Palada Payasam is a traditional Kerala-style kheer made of milk, sugar and ada or rice flakes.
Bethica Das gives it a healthy twist by substituting sugar with jaggery.
Garnish with dry fruits and enjoy it warm or chilled.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Bethica Das
Palada Payasam
Serves: 3-4
- 3 cups full-fat milk
- 1 tsp ghee + extra to fry the cashews
- ¼ cup ada or rice flakes
- ¼ cup sugar or jaggery
- ¼ tsp green elaichi or cardamom powder
- Pinch kesar or saffron
- 2 tbsp raisins, soaked in warm water
- Handful chopped dry fruits like pistachios, cashew nuts and almonds for the garnish
Method
- Wash the rice ada well and soak in hot water for 15-20 minutes to soften.
Strain and keep aside for a couple of minutes for the water to drain completely.
- Heat the ghee in a saucepan and saute the soaked ada for a minute and keep aside.
- In the same pan fry the cashews in ghee until they turn golden.
Keep aside.
- In a saucepan, bring the milk to a boil and simmer till it is slightly reduced.
Now add the ada, sugar/jaggery, cardamom powder, soaked raisins, saffron.
Simmer till the rice ada is soft, but not mushy.
Stir at intervals so it does not stick to the bottom of the saucepan.
When the payasam has thickened to a desired consistency and has turned creamy, take off heat.
Garnish with chopped dry fruits and raisins.
Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Note: Vegans can opt to make this payasam with almond or soy milk and replace the ghee with cashew butter.
Those on a diabetic diet can opt to use red rice ada, skimmed milk and stevia instead of jaggery or sugar. Each brand of stevia has its own stevia for sugar substitution ratio provided on its packing.
Bethica Das is a Sharjah-based food blogger.