Palada Pradhaman involves cooking ada pieces in the base of your choice and adding the necessary spices to flavour it up. Traditionally, this ada is made from scratch but now you get to buy them readymade in the stores and that’s what I did. You get two types of ada – ada made with maida or plain flour and ada made with rice flour. Amma recommended the rice flour ada so that’s what I used. The maida ada becomes more pasty and thickens your pradhaman a bit giving it a different consistency. What kind you use is entirely up to you. Since Payasam is a necessary part of any Kerala sadya, it’s good to have some quick and easy payasam recipes in your repertoire. Amma usually makes some payasam for Vishu along with some basic sadya dishes. While you can make Ada Pradhaman in a pressure cooker and add condensed milk for added taste and quicker cooking, I made this the slower way by reducing milk in an open pot because I had time and that’s what the way to make a perfect batch of Palada Pradhaman taste the best. Check out more Easy Payasam Recipes here. Step by Step Palada Pradhaman Recipe:

  1. Check the package instructions on how to cook the ada for pradhaman. Generally, you need to par-boil it in boiling water for about 3-4 mins and then drain and set side before proceeding. Make sure our ada pieces are not too large. If they are, break them into smaller pieces for quicker cooking.
  2. Add the milk and water to a heavy-bottomed pan and bring to boil. Add the semi-cooked ada and simmer on low flame stirring frequently. In about 15-20 mins, it will reduce to half the quantity. Continue to stir and cook the payasam.
  3. Soon you will see the ada starting to show on the surface of the payasam. This will depend on the size of the pan you are using so don’t go by this along, just make sure the milk is reduced to more than half of original quantity and the ada is soft. Add sugar at this stage and mix well (I use raw sugar for all my cooking and drinks but white sugar works perfect too).
  4. Cook for another 3-4 mins and switch off flame. Add the crushed cardamom and mix well. Remove from stove and set aside.
  5. Heat the ghee in a small pan and add the cashew nuts and raisins. Fry until the nuts turn golden brown and add to the payasam. Stir well to combine. Serve Palada Pradhaman warm or cold. I like it chilled. Notes: For Palada Pradhaman recipe in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, etc please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.