Paal ada payasam is a popular and a very simple Kerala dessert dish served after meals/feast during festivals & weddings. This Onam, annual harvest festival in Kerala, I decided to make paal ada payasam and hence I am sharing this recipe with all my blog readers. In Malayalam language, paal means milk and payasam means pudding or kheer. Ada means rice pasta, these are rectangular shaped dried rice flakes made with rice flour, ghee and water. Ada is readily available in grocery stores and can be used for making this payasam.
I believe that, for any pal payasam to be at its creamiest, tastiest best, the milk is the key. Whether its rice or vermicelli or rice pasta, whatever it is that you add to the milk, you must cook it with the milk till the milk reduces in quantity and gives a nice pink color to the dish. It brings out a different level of sweetness to it, sweetness inherent in the milk itself. The additional sugar and the cardamom enhances the flavour.
You can serve this delicious paal payasam at room temperature or chilled. Now over to the recipe….
Ingredients
- 1 cup Rice Ada
- 6 cups Boiled Milk
- ¾ – 1 cup Sugar or as per your taste
- ¼ tsp. Cardamom powder
- 2 tbsps. Ghee
- 2 cups Water
- 4 tbsps. Cashewnuts
- 4 tbsps. Raisins
Method
- Boil the milk and set it aside. Wash and drain the ready made ada.
- Boil the water in a deep pan. Switch off flame and soak the washed ada in hot water; cover and keep it aside for 20 minutes.
- Drain the ada and rinse 2 to 3 times under cold water thoroughly to remove all the excess stickiness out of it. Keep the ada in cold water until it can be added to the payasam.
- Heat a heavy bottomed vessel or uruli (Kerala style shallow kadai used for making payasam) in a medium low flame and pour in one tablespoon of ghee.
- Next add ada and roast it till it changes color to light golden and also gets well coated with ghee. (Note: normally ada tends to stick to each other; by doing this the ada will retain its shape and will not stick together and will taste better.)
- Pour the boiled milk to the ada ghee mixture.
- Again add sugar and continue to boil the milk until it thickens and its color changes to pale pink. Keep stirring continously (approximately 30-45 minutes) so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
- Add the cardamon powder and mix well.
- Heat the ghee in a pan and fry cashew nut and raisins. Add this to the payasam.
- Yummy paal ada payasam is ready to relish!! Enjoy!!