Quinoa Payasam/Kheer- A Guest Post

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” ― C.S. Lewis
Though I started blogging long back I was never too much into it..or I was not consistent with it.....There would be many reasons for that..With all these problems I have never had great friends too in this world...Those whom I meet joins me for some time..then I post after 1 or 2 months..they wud have gone ..I get new people again..ya I miss my previous friends but they never remember me and so I am forced to move on..:(..This was the case until I started my fb account...hey doesn't mean that things changed now..;) but I got to get some real friends with same thoughts and deeds...hoping that they wont leave me on the go...:)..
 The above statement about friendship is just perfect to describe Divya of Divya's culinary journey for whom I am Guest blogging today..:) Its "What! You too?" brought me close to her...Speaking to her makes me feel that I know her from quite a loooooooooong time...and that makes me feel gud..When she asked me for a Guest post I accepted it with no big thoughts...It took a while for me to decide the recipe and had many problems in between so the post really got delayed...She was gud enough to tell that it was Ok...which relived me a lot...When I have to describe Divya I wud say that she is a gud friend and a very lovely lady who spends her whole day for her lovely small family and her nights for blogging...:) She has lovely space with a great collection of recipes and lovely clicks... Today I am here to share a sweet.."Quinoa payasam "..A deliciously prepared payasam with quinoa and flavored and colored with rose syrup....Here are some snaps...

Do visit Divya for the yummy recipe...:).

Paal Payasam/ Milk Pudding

If a first prize for laziness is distributed I would be the first one to get it...:) I know onam is over a few days back and I still have all my recipes in the camera...So lazy to select pics and  process it...Typing it is the next thing..Right? Anyways I will be uploading many recipes that was cooked during previous days and months..
So here is a famous payasam/kheer from kerala known as Paal payasam(Milk payasam/kheer).

Milk- 6 cups
Rice-1/4 cup(I used broken Matta rice)
Sugar-3/4 cup
Butter-1 tbsp(unsalted)

Method of Preparation:
1. Clean and wash the rice.
2. Mix it in a clean pressure cooker with sugar and milk.
3. Place the cooker on low heat with the weights on. Cook it till it is about to whistle. When it is about to whistle switch off the flame and wait till the pressure goes.
4.  Once the pressure goes open the lid and give it a stir.
5. The rice would be cooked and the payasam/kheer would have turned creamy.
6.  Now add the butter to the payasam/kheer and mix well.
7. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes:
1. Use a pressure cooker thats big enough to fit all ingredients.
2. When it whistles there is high chance of milk flowing out through the weight.SO do not keep to whistle.
3. Cook on the lowest flame as it takes time for rice to cook.
4. If payasam turns out to be very thick add more boiled milk to it and stir well.
5. See that you never use more rice and less milk which results in uncooked rice, lumps etc. Always milk should be more, which results in lump free payasam.
6.If you want you can fry cashews, raisins in ghee and add it.In that case don't add butter.

If cooking in a vessel/uruli(Long method):

1. Boil the milk and set aside.
2. Cook the rice with enough amount of water(More than twice the amount of rice). Once the rice is cooked(soft, not mushy) drain the water completely.
3. Now cook the rice with boiled milk for about 5 to 8 mins and then add the sugar and mix well.
4. Continue cooking on low flame, stirring continuously till the milk reduces to almost 1/2 and turns creamy.This takes about 45 min.
5.Switch off the flame and add butter to it.Serve.

Notes:
1. Use a thick bottomed vessel. See that the rice or milk doesn't stick at bottom while cooking resulting in burned payasam.
2. See that the rice is cooked before adding milk and sugar. Also see that the water is drained completely.
3. Cook the payasam till its creamy(off white color, a shade of pink)
4. You can use any rice for this though unangalari is the preferred one.

Chakka pradhaman(JackFruit Pudding/Payasam)

Chakka varatti-1 cup
Coconut milk-2 cups
Water-1/2 to 3/4 cup
Jaggery-2 to 4 blocks(as needed)
Cashew nuts-10 nos
Raisins-10 nos
Ghee- 1 tbsp

Method Of Preparation:
1. Heat a thick bottemed vessel and add the chakka varatti to it along with water.Keep stirring so that the varatti mixes with the water and becomes a liquid.
2. Now heat jaggery in a pan with little water to form syrup ,strain and mix it with the chakka varatti.Add 1 cup coconut milk to it along with 1/4 cup water and cook it on medium for 8 to 10 mins.
3. Once cooked,add the remaining 1 cup coconut milk to it and simmer for 5 to 6 mins.Do not boil.Turn off once done.
4. Heat a pan, add ghee and fry the cashews and raisins till golden.Add this to the pradhaman.Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes:
1. You can also add chukku podi(dry ginger powder), Ghee fried coconut pieces, and cashews to the pradhaman.in that case 1/4 tsp of chukku powder is added at the last step along with coconut milk and simmered, while rest at the end.
2. Add jaggery if you feel  sweetness is needed.Add accordingly.
3. Usually onnam paal(1st pressed coconut milk) and rundam paal(2nd pressed milk) is used.Rundam paal will be extracted with water, so its dilute.Since I used canned coconut milk, I added water to dilute it.

