Kitchen Tantra

Mango Payasam:

Ingredients:

Mango ripe, juicy and large 1-2
Jaggery 1 cup
Cashew nuts 10-15(split ted)
Raisins 15-20
Green cardamom seeds powder 1 spoon
Milk 300 ml(optional)
Fresh coconut first milk 1 litre
Ghee 1 cup
Grated coconut few spoons.

Method:

0. Cook mago pulp for about 7 minutes and mash it. Do not blend to puree or too chunky as well.

1. In a pan heat ghee and fry cashew nuts till golden color and set aside.

2. In the same ghee fry raisins till they pop-up and set them aside too.

3. In a deep bottomed non-stick vessel add chunky mango fruit paste along with milk. Cover and cook over medium flame. Never attempt to add any water. Cook only by using milk.

4. In the separate pan, heat jaggery along with one cup of water. Let it come to syrup consistency.

5. Once the pulp turns glossy, add jaggery and cardamom powder to it.

6. When it is 3/4 done add fresh coconut milk, cashew nuts and raisins to it. cook without cover. Until coconut milk reduced into half.

7. Never use watery coconut milk. Use only first milk....i.e., wet grind coconut pieces using minimal water and squeeze for thick extract. And immediately discard the squeezed coconut. Never use any further water in to order to extract milk from it again.

8. Let it be in runny consistency. Remove from stove.

Serve chilled, garnish with grated coconut just before serving.

Labels: Payasam, Sweets

Vermicelli Payasam:Version 2(Arcot Muslim Style)

Semiya Payasam.

Ingredients:

Vermicelli (extra fine texture) 1 cup
Sugar 1/2 cup
Whole Milk 2 cups
Half n Half 1 cup
Condensed milk few spoons
Saffron 1/4 + 1/4 spoon
Cordamom seeds powder 1 spoon
Kewra essence 1 spoon
Ghee/Clarified butter few spoons
Cashew nuts 25
Golden Raisins 25.

Method:

Soak 1/4 spoon of saffron in 2-4 spoons of milk for about 2 hours. Using mortar and pestle wet-grind it. Set aside.

Break the vermicelli into bite size bits and set aside.

In a large vessel, heat ghee. Toast vermicelli for few minutes and set aside.

In the smae vessel, add sugar + 1/2 cup of water. Bring this to syrup like consisteny.

Add whole milk, half n half and condensed milk to this. Continues boiling. Stir regularly.

When the milk is half the way reduced, add cardamom seeds powder, kewra essence and wet-ground saffron to it.

Add vermicelli as well. Cook over medium heat for a while. Maybe till the vermicelli is done and the milk really thickens to pudding.

Heat few more spoons of ghee, in a seperate pan. Fry cashewnuts till golden and set aside. In the smae ghee, fry raisins till they pop. Set them aside as well.

Transfer the payasam made to display vessel. Garnish with saffron, cashewnuts and raisins. Chill and serve.

Serve chilled, warm or at room temperature.

Labels: Payasam, Sweets

Aval Payasam:

Rice Flakes Pudding. Avallaki Prathaaman. Aval prathaman. Poha Pudding. Poha Payasam.

Ingredients:

Thick Rice Flakes(aval/poha) 1 cup
Whole milk 2 cups
Jaggery 3/4 cup
Grated coconut 1/4 cup
Coconut milk 1 cup
Caradmom pods 3-6 crushed
Ginger powder/sukku podi 1/2 spoon(optional)
Cashewnuts 10 halved
Raisins/dry grapes - 15
Ghee 1 cup.

Method:

In a heavy bottomed vessel, heat few spoons of ghee. Toast cracked poha till fragrant. Then transfer it to a bowl. Set aside.

In the same pan, heat 1/2 cup of ghee. Fry cashew nuts till golden color. Set this aside too.

Add raisins and fry them...till they pop well. Then set this aside too.

Throw away the fried ghee. Rinse the vessel.....then reheat it.

Add jaggery and 1/2 cup of water. Bring this to boil. Now add cardamom seeds powder and ginger to it. Let this solution turn to nice syrup like condition.

Now stir-in toasted cracked poha. Cover and cook. When it absorbs almost all moisture...add 2 cups of milk and cook. Maintain the stove over medum heat.

