Moong dhal/Haesaru bele Payasa

Moong dhal/Haesaru bele Payasa

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of moong dhal (hesaru bhele, pytam parp)
• 1 tbs of ghee(naiee) + 1 tbs
• 1/4 tsp of turmeric
• 1/2 cup of grated fresh coconut
• 1 tbs rice flour
• 1 cup of powdered jaggery (3/4 cup of brown sugar)
• 1 tsp of ground cardamon(optional)
• 1 tiny weeny speck of natural camphor(paccae karapura)
• 2 or 3 strands of saffron(kesari, kumkuma poo)
• 1/4 cup milk (whole or 2%)

Garnish (optional)

• 1/4 cup chopped almonds
• 1/4 cup of chopped cashews
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 tbs ghee

Method: 

Payasa

Heat ghee on medium heat in a pot and add turmeric and moong dhal and roast for about 5 minutes on medium heat (the dhal does not have to be browned). Add 2 cups of water and cook for 15 minutes or so, till the dhal is soft and mushed. Mean while blend the coconut and the rice flour into a smooth paste, using a little water.
In a separate dish, boil and melt jaggery with about 1/2 cup of water. Turn down the heat to medium and add the cooked contents from above along with the blended mixture. Using a long spoon mix thoroughly and bring it all to a boil. Add milk and 1 tbs of ghee and turn off the heat . Then mix in ground cardamon, natural camphor, saffron and garnish as desired.
To garnish: Toast cashews and almonds in 1/2 tsp ghee and add to the payasa. Raisins can be just added in.

Cooking tips:

Use a thick bottomed pot as the mong will burn easily. You can also use the pressure cooker to cook the moong. Vary the jaggery quantity per your taste. Payasa will thicken as it cools down.

Serving tips:

Serve payasa as dessert.

Akkaravadisal / Akki Payasa

Akkaravadisal / Akki Payasa

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup rice
• 4 or 5 pieces of jaggery/bella ( 1 1/2" x 1" bella pieces or 1 cup of powered bella or brown sugar)
• 2 cups whole milk (or 2% milk )
• 1/8 tsp of turmeric
• 1/4 tsp powdered cardamon
• 1 tiny weeny piece of paccahae karapoora/natural camphor (pinch to break it up)
• 4  to 6 strands of saffron/kumkumapoo/kesari (soak in a 1/8 cup of water of warm water for a couple minutes, extract the color by                                           pinching and rolling the strands between your fingers)
• 1 tbs ghee/tuppa/naiee
• 1/2 cup freshly grated coconut (or frozgrn coconut)

Payasa

Optional Garnish:

• 1/4 cup almonds coarsely crushed or chopped
• 1/4 cashews coarsely crushed or chopped
• 1/4 cup of raisins
• 1 tbs ghee/tuppa/naiee

Method:

Rinse and thoroughly drain the rice. Heat ghee in a thick bottomed dish and roast the rice for about 5 minutes on medium heat.  When the rice turns white, add 1 cup of water and cook for 10 minutes. Then add milk and continue to cook on medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring now and then. The rice should be well done and pretty mushy. Add jaggery, lower heat to melt and incorporate the jaggery into the dish.  Cook till all the jaggery is melted, stirring often. Then add the grated coconut, ground cardamon, natural camphor, saffron extract, mix thoroughly and turn the heat off.

Optional Garnishing:

Heat ghee on medium heat in a pan and roast almonds, cashews till they are browned slightly. Then add the raisins and roast further till the raisins turn plump and the nuts have turned golden brown. Add to the cooked payasa and mix well.

Cooking tips:

You can also use the pressure cooker to make the unsweetened portion of the recipe. Vary the jaggery quantities per your taste. Add additional milk while cooking to keep the consistency of the payasa liquidy. It will anyway thicken as it cools down. Cooking rice in milk is a little tricky. Stir and turn the rice around often to keep it from sticking and burning at the bottom of the dish. You can roast the nuts in a a microwave. Raisins can be used as is.

Serving tips:

Serve on festivals or as dessert any time.

Coconut milk Payasa, Thengai Paal Payasam, Thenginakai Haal Payasa

Thengai paal


Raw

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of freshly grated coconut (frozen will do too)
• 1 cup of jaggery or brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of rice flour
• 1/4 cup of chopped nuts (almonds, cashews)
• 1/8 cup of dried fruit(raisins)
• 1 tsp of powdered cardamon(optional)
• 1 tiny weeny bit of natural camphor(optional)
• 1 tbs of ghee



Cooked

1/4 cup of milk

Method:
In a blender blend coconut, and rice flour with a cup of water into a smooth mixture and set aside. In a pan add 1/4 tbs of ghee and heat it on medium heat. Add the chopped nuts and raisins and roast till the nuts are slightly brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
In another thick bottomed pot, melt jaggery in about 1 cup of water on medium heat. Add the blended mixture to the pot. Continue to cook on medium heat till the contents begin to boil. Then add the milk and remaining ghee. Then add the roasted nuts,raisins, cardamon and natural camphor. Mix well and turn off the heat. Thengai paal is now ready to be served.

Cooking tips:
Raisins become plump when you roast with ghee. If you do not like this, you can simply add the raw raisins to the thengai paal. At the first boil, the payasam becomes thick. Use more or less water depending on how thick or watery you want the payasam to be. Payasam will become thicker as it cools down too.

Serving tops:
Make this as a dessert, or on festival and holidays.