Sending this to The Kerala Kitchen event hosted by Erivum Puliyum.

Ada Pradhaman

Hello friends....I am back....Thought of starting it with a sweet. Had plans of posting this before Onam...anyways its before next onam :)..
Absence from my blog for such a long time was because of some unannounced guests at my home...They came here gave us many gifts...stayed for 2 weeks...still with us and ya has touched everyone with their immense love ...Now i just have one wish...Hope they go fast from my home...you guys must be thinking that I have gone mad after the break...:)
Oh I forgot to introduce our guests....You all know them by their family names...Virus & Bacteria.. They showed so much of love towards us that we are just blown out(to pieces) by it..:)
Lets go to ada pradhaman

Ada-1/2 cup
Jaggery-1 cup
Coconut milk-1 cup(thin)
coconut milk-1 cup(thick)
Ghee-1 tbsp
Cashew nuts-few
Raisins-few(optional)
Coconut bits-1 tbsp
Dry ginger powder(chukku podi)-1/4 tsp
Cardamom powder-1/2 tsp

Method Of Preparation:
1. Fry cashews, Raisins, coconut bits in ghee and keep aside.
2. Melt the jaggery with little water (nearly 1/4 cup).Drain the impurities and keep aside.
3. Boil about 2 to 3 cups of water and add the ada to it.cook it till the ada is 3/4 cooked. Drain the water and wash 3 to 4 times.
4. Grate the coconut and take milk out of it by pressing it. This yields the thick milk.Now add about 2 to 3 tbsp hot water and take milk from the coconut and this yields a little lighter milk.
If using canned coconut milk, just add little water to make it thin.
5. Now add the cooked ada along with jaggery and the little ghee in a thick bottomed vessel and cook it till it becomes semi thick. Now add the thin coconut milk and cook it till the raw taste of milk goes. just boil it twice in low heat.
6. Then add the thick coconut milk and simmer it till it becomes semi thick.Add the ginger powder and cardamom, mix and turn off the heat.
7. Add the fried nuts and mix well.

Couldnt click much as the payasam was attacked in between the photo session..

Notes:
1. Color of pradhaman depends on the color of jaggery.
2. Addition of nuts is purely optional.Just coconut bits would taste superb too.

I am showered with triple awards from Sangee Vijay. Thanks a lot dear.So happy to receive these awards...

I am passing these awards to some of my blogger friends..

Uma- My Kitchen Experiments

Sharmilee- Sharmis passions

Shobha- Food Mazaa

Aipi- US Masala

Suja- Kitchen Corner

Krithi- Krithi's Kitchen

Radhika- Tickling Palates

Ganga- My Favourite Foods

Torview- Torview

Jisha- Jisha's Kitchen

Ammu- Ammaji Recipes

Sayantani- A Homemaker's Diary

Julie- Erivum Puliyum

Neha- From My Heart

Treat  & Trick- Treat & Trick

Swathi- Zesty South Indian Kitchen

Linking this to Kerala Kitchen hosted by Divya

Semiya/vermicelli payasam

Finally I am able to see my dashboard from last two days....wanted to post something then itself but was tied up with work as my son turned 1 on june 8th and my age too got increased on 10th :)....
Hope everyone of you are fine and enjoying every moment of your life...Missed you all badly during these days...and I am pretty sure that I wont be able to peep into all of your tempting recipes...yup will surely try..:)
So here is the recipe for payasam....

Milk-6 cups
Vermicelli-1/2 cup
Sugar-3/4 cup
Cardamom powder- 1/4 tsp
Ghee- 1 tbsp
Cashews- few
Raisins- few

Method Of Preparation:
1. Heat ghee in a pan and fry the cashews and raisins and keep aside. Fry the vermicelli in the remaining ghee on medium flame till it becomes light brown.Keep on stirring else it will become dark.Once light brown take from heat and keep aside.
If using roasted vermicelli you can skip this process of frying vermicelli.
2. Boil the milk in a big vessel and once boiled reduce the heat and add the vermicelli.Keep stirring while you add it and cook it on medium heat till it gets half cooked.Stir in between.
3. Then add sugar,stir and continue cooking till vermicelli becomes soft and looks cooked, and by now the payasam would be creamy and slightly thick.During this process stir occasionally.Once it starts to look thick and cooked add the cardamom powder, mix well and turn of the heat.
4. Add the fried cashews and raisins and mix.
5. Serve warm or chilled.

