AMMA's SAMBAR POWDER

AMMA's SAMBAR POWDER 
Sambar Powder is one of the staple Masala powders in my kitchen.
Every recipe has a story and this one is very interesting.
When I got married and moved to Singapore Amma made me a big ziplock bag full of Sambar powder. She was worried, her little baby is going to manage cooking in a country so far away. Not that I was a baby, but my mother never allowed me to cook or near the gas as she was afraid I would get burnt. I had a very protective mother or should I say overprotective🤔.
To cut the long story short, the sambar powder didn't last long as the whiff of the aroma of the Sambar made waves in the foreign land. People started visiting often requesting me to make my famous Sambar, But alas, when the sambar powder got over, I had to buy a packet from the store.
I Chose a good brand, changed brands but the taste was gone, the aroma was gone.
That made me think 🤔.
Everything was the same, the process, major of the ingredients, the only thing that changed was the sambar powder and I got desperate for Amma's Sambar powder.
I had to make it now if I needed the rave reviews that I had gotten famous for.
It was a matter of honor.
A quick call and the recipe was jotted down in my blue diary....
Sharing my Amma's secret Sambar Powder recipe, Also known as Iyer veetu Sambar powder (This is a typical Brahmin Iyer household recipe, every house has its variations).

Ingredients
Whole coriander seeds - 1 cup
Pigeon Peas (Toor Dal ) - 1/4 glass
Raw Rice - 11/2  tablespoons
Fenugreek seeds (Methi seeds) - 11/2 tablespoons
Cumin seeds (Jeera)- 11/2 tablespoon
Black Peppercorns - 11/2 tablespoon
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Red chillies - 12 -15 (Preferably Kashmiri chilly) /Red chilly powder
2 teaspoons ground turmeric

Method
I use organic dals, Sort the ingredients, check for stones if any. And you are ready.
In a wok, First dry roast the red chillies, saute for 2-3 minutes till you see the chillies starting to get plump.
Some people avoid this step but this is a must according to me, as only then will the chillies not have the pachha vaadai(Raw smell).
You can also avoid roasting red chillies and use the readymade chilly powder as per your family spice level. But I prefer to roast the red chillies for a fresher aroma.
Some people add a spoon of oil to roast the chillies, but I don't As I usually make batches that last me for about 3 months.
Dry roast the red chillies and keep aside.
In the same wok, dry roast all the other ingredients until you get an aroma of the roasted spices.
Once cool down, First, grind the dry red chillies, then the rest of the ingredients, add the turmeric powder while grinding. Blend into a fine powder.
Store in an airtight container and use as required.
I keep Sambar powder that I need for daily cooking in Glass Bottles
Since we live in Singapore which has a humid climate and I make big batches, I store the Sambar powder in Ziplock bags and freeze them.
Enjoy this simple Sambar powder Recipe and make loads of sambar and enjoy!!!

MILAGU MANATHAKKALI VATHAL KUZHAMBU

MILAGU MANATHAKKALI VATHAL KUZHAMBU
This Kuzhambu is very good during the period after delivery as it is good for the digestive system. This recipe does not use much Toor Dal which cause gases and is generally avoided during the post partum period. Manathakkali has excellent healing properties.

Ingredients
Coriander seeds - 2 tbsps
Toor dal - 2 tbsps
Black peppercorns - 2 tsps
Red Chillies – 1-2 (as per taste)
Asafetida – a pinch
Tamarind – a lemon size ball soaked in water
Manathakkali Vathal – 2 tbsps fried
Salt as per taste
Curry leaves –a sprig
Oil – 1 tbsp

Method
Fry the Manathakkali vathals separately and keep aside. Fry the Coriander seeds, toor dal, red chillies and peppercorns in a little amount of oil and grind it in a mixie. In a pan, put in the grounded paste, add tamarind juice, add the fried Manathakkali vathals, curry leaves, a pinch of asafetida and salt as per taste. Add some water. Let it boil. Cook until the raw smell is gone. Simmer for a few more minutes and serve hot with Rice and ghee.
Paruppu Thogayal made with Moong dal tastes good with rice and this kuzhambu.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada (1896–1977)