When it is almost done...stir-in grated coconut, coconut milk, fried nuts and raisins. Mix them well.

Transfer the pudding t display vessel.

Serve chilled as a dessert!

Labels: Payasam, Sweets

Sheer Khurma:(Arcot Muslim Style)

Vermicelli Payasam. Semiya Payasam. Saffron Infused Vermicelli Pudding.

Ingredients:

Vermicelli (extra fine texture) 1 cup
Sugar 1/2 cup
Whole Milk 2 cups
Half n Half 1 cup
Condensed milk few spoons
Saffron 1/4 + 1/4 spoon
Cordamom seeds powder 1 spoon
Kewra essence 1 spoon
Ghee/Clarified butter few spoons
Silvered/sliced almonds to garnish.

Method:

Soak 1/4 spoon of saffron in 2-4 spoons of milk for about 2 hours. Using mortar and pestle wet-grind it. Set aside.

break the vermicelli into bite size bits and set aside.

In a large vessel, heat ghee. Toast vermicelli for few minutes and set aside.

In the smae vessel, add sugar + 1/2 cup of water. Bring this to syrup like consisteny.

Add whole milk, half n half and condensed milk to this. Continues boiling. Stir regularly.

When the milk is half the way reduced, add cardamom seeds powder, kewra essence and wet-ground saffron to it.

Add vermicelli as well. Cook over medium heat for a while. Maybe till the vermicelli is done and the milk really thickens to pudding.

Transfer them to display dish. Garnish with saffron and silvered almonds. Chill and serve.

Serve chilled, warm or at room temperature.

Labels: Payasam, Sweets

Paruppu Payasam:

Siru-Paruppu Payasam. Moong Dahl Payasam. Pasarru Pappu Payasam. Dahl Kheer.

Ingredients:

Moong dahl - 3/4 cup
Moong dahl 1 fistful
Grated coconut 1 cup
Jaggery/indian brown sugar - 3/4 cup
Cardamom pods - 6 crushed
Pacha karpooram - 1 pinch
Dry ginger powder 1/2 spoon(optional)
Coconut milk / whole milk 2-4 cups
Ghee 1/2 cup
Cashew nuts 15-25
Raisins 15-25.

Method:

In a pressure cooker, cook 3/4 cup of moong dahl till tender. Maybe using limited water.

In a shallow pan, heat few spoons of ghee. Fry cashewnuts till golden color and set them aside. In the same oil. Fry raisins tillt hey pop up well. Set them aside too.

Now in a deep vessel, heat ghee. Stir-in handful of moong dahl. Fryt ill it turns to golden color. Then add crushed cardamom pods to it.

Stir-in grated jaggery....add 1/2 cup of water. Let this melt really well.


When it is bubbly enough...add grated coconut and pressure cooked dahl to it. Cover and cook over medium heat. When it is almost done...garnish with fried nuts and raisins.

Serve warm or cold as a dessert.

Labels: Payasam, Sweets

Dry Fruits Kheer:(Arcot Muslim Style)

Paal Payasam. Semiya Payasam. Vermicelli Payasam. Vermicelli-Nuts Kheer.

Generally payasam is flavoured with cardamon pods in Tamil Nadu....whereas here, there is slight variation. Its flavoured with saffron. Unlike regular payasam, its rich with nuts and double cream. One can call this 'kheer' actually.

The 'vermicelli/semiya' used here.....is very fine. They call this as 'rangoon semiya' in vellore. Generally found in the market, during Ramzaan/Ramadhan month. One can attempt this with any other vermicelli too. Try to get very fine one...possible.

Traditionally this 'kheer' is served in plate(not in cup/bowl)

Its heavy & rich. Generally served after biriyani/pulav. But I prefer trying this after mild food.

Ingredients:

Fine Vermiclli(very slender variety) 1/2 cup
Sugar 1/4 cup
Milk 4 cups
Saffron strands 1/4 spoon
Almonds - 1 fistfull
Pista nuts - 1 fistfull
Cashewnuts 1 fistfull
Dry grapes/kismiss/raisins 1 fistfull
Ghee/clarified butter 1/4 cup
Chilled Double cream 1 cup.

