Recipe taken from Cook and see part – 2.
Ingredients
Serves 4 people
Payasam is a rich milk based dessert , which can be eaten hot and cold . Its generally made in most Indian houses during festive occasions . As its simple, tasty , even a novice in the kitchen could make and enjoy it. If you are health conscious, you can reduce the sugar in the following recipe or use country sugar (nattu chakkarai).
- Rice fine variety 1/2 cup,
- Milk half a litre,
- Cashew nuts 20 ,
- Sugar 1 to 1½ cups,
- Cardamom ¼ teaspoon,
- Pachaikarporam or edible camphor a pinch,
- Water to cook rice 2 cups.
Method
- Dry roast the rice to golden brown . Shallow fry the cashew nuts in a teaspoon of ghee to golden brown too.
- Boil water in a broad vessel and add the rice and a cup of milk , cook the rice in low heat till it becomes soft and mushy . Stir the rice mixture often.
- Add rest of the milk and sugar. Mix well till it dissolves.
- By now the payasam mixture would have thickened. Add cardamom, pachai karporam and fried cashew nuts.
- Delicious payasam is ready,
- Other nuts like almonds, pista, raisins could added. (shallow fry the nuts and raisins in ghee and add).
- Rice chosen for payasam can be coarsely broken down and can be cooked. The cooking of the rice will be faster this way.
- Coconut milk can be added to the payasam to get a unique and rich taste.
- Instead of cooking in plain water, you can cook the rice in milk.
- In that case ,increase the quantity of the milk a little, say by a litre .
- If you use full cream milk, the payasam will taste richer and delicious. The rice and milk mixture has to simmer, so that the rice cooks well till becomes soft and mushy.
- However, if you are short of time, cook the milk and rice mixture till soft in a pressure cooker and then add one fouth cup of condensed milk. Mix well and add the nuts and other condiments and flavourings, cook for a minute or more. Omit the sugar and extra milk, this will be done faster.
- This payasam will be tasty and rich too.