My Hero

In the 80’s, I read the book the Science of Self Realization by his holiness Swami Srila Prabhupada and the book had such a deep impact on my mind that I instantly fell in love with Swamiji, his explanations, his arguments and his thoughts had left a strong impression on me. I wanted to meet Swamiji and this led me on to know more about the Krishna Consciousness Movement. A few visits to the Hare Krishna Temple at Juhu confirmed my belief about the hero I had now started to worship and the greatness of the movement he had started. We are not alone and Krishna is always with us. The inclusion of the topic “Krishna Leela’s” in my blog is yet another tribute to my hero for through his teachings we learn about “Krishnaarpnam” (surrender to the lord), when we offer something to the lord (action, duty, work, even our thoughts) they will become pure, precious and everlasting.

I consider myself unfortunate that by the time I read about this great Swamiji, he was no more in this material world. The Acharya had died in 1977. It's sad that I couldn’t have the opportunity to meet or even see such a great personality in person. The search for the first ever hero in my life left me disappointed, I felt sad that I read about him only after his death. But now I realize that you don’t need to see your hero in flesh and blood, I have reconciled that the search for my hero His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada is in his preaching’s, his books, and within my heart. This is a tribute to my hero and I would want all the people who visit my blog to read about this larger than life personality and the great movement that he has left behind for all of us to nurture, understand and love.

(Below are the excerpts from another website which details the life of the divine Swamiji)

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada was one of the foremost spiritual leaders of the twentieth century. The remarkable challenge that he undertook and successfully accomplished was the transformation of the most materialistic youth of the times not just a few, but literally thousands of them -- into the most godly personalities with the loftiest of spiritual and ethical ideals. This miraculous achievement has no parallel either in the past or in the present and very probably there would never be one in the future. This happened to be a marvel of just twelve years, precisely the last twelve years of his 82 years of life. It was all due to the fact that Prabhupada was an open book as an exemplary devotee of God, who would have been placed among the greatest of the Alvars or Nayanmars if only he had lived in ancient times. Coming in the lineage of Chaitanya mahAprabhu of the sixteenth century, he re-established the traditional bhakti school of Chaitanya in a totally modern context, by ‘building a house in which the whole world can live’. Till he was seventy he struggled alone to implement his master’s injunction of propagating the glories of Lord Krishna and transmitting the treasures of the SrImad bhAgavatam. But even in the land where these had been held, without any doubt, in superlative esteem by one and all, he could not succeed. Only three books were written by him. In the next twelve years he wrote sixty. Till he was seventy he initiated only one disciple. In the next twelve years a few thousands were initiated by him. . Till he was seventy the worldwide society of Krishna devotees was only in his dream. In the next twelve years not only did it come to fruition but it came to have more than one hundred centres all over the world. His unflinching and uncompromising devotion to the Supreme Transcendental Personality of Krishna made all this possible.

He was the Lord’s Gift to humanity at large.

Opulence, potency, fame, beauty, knowledge and dispassion are only some of the infinite qualities of the Supreme Personality that is Krishna , but each one of them is possessed by Him in infinite extent to the absolute degree. Not a leaf moves without the Will of Krishna. He is the Absolute Brahman. This declaration of the scriptures is the solid foundation for the movement now known all the world over as Krishna Consciousness, named as such by Prabhupada. Remaining faithful to the disciplic succession, that goes back to the days of Chaitanya, Prabhupada created a whole new international community of the young and old, male and female, scholars and laymen, all of them fully versed in the teachings of the Bhagavad-Gita and the Bhagavatam and all of them fully convinced that no man-made system can cure the ills of the world, it is only the eternal reality of Krishna that will do it. The logical conclusion is the unceasing chanting by this ocean of devotees, singly and collectively, of the classic mantra :

HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA, KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE

HARE RAM HARE RAM, RAMA RAMA HARE HARE

You can read about His Divine Grace on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._C._Bhaktivedanta_Swami_Prabhupada

Worcestershire Sauce is actually of Indian Origin

Hi Members,
This is with reference to my article, Gastronomic Delights...A journey to China....Part 2(important) wherein I gave the recipe for Manchurian Balls...One of our members wrote to me saying that one of the ingredients in the Worcestershire Sauce is Anchovies(which is actually fish). this made me research a little on Worcestershire Sauce. Below is more information about the sauce which I picked from a website, I have copy pasted it for the convenience of our members.
I would like to alert our members to the fact that when you are living abroad or even in India please be aware and read the contents (ingredients) of things before you buy.There is a vegetarian version available in stores. So always remember to read the ingredients before you buy, I would advice not to follow any recipe word by word and start buying ingredients from supermarkets just dropping them in your trolley without reading first. Certain recipes can do without certain sauces and still taste as good.

More about Worcestershire Sauce
Worcestershire Sauce is one of those ingredients that are often used in barbecue but seldom understood by cooks. Worcestershire Sauce, such as Lee & Perrins, is as little understood as it is so often used. It did not exist at the time of the Europeans "discovery" of barbecue or at the founding of the United States, so it cannot be said to be an original part of barbecue, at least in its commercial form as sold today.
What then is in Worcestershire Sauce, and how can barbecue cooks attain the complex flavors without resorting to the commercial product? In other words, what ingredients can cooks use as a substitute for the commercial product when a recipe calls for "Worcestershire Sauce".
This story will explore the history of the famous sauce and uncover the secret ingredients and method of preparation that makes Worcestershire Sauce more like a fine wine than an ordinary sauce.
Tamarind
What is now called “Worcestershire Sauce” owes its origin to British imperialism and its colonization of India. Despite its English-sounding name, Worcestershire sauce was originally an Indian recipe. It was brought back to Britain in 1835 by Lord Marcus Sandys, the ex-governor of Bengal. The sauce has as one of its basic ingredients the Indian spice called tamarind.
Tamarind is a seed whose taste combines the sweet with the sour. Traditional Worcestershire Sauce combines tamarind and soy sauce, with a little cinnamon and cloves.
Asian markets sell tamarind paste. Home-made Worcestershire Sauce combines the tamarind paste with soy sauce, and it includes small amounts of cinnamon, cloves, allspice, lemon grass and ground cardamom.
Anchovies
The first commercial Worcestershire Sauce was produced long after the Native Americans taught Europeans about barbecue, and generations after the American colonies made barbecue into a social event centered on whole hog and vinegar based sauce.
One of its primary ingredients is the anchovy. Anchovies are small fish, no more than 8" long, that have been known from classical times to be uniquely susceptible to curing and preserving, with a taste unlike that of any other fish. After the Greeks and Romans popularized the tiny fish, they were enjoyed throughout the world. Russians enjoyed them hot-smoked. Chinese ate them dried. Thais beat them into pungent fish sauce.
However, from the Elizabethans onward, the English perfected the use of the anchovy in sauces. Throughout the 18th and 19th Centuries, the anchovy fueled the English passion for bottled sauces, like Harvey's (anchovies, pickled walnuts, soy, shallots and garlic), Pontac ketchup (anchovies, elderberry juice, shallots and spices), and Burgess's Anchovy Essence, which dates from 1760. The English breakfast today still includes Gentleman's Relish, whose major ingredient is the anchovy.
But it was Worcestershire Sauce, which was first mixed in 1838, which remains the most popular sauce worldwide today. One of tts major ingredient is the anchovy.
The history of Worcestershire Sauce
