No Onam Sadya is complete without payasam and most Malayalee households would not settle for less than two varieties of it on festivals.

We bring you two deliciously healthy payasams made with jaggery.

A wonderful combination of jaggery, coconut milk and rice flakes, Ada Pradhaman is a classic way to end the Sadya on a sweet note.

While Broken Wheat and Parippu Payasam is loaded with the goodness of lapsi, moong dal and coconut.

Ada Pradhaman

Recipe by Welcomhotel Sheraton New Delhi

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 250 gm rice ada or flakes, broken into small pieces
• 250 gm jaggery
• 350 ml coconut milk
• 30 ml ghee
• 10-12 cashew nuts and raisins, for the garnish
• 20 gm sliced coconut, cut into tiny pieces
• 3 green elaichi or cardamom
• 2 gm dry ginger powder
• Pinch of roasted jeera or cumin powder

Method

• In a bowl soak the rice ada for 20 minutes.
• Heat some water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat.
  Add the soaked rice ada and cook for 5 minutes.
  Keep stirring continuously until the ada cooks.
  Take off heat, drain the water and rinse the ada with more water so that it doesn't stick together.
  Drain the water and set aside.
• Melt the jaggery in a little water in a heavy-bottomed pan or kadhai over medium-low heat.
  Keep aside
• Heat the ghee in another heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium heat.
  Roast the cashew nuts and raisins.
  Take off heat, drain excess ghee and keep aside on a plate.
  In the same ghee, roast the coconut slices.
  Let them turn golden brown before taking off heat and setting aside on a plate.
  Add the cooked rice add to the same pan and give it a quick stir.
  Pour the jaggery syrup over the ada and let the mixture simmer for 3-4 minutes.
  Lower heat and add the coconut milk.
  Simmer for a few minutes and take off the heat.
  Add the cardamom, cumin and dry ginger powder.
  Add the roasted cashew nuts, raisins and coconut pieces.
  Serve the payasam either hot or cold.

Broken Wheat and Parippu Payasam

Recipe by Divya Nair

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 1 cup lapsi or broken wheat, washed and cleaned
• ½ cup moong or mung dal 
• 2-3 cups water
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups full cream milk, boiled
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup powdered jaggery
• 3 tbsp water for jaggery
• 1 tsp green elaichi or cardamom powder
• ½ cup grated coconut
• 5-6 cashew nuts
• 5-6 raisins
• 5-6 almonds
• ½ cup thinly sliced coconut
• Ghee as required
• 1-2 tbsp condensed milk, optional

Method

• In a heavy-bottomed frying pan over low to medium dry roast the moong dal for 3 minutes till you get rid of the raw smell.
• When it cools, cook the lapsi and moong dal with 2-3 cups of water and a pinch of salt in a pressure cooker for up to 3 whistles.
• In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, boil a little water, approximately 3 tbsp, and add jaggery to it.
  Keep stirring till it dissolves and there are no lumps.
  Filter it through a sieve to remove impurities and keep aside.
• In a heavy-bottomed kadhai heat 1 tsp of ghee and saute the cashew nuts until it turns golden brown.
  Add the grated coconut and saute it for a minute.
  Now add the jaggery, cardamom powder and mix well over low to medium heat.
  To this mixture, add the cooked dal and lapsi and mix well.
  Add the boiled milk and stir.
  When it begins to boil, simmer and add the coconut milk.
  Cook for two minutes on low heat and check for sweetness.
  Add more sugar or jaggery if required.
  Add the condensed milk and stir well for two minutes. Take off heat and set aside.
• In a small kadhai, heat 1 tbsp ghee.
  Add the almonds, thinly sliced coconut and raisins and give it a light stir till the raisins pop up and the coconut turns light brown.
  Sprinkle on top of the payasam as garnish.
  The payasam can be served hot or cold.

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