THENGAAI ARISI PAAYASAM - Coconut and Rice Kheer - Vegan version included

Paayasam / Payesh/ Kheer is traditionally made of rice, jaggery and milk and is basically a festive drink prepared across India. The Indian calendar is always filled with auspicious occasions and these are incomplete without the Traditional Paayasam. Be it a festival or or be it serving guests, we Indians grab these moments to celebrate with food and sweetmeats. 


My previous posts were focused on traditional utensils and this recipe was the next one lined up. The source is from my aunt and was actually prepared by her when we visited my grandparents in India. Needless to say that our visit was a celebration. 

The traditional bronze utensil seen in the picture is a family property owned for generations  (was brought down from the attic on a special request from me) and can easily hold up to 2 plus liters of liquid. That said, it can easily cater to about 20 people and a few kids. It was one sturdy big and broad vessel that I found very difficult to carry around with its contents and also  couldn't capture its dimensions easily with my kit lens. So, I kept it simple by just adding a freshly torn banana leaf from the backyard for the background for that rustic look and it worked like magic with the bronze and natural gray light from sky.  


I have shared a regular and a vegan version for today's recipe. The quantity that you see in pictures are quite a lot and I have downsized the measurement. Coming to the nutritional aspects, the vegan version is lesser in calories as opposed to the regular version. And as far as the other positive points are concerned, this potion is normally prepared with some added poppy seed paste during summers when mouth ulcers are common due to intense heat. Though the recipe says rice, it is just used as a thickening agent. The primary ingredient is coconut and its benefits are more pronounced in the vegan version. So, feel free to choose either of the two.

Preparation time: 20 min
Cooking time: 20 min
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Dessert/ Drink
Difficulty level: Medium
Serves:6-8
Source: Harini Maami




Nutrition Facts
Servings 8.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 307
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 8 g12 %
Saturated Fat 6 g28 %
Monounsaturated Fat 1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 12 mg4 %
Sodium 64 mg3 %
Potassium 169 mg5 %
Total Carbohydrate 59 g20 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g6 %
Sugars 10 g
Protein 3 g7 %
Vitamin A2 %
Vitamin C2 %
Calcium11 %
Iron2 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.
INGREDIENTS
  • 1/2 shell of grated coconut (grate only the white portion)
  • 8-10 Cashew nuts
  • 1/2 tsp raw rice
  • 1-11/2 cup pounded Jaggery (adjust to taste)
  • 750 ml milk (use whole/ fresh/ low fat)
  • 5-6 cardamoms pounded to a coarse powder
  • 1/2 fistful of freshly chopped coconut
  • 1 tsp ghee
METHOD
  • Soak cashew nuts and rice in 1/4 cup of water for 10 min.
  • Grind grated coconut + cashew nuts+ rice to a smooth paste along with cardamom using the soaked water.
  • Pound jaggery and transfer to a thick bronze pot/thick bottomed vessel. 
  • Add just enough water to submerge it and boil to a syrup. Filter to remove any impurities. Put it back in the vessel and turn the heat on.
  • Fold in the cashew and rice mixture to the jaggery syrup and mix well. Cook to thicken. Turn the heat off and set aside to cool.
  • Add milk to the same bronze pot/vessel and bring it to a boil. Simmer and cook  on low flame for say around 10 min to condense the milk.
  • Switch off and cool the milk completely. 
  • The next step is to combine milk and the coconut + rice mixture. Do this by adding milk little at a time until the entire mixture resembles a light caramel. Stop adding milk at this point. Any excess can be reserved.
  • Heat 1 tsp ghee. When it fumes, switch off and fry freshly chopped coconut pieces until it turns golden. 
  • Add it to the Paayasam as a garnish. Stir well and serve warm..
VEGAN VERSION
Preparation time: 20 min
Cooking time: 20 min
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Dessert/ Drink
Difficulty level: Medium
Serves:6-8
Nutrition Facts
Servings 6.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 261
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 8 g12 %
Saturated Fat 7 g34 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg0 %
Sodium 28 mg1 %
Potassium 5 mg0 %
Total Carbohydrate 49 g16 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g6 %
Sugars 1 g
Protein 0 g1 %
Vitamin A5 %
Vitamin C0 %
Calcium24 %
Iron1 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.
INGREDIENTS
For the milk base
  • 2 big coconuts
  • 2 cups hot water +plus 1/2 cup
OTHER INGREDIENTS
  • 1/2 shell of grated coconut ( grate only the white portion)
  • 8-10 Cashew nuts
  • 1/2 tsp raw rice
  • cup pounded Jaggery (adjust to taste)
  • 5-6 cardamoms pounded to a coarse powder
  • 1/2 fistful of freshly chopped coconut
  • 1 tsp Coconut oil
METHOD
  • Break coconuts and collect water. Use it in another recipe or consume it.
  • Completely grate only the white portion out of the 4 shells.
  • Soak the grated portion in 2 cups of hot water. Set aside to turn warm.
  • Blend this in a mixer jar to make a very smooth paste.
  • Sieve the contents through a mesh or muslin. Squeeze to extract maximum Coconut milk into a thick bottomed utensil.
  • Put it back in the blender with 1/2 cup warm water. Blend again to extract the second time and collect the milk in the same utensil containing the first extract.
  • Gently heat this on stove top for few minutes. when you start noticing fumes. Stop and mix well. Do not boil. It may curdle.
  • Soak cashew nuts and rice in 1/4 cup of water for 10 min.
  • Grind grated coconut + cashew nuts+ rice to a smooth paste along with cardamom using the soaked water.
  • Pound jaggery and transfer to a thick bronze pot/ thick bottomed vessel. 
  • Add just enough water to submerge it and boil to a syrup. Filter to remove any impurities. Put it back in the vessel and turn the heat on.
  • Fold in the cashew and rice mixture to the jaggery syrup and mix well. Cook to thicken. Turn the heat off and set aside to cool.
  • The next step is to combine coconut milk and the coconut + rice mixture. Do this by adding milk little at a time until the entire mixture resembles a light caramel. Stop adding milk at this point. Any excess can be reserved.
  • Heat 1 tsp Coconut oil. When it fumes, switch off and fry freshly chopped coconut pieces until it turns golden. 
  • Add it to the Paayasam as a garnish. Stir well and serve warm..


Looking for more Paayasam/ Kheer recipes? Here are a few more that you may want to try out.

Incorporating Carrots in Kheer is quite common and is a frequent occurrence in my kitchen. Got some Carrot overload in the refrigerator? Then this is the ideal way to use them all up.

There are few recipes that instantly kick start you to try them and this one was such a try. The name Doodh Paak literally means Milk Paayasam. I ve replaced raw rice with Barnyard millet to incease the health quotient.You should try this. 

A little twist to the regular ingredients turned into a Mellow medley of milk and coconut flavours.


This Kheer/ Paayasam does not require much of cooking time. Made with Poha, milk and the basic condiments, it simply tastes great.


Comments

  1. I would love a generous serving of that payasam... just sounds totally delicious! Love the picture and the banana leaf at the background, does full justice...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Absolutely making me crazy. This payasam, unlike the simple types I made, is mind-blowing. Super yum.

    ReplyDelete
  3. love this traditional dish and the way you presented it

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yummy and delicious payasam!Lovely presentation!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have never had this kheer, but I can tell I am gonna love this as I love anything coconut.

    ReplyDelete

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Sowmya

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