Worcestershire sauce itself is of cross-cultural origins. In 1835, Lord Marcus Sandys, an ex-governor of Bengal, approached chemists John Lea and William Perrins, whose prospering business in Broad Street, Worcester, handled pharmaceutical's and toiletries as well as groceries. He asked them to make up a sauce from a recipe which he brought back from India. While his lordship was apparently satisfied with the results, Messrs Lea and Perrins considered it to be an "unpalatable, red-hot fire-water" and consigned the quantity they had made for themselves to the cellars.
During the stocktaking/spring clean the following year, they came across the barrel and decided to taste it before discarding it. To their amazement, the mixture had mellowed into an aromatic, piquant and appetizing liquid. They hastily purchased the recipe from Lord Sandys and, in 1838, the Anglo-Indian Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce was launched commercially.
One of the myriad 19th-century pungent English sauces based on oriental ingredients, it had many imitators sporting pretentious names such as "British Lion" and "Empress of India". Its exact recipe remains a secret. All that is known is that it includes vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, molasses, tamarind, shallots, anchovies, ginger, chili, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom.
Another history
Worcestershire sauce was named for the town of Worcester, England, which is in the Shire (county) of Worcester.
In 1835, when Lord Marcus Sandys, governor of Bengal, retired to Ombersley, England, he longed for his favorite Indian sauce. He took the recipe to a drugstore on Broad Street in nearby Worcester where he commissioned the shopkeepers, John Lea and William Perrins, to mix up a batch. Lea and Perrins made a large batch, hoping to sell the excess to other customers. The pungent fishy concoction wound up in the cellar where it sat undisturbed until Lea and Perrins rediscovered it two years later when house cleaning. Upon tasting the aged sauce, Lea and Perrin bottled Worcester sauce as a local dip.
When Lea and Perrins' salesmen convinced British passenger ships to put the sauce on their dining room tables, Worcestershire sauce became an established steak sauce across Europe and the United States.
To this day, the ingredients in Worcestershire sauce are stirred together and allowed to sit for two years before being bottled.
According to Lee & Perrins
According to the Lee & Perrins website:
In 1835, Lord Sandys, a nobleman from the county of Worcestershire, England, commissioned a pair of chemists - John Lea and William Perrins - to duplicate a sauce he had acquired during his travels in India.
Their finished product, however, proved to be anything but pleasing.Disappointed, they banished their brew to the cellar.
There, the sauce lay forgotten until the pair stumbled upon it two years later. Before they discarded their concoction for good, they took one last taste. Much to their surprise, it had matured like a fine wine - exhibiting a savory aromatic scent and a wonderfully unique taste. Lea & Perrins Original Worcestershire Sauce was born.
It wasn't long before Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce made its way onto dining cars and passenger ships, and into hotel dining rooms and restaurants.
Worcestershire is the name of a county in England. A county in England is called a "shire", which is the last part of the name.
So what is "Worcester"? Of course, Worcester is a city which is located in the county called Worcestershire.
The county is located in the English midlands, south of Birmingham. Here is a map of England with Worcestershire marked.
Of course, the name of the city is pronounced "worster", and the county and sauce are pronounced "worster-shire". That is, ignore the second syllable, "ces".
However, although Worcestershire Sauce owes its name to this midlands county, its origin is not British but Indian.

BUBUR PULUT HITAM (BLACK GLUTINOUS RICE SWEET WITH COCONUT MILK)

BUBUR PULUT HITAM (BLACK GLUTINOUS RICE SWEET WITH COCONUT MILK)

Pulut Hitam is one of the desserts I was introduced to while living in Singapore.
It’s a Malay dessert and once I tried it, I thought it tasted very much like our Payasam (kheer). 

Pulut Hitam means black glutinous rice porridge. 

Black glutinous rice is available in Chinese grocery stores and in supermarts.

