Indian Milk Pudding (Paal Payasam )

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Here is a treasure from south Indian cuisine, an Indian pudding that is made with just milk, sugar, rice and flavored with cardamom powder and nuts. This payasam is featured in almost all tamilian celebrations from weddings to birthdays to anniversaries and its presence on the menu invariably causes a great deal of expectation, at least on my side.

Paal means milk in tamil (one of the languages spoken in southern India) and payasam is the tamil term for any sweet preparation which has a thicker consistency than milk but not quite as thick as evaporated milk. The simple description of this sweet is deceptive in the sense that it is not adequate in explaining the creaminess or the awesome taste of this sweet.

The best thing about this desert besides its awesome taste is that it is very simple to prepare and can be prepared with everyday items found in our kitchens.It does not have a very complicated procedure to make and even beginners in the kitchen can attempt this dessert successfully. In addition this one is always well liked by people with a sweet tooth like me, making it a great menu addition when entertaining guests.

 

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Ingredients and method to make paal payasam

4 cups whole milk

1/4 cup long grain basmati soaked in water for 30 mins

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/8 tsp cardamom seed powder

1/8 cup sugar (optional) (or according to taste)

Optional garnish

1 tsp clarified butter (ghee)

3 tsp broken cashew pieces

Soak basmati rice soaked in water for 30 mins.

In a large very heavy bottomed pan mix milk, condensed milk and sugar and heat on medium to medium low heat and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Drain basmati rice and add to this milk and let it cook until soft.

Simmer the milk on a low heat stirring often until it reduces to about 1/2 of its original quantity.

When the rice is cooked and the milk is reduced to half, add cardamom seed powder and remove from heat.

Heat clarified butter and add cashew pieces to it, when the cashew pieces begin to brown a little remove from heat and add it to the payasam.

Serve hot or cold

Serves about 2-3

Notes

I used both the condensed milk and sugar and it was sufficiently sweet, not too much or too little, if you like milder sweets you could exclude the additional sugar and just use sweetened condensed milk

Everyone seems to have their preferences with regard to consistency, if you like a thicker consistency allow it to simmer a tad bit longer, and if you like your payasam a tad bit thinner, remove it from heat a tad bit earlier.