Alhamdulillah, Ramadan is going super fast and it is kind of making me sad. It has been extremely busy but one side of me hasn’t been very well health wise and has affected my ability for going to Tharaweeh prayers. Apart from that worry, it has been good. All I can do is be grateful to the Almighty Rubb.

Last December, I had gone home for roughly a month to attend two weddings in HD’s family. Just like every trip, this one was hectic too. I hardly had time to rest, and more than that, even hardly ate at home. During one of those rare days, my MIL made this dish with leftover pathal dough in the fridge. The only way I know to make it is how umma makes it, where the “pidi” or the dumplings is as complicated as making the pathiri. I had so many questions – will the dumplings stick to each other, won’t they dissolve into the liquid, etc. All my doubts were dissolved when I took the first spoonful. The first thought in my head was, “If this is so easy, why shouldn’t I make it more frequently?”

So this Ramadan, thanks to a collaboration with a brand called Tasty Food, which is a pioneer in introducing the Pathal Podi in the UAE, I got to recreate the dish from my recent memory. The no-involvement of hot boiling water makes it very convenient. All you need to do is to add sufficient normal water to the rice flour, pull them together to make a dough, roll them into small roundels and cook them. All the tips and tricks will be noted in the recipe card below. I served it for Iftar and HD had a whole big bowl of it. He enjoyed it a lot, Alhamdulillah. I am glad that this dish didn’t have to wait too long to come on the blog, thanks to that collaboration.

Let me tell you that this is not the only version to make this curry. There are so many versions across various places of Malabar. Like this Kayi Curry – which has plantains and chana dal in a sugar sauce. Even in this recipe, you can add cooked chana dal for an extra bite, but since my MIL didn’t add it then, I chose not to add it. Makes it a lazier version. There are even versions of the pidi in a simple coconut sauce, without any additions to it. Isn’t it amazing how the same base gives rise to so many different recipes?

You can watch the Instagram reel over here. I have done a voice over in Malayalam, and though it is crappy, I guess I have done a good job for the first time. Off to the recipe…

The post Madhura Curry | Kayi Pidi Curry ~ Malabar Plaintain and Rice Dumpling Dessert appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

The end of the month means the post for the Shh Cooking Secretly Challenge. This month, I suggested the theme of “No Sugar Healthy Desserts”. It is something that everyone is looking into these days – reducing sugar as much as they can for health reasons. Even though sugar isn’t a villain, just like everything, if you overuse it, it becomes poison. Hehe… Anyway, my partner for this month was Kalyani, with whom I have already worked a few times in this challenge. She is always fun to work with. I gave her the ingredients of cardamom and almonds, and with it she made this amazing looking banana bread. I love anything with banana and considering that it has no added sugar, I would have loved a couple of slices of it for my cup of coffee. But for now, I will drool on it… She gave me fig and cardamom and they were just perfect to make this kheer.

I have been wanting to make a kheer that is loaded with a lot of dry fruits and nuts. This dessert is exactly that. It doesn’t have even a speck of additional sugar added because the dates and the figs did what it has to do. The nuts made it thick enough to drink it in when it is hot or scoop it up with a spoon when cold. The whole kheer comes together very easily without cooking for too long. I totally loved how it came out and I am surely going to make this again, maybe with little variation here and there. Off to the recipe…

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Dry Fruits and Nuts Kheer | No-Sugar Payasam

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 5 Medjool dates
• 5 dried figs
• 1/3 cup mixed nuts I used cashews, almonds and pistachios
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 litre milk
• A pinch of cardamom
• A pinch of salt
• Almond slices for garnish

Instructions

• Pit the dates and figs and soak them in water for half an hour.
• Meanwhile, roast the nuts till toasted and allow it to cool completely.
• Drain the dates and figs from the water. Grind along with the nuts, by adding little water to make a smooth paste.
• In a thick bottomed saucepan, heat the ghee. Fry the almonds for garnishing. Drain and set aside.
• Add the ground paste and saute for a couple of minutes.
• Add a cup of water and whisk together till it becomes smooth. Add the remaining milk and whisk well.
• Add the cardamom and salt and keep on low flame. Allow the kheer to cook for 10-15 minutes till it thickens and tastes cooked.
• Add upto 2 cups of water to adjust to desired thickness and heat.
• Switch off, add the almonds and enjoy warm.