Ingredients
Black glutinous rice - 1 cup
Coconut milk – 1 bowl. Stir in some salt and keep in the fridge till ready to serve
Palm sugar
Salt

Method
Wash the Black glutinous rice well. In a hard bottomed vessel Add water and this rice and bring it to a boil without a lid, glutinous rice tends to becomes sticky so you need to cook it without a lid. Since it is cooked without a lid, it takes a longer time to cook. Once the rice comes to a boil, cook on a low flame (on sim). It takes about an hour. You can check the spatula with which u r stirring to see whether the rice is getting mashed or not to check whether it is done. Stir occasionally to prevent the bottom from getting burnt. Add palm sugar to taste and pinch of salt. Alternatively, you can cook this in a slow cooker for a couple of hours.

Serving Instructions
Serve hot with a few spoonfuls of thick coconut milk on top.

BHAKAR WADI

BHAKAR WADI
(Spicy gram flour snack)
Ingredients
240 g. Gram flour
120 g. Wheat flour
100 g. Grated coconut
60 g. Sesame seeds
60 g. Poppy seeds
A marble sized ball of tamarind, soaked in a little water
Salt and chilly powder to taste
A pinch of sugar
A pinch of asafoetida
100 g. coriander leaves, chopped fine or 1 tbsp Coriander powder.
Black masala powder known as “Kala Thikkat”, if it is not available u can use a normal Garam Masala, according to taste
Oil for deep frying
Method
Mix together gram flour and wheat flour. Add salt, asafoetida, 60 ml. hot oil and
enough water. Knead to a stiff dough. Keep it aside. Roast the grated coconut, sesame seeds and poppy seeds and grind to a powder. Add sugar, salt, chilly powder and coriander leaves to the masala powder to prepare the filling for bhakar wadi. Add tamarind pulp and black masala powder and mix well. Divide the dough into small portions and roll each portion into a thin rectangular shaped chappati. Spread the filling all over the chappati and roll up the dough with the filling into a tight cylindrical shape. Seal the edges with a little water. Cut into three cm. long pieces and deep fry in hot oil till brown and crisp. Remove from oil and store in an airtight container.

Tip : Using Coriander powder instead of Coriander leaves can make the Bhakar wadi last longer.

Serves: Four
Time required: One hour

VEG MANCHURIAN

INDIAN-CHINESE FUSION

VEG MANCHURIAN
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS FOR MANCHURIAN BALLS
Carrot (grated) 3
Maida 1 tbsp.
Cauliflower (grated) 1
Ajinomoto ¼ tsp.
Raw Papaya (grated) 1
Black pepper and Salt ½ tsp. each
Small Cabbage (grated) 1
Corn flour 2 tsp.
Green chilly (finely chopped) 2
Oil for deep frying

INGREDIENTS FOR MANCHURIAN SAUCE

Oil 2 tbsp.

Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp.

Ginger (paste) 1 tsp.

Tomato sauce 1 tbsp.

Garlic (paste) 1 tsp.

Vinegar 2-3 tsp.

Green chilly (finely chopped) 3-4

Salt 1 tsp.

Onion (finely chopped) 1

Black pepper ¼ tsp.

Soya sauce 2 tbsp.

Corn flour 1½ tbsp.

Preparation Method
METHOD FOR MAKING MANCHURIAN BALLS

Put 1 tsp. salt in grated cabbage and leave it for 15 minutes. After that squeeze it. Mix all the ingredients for manchurian balls(as given above). If the mixture is too soft, add more maida. Make balls of oval shape. Roll the balls in dry maida. Heat oil in a kadahi. Fry the balls to a golden brown color.

METHOD FOR PREPARING THE SAUCE OR GRAVY
For preparing manchurian sauce
heat 2 tbsp. of oil in a kadahi.
Add ginger and garlic paste and fry it for one minute.
Add the sauces, vinegar, salt and black pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add 1½ cup of water. Boil it and simmer for 2 minutes.
Mix 1/2 cup of water in corn flour and add while continuously stirring it.
Cook till it becomes slightly thick.
Remove from flame and keep aside.
While serving boil it again and put the balls in it.
Cook for one minute and serve hot.

