Payasam: make this kerala famous sweet dish to celebrate independence day

It’s August, and that means the country is going to come together to celebrate Independence day. All over India, the flag will unfurl and fly high, people will come out and salute it and kids will be taught the history of the struggle for independence and how it was eventually earned. From Bhagat Singh to Mahatma Gandhi, our freedom fighters will be commemorated and remembered. Our story will be rewritten as that of an independent democracy and citizens will revel in the greatness of this majestic nation. From ancient wisdom to contemporary development, India has a lot to offer and people will meditate on all of that, feeling pride at being part of this brilliant nation. So you should celebrate too, by making something special at home. And here, we have for you the recipe of a Kerala famous sweet, the payasam. Learn how to make it and share it with fellow indians on this spectacular day. Simply follow this easy recipe, pay attention to the details, and you have a delicious dessert on your hands.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons basmati rice or any regular or long grained non-sticky rice
• 1 litre whole milk or full fat milk
• 4 tablespoons sugar or add as per taste
• 14.79 ml Ghee (clarified butter)

Directions:

• In a pan, add the milk on medium heat until it comes to a boil. Keep stirring the milk so that it doesnt burn at the bottom. Once it has boiled, turn off the heat and set aside.
• In a pan or kadhai, add the ghee and heat on medium heat.
• Once the ghee has melted, add in the rice and saute for about 30 seconds, until a strong aroma starts emanating from it. Make sure you don't do it for too long or the rice will start to brown.
• Then add the previously boiled milk to the pan and stir the rice grains. Let the mixture come to a boil, stirring continuously. Keep cooking and stirring till the rice is cooked and softened. You can add a lid to the pan or kadhai so that the rice cooks faster. But you will have to stir it regularly so that the rice doesn't stick to the bottom or clump up.
• Once the rice has cooked thoroughly, add the sugar. Keep stirring till all the sugar dissolves completely.
• Let it keep on simmering on medium heat till the milk has halved. The payasam should be thick and creamy. Once the desired consistency has been achieved, turn off the heat.
• Garnish with saffron, rose petals, sliced almonds or keep it plain.
• Serve the payasam hot or cold.

Notes, tips and tricks:

If you’re going to offer the payasam to a deity first, do not taste or smell the ingredients at any stage. Also make sure you’re using freshly purchased ingredients and not those that have been sitting at home already.

You can add any nuts of your choice as garnish. You can also fry the nuts in a spoonful of ghee and add the thick mixture to the payasam once it has cooked.

You can also add flavors like cardamom powder, cloves powder, nutmeg powder, cinnamon powder, saffron strands, rose water or kewra water.

Instead of sugar, you can also use jaggery.

You will need to use full fat or whole milk. Half and half, 2%, skimmed milk or other milks won’t work since they are not as thick and heavy. So they wont seep into the rice in the same way and the final dish won't have the thick consistency.

You can add more or less sugar depending on how sweet you want it to be. If you're unsure, always use lesser. You can add sweet toppings like grated jaggery to balance it out. But if you have added too much sweet, you wont be able to fix it later. So be careful and use less instead of more.

As the payasam cools, the milk will keep getting absorbed and the payasam will set. So the final payasam will be a bit thicker than what you saw on the stove. So cook accordingly, depending on how thick you want your final dish to be.

The ghee brings out a strong flavor and makes it decadent, so you don't need to add any toppings if you don't want to.