The post Dry Fruit and Nut Kheer | No Sugar Payasam with Dates and Nuts appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

At times, the mind goes into a nostalgic mood. While I was browsing through my drafts to decide what to post next, my eyes fell on this bread kheer. The first time I made it was during our last year summer vacation to the US, to carry to my sister’s friend’s home, when she invited us for lunch. It was a public holiday and we had nothing much to do. When she called us for lunch, we were obviously excited, as we could have a day of not cooking anything. Hehe… We decided to carry something sweet and while browsing, I found this easy recipe for making kheer with bread. My sister always buys the double pack of brown bread and it never seems to finish. Can you tell that I am really missing my U S holiday, especially since she has been sending videos of the fall colors…

The bread kheer turned out really delicious and our host loved it so much, that when I told her that it was bread, she was shocked. I had tried shooting it from my sister’s place but the pictures turned out very much blurred. I remember my nephew standing on top of my head and asking me, “Ummi, do you have shoot everything you cook?” Oh, I really miss them… Of course, I had to make it again and click it so that I have it ready for the blog. You will realize that this is one of the easiest payasam you can make, since bread is literally an ingredient that needs no cooking and instantly thickens anything that it is added to. I made it more like a pudding so that I could enjoy it scooping with a spoon. To make it drinkable, you can add warm water and adjust its sweetness. It is a very easy dessert to make, and you must for your next sweet craving…

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Bread Kheer | Bread Payasam

Course Payasam/ Kheer

Cuisine Indian/ Pakistani

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 4 slices bread white or milk
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 10-15 cashew nuts
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 500 ml milk
• 1 tbsp semolina optional
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/4 cup condensed milk increase for sweetness
• A pinch of salt

Instructions

• Take off the sides of the bread. Chop the bread roughly as small as possible.
• In a saucepan, heat the ghee. Briefly fry the cashews and raisins. Drain and set aside.
• Add the chopped bread and fry for a few minutes. Now add the milk, semolina if using, condensed milk, cardamom and salt and mix well.
• Cook on low heat, stirring occasionally till the bread melts and the kheer thickens.
• Add back the cashews and raisins and switch off.
• Enjoy hot or cold, as per liking.

Notes

It is a thick kheer. Add warm water to make it thinner. 

The post Bread Kheer | Bread Payasam appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

I had bookmarked this recipe a long time ago, just because it looked like a different version of our Semiya Payasam and Sheer Kurma, yet different. I had to sign up for the theme “Travel to Africa” in the Blogging Marathon #136 to finally get to making it. Now why is it similar? Boeber is a dessert made in South Africa by a community called Cape Malays, whose ancestors trace to Indonesia, India and East Africa. This dessert is usually made on the fifteenth day of Ramadan to celebrate the mid of the blessed month and on Eid as well. Boeber is made with vermicelli and sago cooked in milk, and flavored primarily by cardamom, cinnamon and rose water, all very strong flavors.

Just like many recipes, this one is made as per family interpretations. I made a Boeber, which was quite thick and like a dessert. But if you want a “kheer” style consistency, then you can reduce the quantity of the vermicelli to half. Most of the recipe used the thin Pakistani style vermicelli, and hence I chose to use the same as well. I loved how the vermicelli is toasted in butter. Most of the recipes used a lot of it, but I kept it to the minimal. The main differentiation comes from the flavoring – the combination of the three flavors used gives a very different yet refreshing flavor to this dessert. Maybe when you are in a mood for some payasam, you can try this out for a difference. I loved how I could scoop up the dessert, the intermittent bites of sago and just a warmth provided by this deliciousness, knowing quite well that a lot of our ancestors moved out for better pastures and cultivated their eating habits, which evolved to adjust to the local cultures of the country they settled in. Off to this recipe…

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Boeber | Cape Malay Milk Dessert

Course Dessert

Cuisine South African

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 175 gm thin vermicelli refer notes
• 1/2 cup sago soaked in water for 1/2 an hour
• 30-50 gm butter
• 3 cardamoms crushed
• 1 clove optional
• 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
• 1 1/2 litre milk
• 1/4 tin condensed milk use more for sweetness
• 2 tbsp rosewater

Instructions

• In a saucepan, melt butter. Sizzle the whole spices.
• Crush the vermicelli and add. Toast till slightly browned.
• Add half of the milk along with the drained sago and bring it to boil.
• Cook on low flame till the vermicelli soaks up the milk and the sago plumps up.
• Add the remaining milk along with condensed milk and simmer for around 5 minutes.
• Switch off and add rosewater. Serve hot or cold, garnished with chopped nuts of choice.

Notes

I used one whole pack of vermicelli. If you want the dessert to be of drinkable consistency, then reduce the quantity to half. 

The post Boeber | Cape Malay Milk Dessert appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

It is not that I don’t have much to jot down. But I just don’t feel like it. The time I have come here, I have been trying to live the moment. I have been just taking in one day at a time, whether we have a chockoblock schedule or absolutely nothing except just eating and lazying around. The climate has been pretty helpful. The summers are slowly getting milder, even though on our beach weekend, the sun was really harsh and I ended up getting a bad tan. I feel that the sun here is very much similar to back home – they are really strong and always give a tan, despite the use of sunscreen. Maybe I have to just live with it… Hehe… This week there has been rains on and off and it has given a very cozy feel.