Tip :
1. Keep the fried Balls seperately and only when you are serving add it to the gravy like it is given in the recipe. otherwise the balls will beocme very soogy and also there wont be any gravy left while serving as the balls will absorb all the gravy.
2.While buying Chinese Sauces abroad or in India always check behind for the ingredients. Many of the sauces have non vegetarian ingredients for added flavour.

Please refer to my post on "Worcestershire Sauce is actually of Indian Origin" in the "Culinary Stories" Section of My Blog.

DRY VEG MANCHURIAN
Ingredients
Spring onions (Onions and the leaves chopped finely) - 1/2 cup
Ginger Paste - 2 tspns
Garlic (Finely chopped) - 1tbsp
Soya sauce - 2 tbsp.
Vinegar 1-2 tsp.
Oil - 2-3 tbspns
Salt to taste
Method
Use the above procedure to make the Machurian Balls. Keep aside.
In a wok, Take some oil, Add ginger paste, chopped garlic,Spring onions and their leaves and Saute. Add the manchurian balls. Mix well. Add soya sauce, vinegar and salt to taste. Stir on a high for 2-3 minutes till u feel the balls are properly coated with the masala.
If the balls are more and the masala is less, fry some more masala and add to the manchurian balls.
Garnish with finely chopped spring onion leaves.

VEGETABLE FRIED RICE

INDIAN- CHINESE FUSION

Chinese Recipes with an Indian touch. Man's passion for food and his hunger to taste new delights have always made him very innovative in food, so here is presenting you guys with some Indian-Chinese Vegetarian delights which means Chinese food altered to Indian tastes and suiting Indian palette.
Here's the Recipe for

Vegetable Fried Rice
Ingredients
Rice 2 Cups (Preferably use Basmati Rice)

Onions (finely chopped) 1 cup
Ginger Paste - 1 tsp
Chilly Paste - 1 tsp
Spring Onions and their leaves - 1/2 cup

Oil 4 tbsp.

Green peas - 1/4 cup

Carrot (cut into strips) ¼ cup

French beans (cut into small cubes) ¼ cup

Capsicum (cut into small cubes) ¼ cup
Ajinomoto - ½ tsp.
Vinegar 2 tbsp
Soya sauce 2 tbsp.
Salt to taste.
Preparation Method
In a Wok(Kadhai), Take Oil, Saute the onions, spring onions(onions and the leaves as well) with the ginger paste and chilly paste until the onions are transparent, then add the vegetables, Add the Ajinomoto, some salt and stir fry.
Dont overcook the vegetables, as Chinese vegetable are always half cooked and crisp.
Now wash the rice nicely and drain the water completely.
Add the rice to the Vegetables in the wok and stir fry for a while till all mixes well. Add some Soya sauce and vinegar. Add salt according to taste. Mix well. Add water, just enough to cover the rice and vegetables. Basmati rice doesnt require much water to cook. Close the wok with a lid and wait for the rice to cook in the steam. After 5-7 minutes check if the rice is done.
If the rice is done. Mix well and Stir fry for 2-3 minutes on high flame while continuously stirring it.
Incase you feel, the salt is less, dont add salt , add soya sauce as soya sauce is used to make the dishes salty in chinese cuisine.
Serve hot.

Tip : Use Light Soya Sauce, As Dark Soya sauce will make the rice very dark in colour.

VEGETARIAN CANAPES

VEGETARIAN CANAPES
This is a Continental vegetarian snack or starter
Ingredients
6-7 rusk biscuits/Cracker biscuits
6-7 cheese slices
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon finely choped ginger
1 small onion sliced fine
1 large capsicum chopped into tiny pieces.
1 tsp pepper( freshly ground)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

For garnishing
Chopped parsley or mint leaves(optional)

Method
Heat the butter and the oil in a pan, add the chopped garlic and ginger and fry. Now add the onion and sauté and then the capsicum and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the pepper and keep aside.

Place a slice of cheese on each rusk biscuit, trim the cheese slice to the size of a biscuit.
Top with a little of the prepared mixture and garnish with chopped parsley or mint leaves.