Notes:
1. If using roasted vermicelli, after frying the cashews and raisins keep aside about 1/2 tsp of ghee along with it and mix it at the end to the payasam. Done just to get the flavor of ghee as we are not frying the vermicelli in ghee earlier.
2. While making the payasam if it looks too thick add more milk and heat it. Do not overcook vermicelli.
3. Payasam tend to thicken as it cools, in that case add hot milk to it. Do add sugar to milk while heating, if required.

Parippu Pradaman/split moong dal payasam

I had made semiya as well as parippu payasam....but when I was drinking the last sip of semiya payasam I remembered that I had not taken the clicks....as always...and to my luck I had one small glass of this thick yummy payasam....which I could manage to click at night to tempt you people...:)

Cherupayar parippu/skinless split green gram  - 3/4 cup  
Jaggery - 1.5 cup(cut to small piece/5 to 6 blocks/ to taste)
Coconut milk - 2 nd3/4cup(I used the ready made one)
Roasted Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Dry ginger powder/Chukku podi  - 1/4 tsp
Cashew nuts - 10(split)
Coconut bits -3 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp(use more if needed)

Method Of Preparation:
1.Roast the splitted moong dal in a wok without changing its colour. After cooling it well, wash it and pressure cook it with 3 to 3 nd1/2 cups of water approx.(water shud be only to cook dal).2 to 3 whistles approx.(The dal should cook well,kind of little mushy). Melt jaggery with little water and strain it for any impurities. Keep it aside. Roast the cumin seeds and powder it.
2.When pressure goes open the cooker and add the jaggery.Mix well so that it doesn't get burned at the bottom.Boil on medium flame for some time.
3. Then add 2 cups of coconut milk and mix well and boil it on low flame.Then add the remaining milk with roasted cumin powder and dry ginger powder(chukku podi).Do not boil it.Mix it and remove from heat.
4. Fry the splitted cashews,coconut pieces in ghee  till golden brown.Pour it over the payasam.

Tips:
1. Let the dal  cool completely before washing in cold water else dal turns hard and later when payasam cools it will remain hard.
2. Don't make the dal brown when frying it too.
3. Once jaggery is added dal wont get cooked, so see that the dal is little mushy before this process itself.
4. If you are using home made coconut milk then, add the thin coconut milk and boil it well till it becomes slightly thick . Then add the semi thick coconut milk and again boil it in low flame. Finally add the thick milk along with roasted cumin powder and dry  ginger powder. Do not boil after adding the thick milk. Mix it and remove it from heat.
5. You can add cardamom powder also.

Palada Pradhaman

Palada is one among  the very famous payasams in kerala. It is served on many occasions.
It tastes awesome and is one of my fav....

Ada - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1 nd 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Jaggery powder-2 tbsp
Cardamom Powder- 1/2 tsp
Ghee-1 tbsp
Cashew nuts  few
Condensed Milk-4 tbsp

1. Boil water.Soak the ada in that water for 45 min and then wash in cold water.
2. Now, into the cooker add milk, washed ada, sugar and cardamom powder. Keep in medium flame. After the first whistle, put the flame to low and let it whistle again once.
3. Open and check the ada.If it looks cooked(soft) transfer it to a pan and simmer till the milk becomes thick.During this process keep on stirring.When it becomes thick add the condensed milk and mix.
4. Once the payasam become medium thick and looks creamy,off the stove add jaggery,mix and keep aside.
5. Heat a pan, add 1 tbsp ghee and fry the split cashews. Pour this into the payasam.Mix well and serve.

Tips:
1. There are various varieties of ada,some thick,some thin,medium,home made etc.So cooking time differs for each.So if cooking in pressure cooker after two whistles check if it is cooked then only continue further.
2. Here jaggery is added to get a light pink shade.You can omit it as well.
3. Condensed milk gives a  little more creamy texture.See that you add sugar accordingly as it contains sweetness.You can omit this step too.
4. You can cook it in traditional way also.i.e; by cooking it in a vessel.Then time consumption is more. Nearly 1hr.If going for this method add sugar after ada is cooked.

Paal Vazhakka/Sago payasam

Paal vazhakka is my husbands fav recipe. When ever I speak something about payasam it ends in pal vazhakka from his side. I had never tasted this before.So today I thought why not prepare that...I rang my MIL and took down the recipe and made it.It was a great hit.
My husband loved it and I too am a fan of it now...

Sago/Sabudana-1/2 cup
Milk-4 cups
Sugar-1cup
Ripe plantain-1(Nendra pazham)
Raisins few
Ghee-2 tsp
Cardomom powder-pinch

Method Of Preparation:
1. Cook the sago with milk till it gets soft.
2. Add sugar to that and cook for some minutes.Add cardomom powder.Turn off the heat.
3. Fry the raisins in ghee and add that to the cooked sago.
4. Cut the banana to small pieces and add that to the payasam when it is still hot and mix well.
5. Serve hot.