Method:

Thinly slice down cashewnuts, almonds & pista nuts. Slice them like slender sticks...just like the vermicelli.

In a heavy non-stick pan, heat few spoons of ghee. Fry the sliced nuts for few minutes, remove them before they turn color.(they should be taken out before it turns to golden color) Store them over kitchen tissues.

Now fry dry grapes in the same ghee....till they pop & bulge. Remove them too & store over kitchen tissues.

Now in another pan, heat few spoons of ghee. Fry vermicelli in it. Maybe till it is about to turn to golden color.

Using manual mortar and pestle....dry grind saffron strands for few times. Then add few spoons of milk and wet grind it.

Now to the above fried vermicelli add 4 cups of milk + sugar and this saffron mix. Bring it to boil atleast for 3-5 times. Vermicelli gets cooked here. It will look rich yellow in color and very aromatic due to saffron.

Then stir in fried nuts & raisins to this. Set the stove in simmer/low heat. Maybe allow it to stand on low heat for atleast 5-10 minutes.

Now place this in fridge for 2-4 hours or until its chilled.

Variation 1:

When placed in fridge, milk gets well incorporated into vermicelli. One can add extra milk here & serve as payasam.

Variation 2:

To this...well colsolidated kheer, add double cream. And mix them thoroughly and treat as a kheer.

Serve chilled in a plate(if it is kheer - variaton 2) Serve chilled in a cup/bowl (if it is payasam - variation 1).

Labels: Payasam, Sweets

Carrot Payasam:

Ingredients:

Carrots 4-6
Almonds 25
Poppy seeds 2-3 spoons
Whole milk 4 cups
Condensed milk 1 cup
Cardamom seeds powder 1 spoon
Sugar 1 cup

To Garnish:

Ghee/buttur 1 cup
Fried cashewnuts
Fried raisins
or
Pumpkin seeds.

Method:

Chop 4 carrots and grate 2 carrots.....set them aside.

Slice 10 almonds lenth wise. Soak other 15 almonds in hot water....maybe for few minutes and remove its skin.

Soak poppy seeds in hot water.

Now cook chopped carrots in limited water. When it is tender....drain the water.

Now add skin removed almonds to this carrots and also the poppy seeds. Wet grind these into thick paste....maybe using milk while grinding. Set this paste aside.

In deep pan....add few spoons of ghee. Add cardamom and sugar to this. Add 1/2 cup of water.....let the sugar come up to syrup stage.

Then add carrot paste to this. Further add whole milk plus condensed milk. Let it boil......continuously over medium heat without cover.

In a seperate pan....heat ghee. Fry grated carrot till golden color and set aside. In the same ghee, fry sliced almonds and set it aside too.

Now....when payasam is ready. Garnish with fried carrots, fried cashewnuts,raisins or pumpkin seeds.

Serve chilled.

Labels: Carrot, Payasam, Sweets

Chaka Pradhaman:(Kerala Style)

Jack Fruit Pudding/ Jack fruit n Coconut Pudding/ Pala Pazha Payasam in Tamil

Ingredients:

Jack Fruit 1 bowl full(without seeds)
Jaggery 1 cup
Cashew nuts 10-15(split ted)
Raisins 15-20
Green cardamom seeds powder 1 spoon
Milk 300 ml
Fresh coconut first milk 1 litre
Ghee 1 cup
Grated coconut few spoons.

Method:

0. Make a thick paste out of this cooked jack fruit.

1. In a pan heat ghee and fry cashew nuts till golden color and set aside.

2. In the same ghee fry raisins till they pop-up and set them aside too.

3. In a deep bottomed non-stick vessel add thick jack fruit paste along with milk. Cover and cook over medium flame. Never attempt to add any water. Cook only by using milk.

4. In the separate pan, heat jaggery along with one cup of water. Let it come to syrup consistency.

5. Once the jack fruits is 1/2 done add jaggery and cardamom powder to it.

6. When it is 3/4 done add fresh coconut milk, cashew nuts and raisins to it. cook without cover. Until coconut milk reduced into half.

7. Never use watery coconut milk. Use only first milk....i.e., wet grind coconut pieces using minimal water and squeeze for thick extract. And immediately discard the squeezed coconut. Never use any further water in to order to extract milk from it again.