If you want it more cheesy and you can afford the calories. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top and keep in a warm oven till the cheese melts. Serve hot immediately. Serve topped with: grated cheese

Note : You can avoid the cheese slices completely and Add the grated cheese and keep in the oven till the cheese melts. Or you can avoid keeping in the oven and just add the grated cheese on top of the mixture and serve.

Tip: Any left-over preparation like cooked beans or carrots can also serve as a topping and help make this snack in a jiffy!

PAL PAYASAM

PAL PAYASAM

Category : Dessert

In Kerala : Dessert cum part of the main course

Lets talk about one of Kerala’s most famous sweet dish (dessert) the traditional payasam). Which is not only served at the beginning of the meal on the plantain leaf but also in the middle of the meal in massive quantities. Before serving the thair (yogurt) normally the payasam is served. Where the food was served traditionally in weddings and occasions the server at the weddings would pour it on the banana leaf and people used to relish this delicacy by trying their best not to allow it to cascade out of the banana leaf, it would be a scoop and a lick action….first the payasam must be deftly scooped with the hand and then licked or slurped out of it….and I have seen people enjoying it so much, although I prefer mine in a kinnam (a small bowl) as I don’t like the sweet to mix with the salted remnants of the sambhar or rasam after which course the payasam is usually served. Nor do I like the sweet remnants of the payasam stuck to my elai (plantain leaf) which will spoil the taste of my thair chadam (curd rice / yogurt rice). But I know people who would swear by how it tastes when eaten right out of a banana leaf….so slurpy and so yummy, tickling and tantalizing your taste buds.
All payasams are generally made in the Urali (a traditionally used wide mouthed flat & thick bottomed pan) and they are stirred and stirred until they get a faint pink colour.

PAL PAYASAM
Ingredients:
Milk – 1 and ½ litre
Rice - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Cardamom Powder – a teaspoon
Cashewnuts - 1 tbsp broken into slivers
Raisins – 1 tbsp
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Method:
Boil the one litre milk in a vessel and once boiled remove from fire.
Take the half litre milk in separate vessel. Add washed rice to the boiling milk and cook for 5 to 10 minutes stirring once in a while. If the rice gets cooked in the milk slowly, the payasam tastes better , you must cook the rice till it is soft and mashed well,
but if you want to quicken your cooking time,
Add your washed rice and half litre milk in the cooker and cook upto 2 whistles(or as per your normal rice cooking time). One this rice is cooked.
Take an Urali, add the rest of the milk i.e the boiled one litre milk and the cooked rice and milk and keep stirring constantly.
Add sugar and stir till it is dissolved. Keep stirring on a low flame till the Payasam gets a faint pink colour. Once done, remove from fire.
In a small pan. take some ghee, fry the cashewnuts, raisins and cardamom powder and pour on top of the Payasam.
Your Pal Payasam is ready.

This is a Quick recipe, as using condensed milk reduces the cooking time of the Payasam.
Ingredients
Milk -1 Litre (since we are using condensed milk, we can reduce the quantity of milk)
Condensed Milk ½ Cup
Rice -1 Cup
Sugar - 1 Cup
Cardamom Powder – a teaspoon
Cashew nuts 1 tbsp broken into slivers
Raisins – 1 tbsp
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Method
Cook rice in pressure cooker till 1 whistle. In an Urali, Take the milk, add the cooked rice and sugar and stir till the sugar is dissolved. Add the condensed milk. Keep stirring on a low flame till the Paysam gets a faint pink colour. Once done remove from fire.
In a small pan take some ghee, fry the cashewnuts, raisins and cardamom powder and pour on top of the Payasam.
Your Pal Payasam is ready.

Tip : Since condensed Milk is already sweet, the sugar can be reduced to ½ a cup, as many people don’t like very sweet Payasam. Also after adding the condensed milk, if you feel more sweet is required u can always add sugar and stir till it dissolves. I always recommend the taste and cook method.