to a serving bowl.

Paruppu Payasam

Ingredients:

Green gram dal – ½ cup

Jaggery – ¾ cup

Milk – 1 cup

Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp

Ghee – 2 tsp

Cashew – 10 (broken to pieces)

Water – 1½ to 2 cups

Method:

• Roast dal with 1 tsp ghee in a kadai.
• Once dal is pink add water (1½ cup) and cook well.
• Make Jaggery syrup with a little water and filter to remove impurities.
• Once dal is cooked, add jaggery syrup and cardamom powder. Bring to boil. Remove from stove.
• Boil milk separately and cool.
• Add this cooled milk to dal and stir well.
• Fry cashew in ghee in a small kadai to pink and add to dal payasam.
• Transfer to a serving bowl.

Note – A mixture of green gram dal (1/4 cup), broken rice (¼ cup) and bengal gram dal (1/8 cup) can be used to make payasam in the same way.

Rice-- Coconut Payasam

Ingredients:

Raw rice – ¼ cup

Grated coconut – ½ cup

Jaggery – ¾ cup

Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp

Milk – 2 cups

Cashew – 10 (broken to pieces)

Ghee – 2 tsps

Method:

Soak raw rice in water for half an hour. Drain water.

Grind rice and coconut in a mixie to a coarse paste.

Make Jaggery syrup with water, boil and filter to remove impurities.

In a kadai, mix coconut rice paste and Jaggery syrup and bring to boil. Add cardamom powder.

Boil milk separately and cool.

Fry cashew in ghee.

Add both milk and cashew to payasam and mix well.

Transfer to a serving bowl.