Everyone loves desserts, right? Any meal is incomplete without relishing a sweet dish, and the incredible delicacy of Kerala, Payasam, is the legend of all the desserts. Multiple kinds of Payasam prevail in the Indian Subcontinent and one of them is Ari Payasam or the rice pudding.
Ari Payasam primarily comprises three simple ingredients - rice, jaggery, and coconut milk - which together come to make a sweet so dreamy! The rice is boiled in a wonderful bright brown-coloured jaggery syrup, to which the rich and creamy coconut milk is added. The top-notch taste of the coconut rich milk adds a milky mist and right thickness to the dessert. The payasam is made delicious with loads of coconut bits and cashew nuts to add texture and crunch. It is simple and easy to prepare dessert. It is so delightful and spectacular. The dessert was once served in the Palace of Ashoka.
Ari means rice and Payasam is a kind of South Indian kheer. South Indians prefer to add jaggery and coconut milk while the North Indians like to prepare the Payasam with milk and sugar. Payasam is a significant element of Kerala Sadhya. The delicacy initially originated in South India and is thousand years old, when Krishna asked the King of Ambalapuzha to provide payasam to every pilgrim who comes to his Temple. The temple is located in Kerala and still follows the wish. Travellers such as Vasco Da Gama, Ibn-e-Battuta and Alexander have fallen in love with India’s sweet Delicacies and were left awestruck by the ample amount of sweetness and rich milk in the country.
Ingredients:
• 1 cup rice
• 1 cup jaggery
• 1 litre ghee
• 1 tbsp raisin
• 1 tbsp cashew nuts
• 1 cup coconut pieces
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• 3 cups grated Coconut
• ¼ dry ginger powder
• ¼ cumin powder
• ½ cup pearl sago
• 1 litre milk
Method:
• In a pot, heat the water and add jaggery.
• Let the jaggery melt and dissolve into the water completely over low flame.
• Filter the syrup with a help of a strainer.
• And keep aside the jaggery syrup.
• Wash the rice and strain.
• Keep the rice soaked for 30 minutes.
To extract coconut milk:
• In a grinder, take the freshly grated coconut.
• Add just a little bit of water and blend well.
• Transfer over the strainer and squeeze out to obtain the thick coconut milk.
• Take the remains of squeezed coconut in the grinder.
• Add 1 cup lukewarm water and blend well to extract thin coconut milk.
• Keep aside the thick and thin coconut milk.
• In a heavy bottomed pot, add ghee and jaggery syrup. Mix well for 5 minutes.
• Now add pearl sago and stir the ingredients continuously.
• Add soaked rice to the pot, followed by the thin coconut milk.
• Keep stirring while adding the second coconut milk.
• Add a small amount of milk. Cook for 6 minutes.
• Then add ghee, cardamom powder, cumin powder, and dry ginger powder with continuously stirring over low flame.
• In a heated pan, add ghee and roast raisins, coconut pieces and cashew nuts till it becomes crisp and golden.
• Add the roasted dried fruits and coconut pieces to the rice payasam.
• Then add the thickened coconut milk and mix well for another 8-10 minutes. Cook properly while stirring. Switch off the heat.
• Drizzle a little ghee and garnish with some cashews and raisins.
