Category: Desserts

Easy Ambalapuzha Paal Payasam

Desserts

Ambalapuzha Krishna temple in Kerala is famous for its paal payasam. Rich and creamy, it is usually made with red chemba rice and served without garnishing of nuts or raisins.

I have a sweet tooth and love all types of payasams. But this one from the kitchens of Kerala is an absolute special. My version of this payasam is an easy recipe shared by a friend in Kuwait, Nandini and I would like to thank her for the same. I loved this recipe and have prepared it many times and every single time, it has turned out to be a winner.

Ingredients:

Milk – 4 cups

Basmati rice or broken red rice – 1/4 cup

Sugar – 3/4 cup

Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp

Raisins fried in ghee – 1 1/2 tsp

Cashewnuts fried in ghee – 1 tbsp

Preparation:

Though this payasam is traditonally made from broken rice, I have used plain basmati rice for this recipe.

Boil 4 cups of milk in a pressure cooker. When it starts to boil, add 1/4 cup rice to it and stir well. Once the milk boils again , add 3/4 cup sugar and stir well. When it starts boiling again, close the lid of the pressurre cooker, put on the weight and keep it on the small gas burner on a very low flame. Let it cook for 40 – 45 minutes.

If the milk starts to come out, place a thick wet cloth (preferably a small turkey towel) over the cooker, close to the whistle. You will need to remove the cloth in between and wet it again and place it on the cooker, as it will turn dry.

Once the cooker cools down, remove and check the payasam. It would have turned pinkish cream in colour. Add the cashewnuts, cardamom powder and raisins and serve it hot or cold, as per your preference.

Sabudana Jaggery Payasam

Desserts

A rich dessert from the South Indian State of Kerala, this payasam is made specially on the occasion of the festival “Onam”. This payasam prepared with jaggery and coconut milk imparts a lot of flavour and colour which is simply yum…….Usually this dessert is prepared with rice ada (dried ground rice paste cut into pieces) or with moong dal. I have made this with sabudana and rice ada, which I prefer to moong dal.

  • Saute coconut bit pieces followed by nuts.
    Saute coconut bit pieces followed by nuts.
  • Saute the sago follwed by rice ada/broken wheat.
    Saute the sago follwed by rice ada/broken wheat.
  • Add the coconut milk to the sago and rice ada/broken wheat
    Add the coconut milk to the sago and rice ada/broken wheat
  • Add the melted jaggery
    Add the melted jaggery

Ingredients:

Rice ada or samba godhuma (broken samba wheat/dalia) – 1/3 cup

Sabudana – 1/3 cup

Ghee – 1 tbsp

Jaggery – 3/4 cup

Water – 1 cup + 2/3 cup to melt jaggery

Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp

Coconut milk – 1 1/4 cup thick milk or 3/4 cup cup coconut milk powder

Cashews fried in ghee – 10

Coconut pieces or bits fried in oil – 15 pieces

Preparation:

Soak the sago in 1/4 cup of water for 2 -3 hours.

In a heavy bottomed kadai or pan, add ghee. When it is hot, add the coconut pieces and fry until golden brown in colour. Remove and keep it aside. Add the nuts and fry it until it turns golden in colour. Keep it aside.

Add 1 tsp of ghee again and add the sabudana and saute a bit. Then add the rice ada and saute. If using dalia/wheat, saute it in ghee separately and cook in cooker with 1 1/4 cup of water for 2 whistle on medium flame or for 8-10 minutes. Make sure that it does not burn. ). Add 1 cup of water to the sabudana and rice ada. ( If using fresh coconut milk, instead of adding 1 cups of water, add 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of thin coconut milk). If using coconut milk powder, add 1/2 cup of coconut milk powder to 1 cup of water ) .

Meanwhile, heat another pan, powder the jaggery and add it to the pan alongwith 2/3 cup water and melt it. Stir well until the jaggery thickens and starts bubbling. Pass it through a sieve and add it to the kadai in which rice ada and sabudana has been boiled. (If using dalia or broken wheat, add the cooked wheat to the pan/kadai). Add the thick coconut milk on slow fire and stir for 3 minutes. Add cardamom powder and stir well. Add the ghee fried cashews and roasted coconut chunks/bits to it and serve.