Tips:
1.I cooked the sago and milk in pressure cooker for one whistle on medium heat but if cooking it in separate vessel add water and cook it to medium soft.once it is done add milk and cook completely.
2. See that you don't overcook sago.Keep checking it as there is only a small gap between cooked and overcooked.If overcooked it becomes too thick and sticky.You wont like it.
3. Sago increases in quantity once cooked.so use accordingly.

Choco-Aval payasam/ Chocolate Beaten Rice payasam

Beaten rice/aval/poha-1/2 cup(I used matta aval)
Whole milk-3 cups
sugar -1-1/2 cup
Semi sweet baking Chocolate-1oz(1 square)(melted)
cashew nuts to garnish
Almonds(sliced) to garnish
ghee -2 tbsp


Method Of Preparation:
1. In a pan,heat the ghee and fry the cashews . To that add the beaten rice and fry for 3 minutes approx.
2. Add milk to that along with sugar and bring to boil.
3. Add semi sweet chocolate(melted) to milk.Cook it till the beaten rice becomes soft. Stir it continuously.
4. Once milk starts to evaporate /thickened add cardamom powder and fried cashews and sliced almonds. Take from heat.
3. Serve warm or cold.

Tips:
1. You can use normal milk 2 cups with half cup condensed milk.If so adjust sugar according to that.
2. I have used matta aval/beaten rice(aval made from matta rice/red rice).So it takes some time to become soft.If using white aval it gets cooked fast.
3. To melt chocolate keep it in a vessel over boiling water.Otherwise chocolate burns easily.
4. Use the amount of chocolate according to your taste buds. If you like less chocolate flavour go for half a square.

Sending this to Kurinji's aval contest.

Aval payasam/Beaten rice payasam

Beaten rice/aval/poha-1/2 cup(I used matta aval)
Whole milk-3 cups
sugar -1-1/2 cup
cashew nuts to garnish
Raisins to garnish
ghee -2 tbsp


Method Of Preparation:
1. In a pan,heat the ghee and fry the cashews and raisins . To that add the beaten rice and fry for 3 minutes approx.
2. Add milk to that along with sugar and bring to boil.
3. Cook it till the beaten rice becomes soft. Stir it continuously.
4. Once milk starts to evaporate /thickened add cardamom powder and fried cashews and raisins. Take from heat.
3. Serve warm or cold.

Tips:
1. You can use normal milk 2 cups with half cup condensed milk.If so adjust sugar according to that.
2. I have used matta aval/beaten rice(aval made from matta rice/red rice).So it takes some time to become soft.If using white aval it gets cooked fast.


Sending this to kurinji's  aval contest.

Pazham Pradaman/Banana Payasam

Ripe plantains - 2 (big)(Nenthrapazham)
Jagerry- 1/2 cup (crushed/powder)
Semi Thick coconut milk-1 cup(2nd extract  )
Thick coconut milk- 1/2 cup(1st extract)
Cashews nut - 2 tsp
Coconut pieces-1 tbsp
Ghee - 4 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

1. Cut plantains into 3-4 pieces and pressure  cook the bananas until soft. Remove the outer skin the black layer inside.
2. Mash the bananas to a paste using hand see that there are no lumps.
3. Heat ghee in a thick bottomed vessel and fry the mashed banana paste for 5 minutes.
4. Add the crushed jaggery along with 1/4cup water and cook in medium heat until the mixture thickens.
5. Pour the thin diluted coconut milk and allow it to boil.When it thickens reduce the flame and add thick coconut milk and cardomom powder,cook it for 3 to 4 minutes and remove from fire.
6.Heat ghee in a small pan fry cahews and Coconut pieces and add this to the pradhaman.
7.Serve hot or chilled.

Tips:
How to get coconut milk from fresh coconut:
              This is how my mom makes the payasam and is the traditional method....It is too much of work...If you are in good mood of cooking and want a delicious output then I suggest this method..

1.       Take 1 coconut, grate it finely. In a mixer/blender , add the grated coconut with little  hot water and process for a minute, then squeeze it for milk. This gives you thick milk.
Return coconut to processor and add 2 cup hot water and process for couple of minutes and squeeze it for milk in separate bowl. This gives you thin milk.

     But if you are in a great mood of having sweet and want it without much work You can opt this..There is no great difference in taste

2.   Take a can of thick coconut milk, Take half of it separately in a vessel and add little water to it  that forms 2nd milk and the thick one in the can forms 1st milk.

3.  Cashew and raisins can be omitted.