8. Let it be in runny consistency. Remove from stove.

Serve chilled, garnish with grated coconut just before serving.

Labels: Payasam, Sweets

Godhuma Pradhaman:(Kerala Style)

Wheat Pudding/ Cracked Wheat Pudding/ Godhumai Payasam.

Ingredients:

Cracked wheat 3/4 cup
Jaggery 1 cup
Green cardamom seeds powder 1 spoon
Milk 2-3 cups
Fresh coconut first milk 1 litre
Grated coconut few spoons for decoration
Cashew nuts 1 cup
Raisins 1/2 cup
Ghee 1 cup.

Method:

In a pan, heat ghee and fry cashew nuts till golden color. Set them aside.

In the same oil, fry raisins till they pop-up and set them aside too.

In a separate pan, roast cracked wheat till they turn opaque and reduce in size. One can use few spoons of ghee while roasting.

In a deep bottomed non-stick vessel cook cracked wheat along with milk. Cover and cook over medium flame. Never attempt to add any water. Cook only by using milk.

In the separate pan, heat jaggery along with one cup of water. Let it come to syrup consistency.

Once the wheat is 1/2 done add jaggery and cardamom powder to it.

When it is 3/4 done add fresh coconut milk, cashew nuts and raisins to it. cook without cover. Until coconut milk reduced into half.

Never use watery coconut milk. Use only first milk....i.e., wet grind coconut pieces using minimal water and squeeze for thick extract. And immediately discard the squeezed coconut. Never use any further water in to order to extract milk from it again.

Let it be in runny consistency. Remove from stove.

Serve chilled, garnish with grated coconut just before serving.

Labels: Payasam, Sweets

Cas Cas Payasam:(Poppy Seeds Payasam)

Casa Casa Payasam. Gasa Gasa Payasam. Cas Cas Kheer. Gasa Gasa Kheer. Poppy Seeds Kheer.

Ingredients:

Poppy Seeds 1/2 cup(slightly roasted, yet still half-white in color. soaked in warm milk)
Sugar 1/2 cup
Cashew nuts 5-6 soaked in warm milk
Cashew nuts 10-15(split ted)
Raisins 15-20
Saffron 1/4 spoon - soaked in warm milk
Green cardamom seeds powder 1 spoon
Condensed milk 1 cup
Milk 300 ml
Ghee 1/2 cup.

Method:

0. Wet grind saffron, poppy seeds and cashew nuts(soaked in milk) to thick paste.

1. In a pan heat ghee and fry cashew nuts till golden color and set aside.

2. In the same ghee fry raisins till they pop-up and set them aside too.

3. In a non-stick deep pan heat sugar along with 1 cup of water. Stir them often. No need to wait till pearl consistency syrup here.

4. Just before the syrup thickens add the paste to this. Cover and cook over medium flame.

5. Once it is 1/2 done add milk to this and cover and cook. Never attempt to add any water to this. Cook only using milk.

6. When it is 3/4 done add cardamom powder, cashew nuts, raisins and condensed milk. Cook without cover for a while.

7. Let it be in runny consistency. Remove from stove.

Serve chilled.

Labels: Payasam, Sweets

Semiya Payasam:(Vermicelli Payasam)

Ingredients:

Vermicelli 1/2 cup(slightly roasted, yet still half-white in color)
Sugar 1/2 cup
Cashew nuts 10-15(split ted)
Raisins 15-20
Green cardamom seeds powder 1 spoon
Condensed milk 1 cup
Milk 300 ml
Ghee 1/2 cup.

Method:

1. In a pan heat ghee and fry cashew nuts till golden color and set aside.

2. In the same ghee fry raisins till they pop-up and set them aside too.

3. In a non-stick deep pan heat sugar along with 1 cup of water. Stir them often. No need to wait till pearl consistency syrup here.

4. Just before the syrup thickens add vermicelli to this. Cover and cook over medium flame.

5. Once the vermicelli is 1/2 done add milk to this and cover and cook. Never attempt to add water for cooking. Cook only using milk.

6. When vermicelli is 3/4 done add cardamom powder, cashew nuts, raisins and condensed milk. Cook without cover for a while.

7. Let it be in runny consistency. Remove from stove.

Serve chilled.

Labels: Payasam, Sweets