Onam is always a nostalgic time for me because Kerala is at its best then. There’s the smell of fresh coconut oil being heated for all the banana chips, banana leaves gleaming in the sun, the rains just checked and the heat manageable, flowers everywhere and athappoo designs being planned, women walking around in the traditional Kerala set sari days before and after the day, school vacation after first term… I could go on. So let me shut up for now and give you the Paal Payasam Recipe already!
Paal Payasam Recipe / Rice Kheer Recipe
Preparation time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour Serves 4-6 Recipe source: amma (payasam in picture made by bedhamma, her sis) Ingredients: 500 ml (2 cups) of milk 1/2 cup of sugar (adjust to taste) 1/4 cup of unakkalari / raw rice (or any non-sticky rice like basmati)
- Add 2 cups water to the milk and bring to boil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Once the milk boils, add the sugar and simmer until it reduces to half.
- Add the washed rice and continue to cook on very low flame, stirring frequently until the milk thickens further and the rice is cooked soft.
- Remove and serve warm / chilled. Notes:
For a quick paal payasam (rice kheer), just add all ingredients (don’t add water) to a pressure cooker and cook for 2-3 whistles. When the pressure leaves, open the lid, add 2-4 tbsp of condensed milk and bring to boil before removing from fire and serving. Adjust sugar accordingly since the condensed milk will make it too sweet if you use the same amount of sugar used otherwise Adding anything else to the payasam like cardamom pods or cashew nuts will distract you from the actual flavour that’s meant to be pure milk so keep it simple folks