I hope that all of you have done your Muharrams fasts as well. It was on Tuesday and Wednesday over here. In most places, it is on Wednesday and Thursday. Fasting on these days are meant for forgiveness of all your minor sins over the year. Everything that you do in Islam in some form or the other will always add to your book of good deeds. The fasting on these days makes even more sense when the whole world seems to be going through a tough time thanks to relentless Covid or the political unrest in many parts of the world. All we can do is to be hopeful and make lots of duas. Hasn’t He said, “Allah doesn’t burden a soul beyond which it can bear.” (Surah Al-Baqarah, part of verse 286), Alhamdulillah…

Since Onam is around the corner, I thought that there wasn’t any better time to post this payasam I had shot and kept into my draft some time ago. I am excited about a potluck we have during this weekend and I can’t wait for it. We have volunteered to make a few dishes and mine are cabbage upperi and semiya payasam – two easy options. There are a few sadya recipes on the blog already if you would like to refer to – I am still in the process of updating the tab, so you may not necessarily find everything on the blog. Usually at the end of a sadya, there will be two sweet dishes – usually a payasam, which is sugar-milk based, and a pradhaman, which is jaggery-coconut milk based.

I have no clue why this dessert is called a payasam despite being jaggery-coconut milk based. Hehe… Whatever it is, this is one of my favorite sweet dishes after the cherupayar paradipp pradhaman. The best part about this payasam is that broken wheat is really easy and quick to cook and hence it comes together quickly. You can cook the wheat on one side, while the jaggery syrup happens on one side. I have used canned coconut milk, since it is the easiest way to make this payasam and is also readily available for all of us. Please do not forget to add as much as coconut fried bits – they just make the whole payasam so much better! HD loves this so much that any time I make it, he drinks up half of it at various intervals. Hehe… Off to this recipe…

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Nurukku Gothambu Payasam | Kerala Broken Wheat Payasam

Course Payasam/ Kheer

Cuisine Kerala

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 1 cup broken wheat
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 300 gm jaggery blocks
• 400 ml coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/4 tsp dry ginger powder chukku podi
• A pinch of salt

FOR TEMPERING

• 1 tbsp ghee
• 3-4 tbsp coconut bites
• 8-10 cashew nuts
• 10-15 raisins

Instructions

• Wash and drain the broken wheat.
• In a pressure cooker, heat ghee. Add the broken wheat and saute for a couple of minutes. Add three cups of water, close the cooker and cook for 5-6 whistles. Allow the pressure to go by itself.
• In a saucepan, add the jaggery with a cup of water and allow it to melt. Cook till the sauce starts turning a little syrupy.
• From the coconut milk can, reserve 1/2 cup for thick coconut milk. Add sufficient water to the rest to make it two cups.
• Add the watered down coconut milk to the jaggery syrup and bring it to a simmer, till it heats.
• Add the cooked broken wheat to this mixture and give it a good mix. Add in the spices and salt. Cook till the payasam thickens and the wheat is properly distributed.
• Add the reserved thick coconut milk, give a final stir and switch off.
• Fry the coconut bites, cashews and raisins in the ghee and dump into the payasam. Enjoy warm!

Notes

You can add a pinch of cumin powder if you like the taste of it. Since we aren't keen on it, I skipped it. 

The post Nurukku Gothambu Payasam | Kerala Broken Wheat Kheer appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

For this week’s Blogging Marathon #123 theme of “Protein Rich Dishes”, after making the starter and the main, here is the dessert. I decided to use two proteins for this dish as well – the paneer and the milk! By the way, nuts are decent protein as well, so that makes it three.

I have always wanted to make paneer payasam but somehow never got through it, till I ended up with a lot of milk that was all about to spoil. I was almost panicking of having to throw it off, till I was reminded about the escapades I had when I made this barfi. I then just went ahead and broke up the milk, to get the paneer and used the whey to water my plants. Hehe… While I was breaking my head about what to do with them, the idea of wanting to make the payasam came visiting me.

This was our dessert that I made for Eid, however since we already had Paal Pizhinjath made, we deferred it to the next day. I must say that this kheer tasted way better when it sat that time in the fridge. Not that it didn’t taste delicious when hot, but cold was so much better… I spiced it with cardamom and saffron and it was just superbly yum, with bites of the crumbled paneer and the crushed nuts in between. I wouldn’t really mind my milk getting spoiled again if it gives me the chance to make this payasam again!

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Paneer Kheer | Chena Kheer | Paneer Payasam

Course Payasam/ Kheer

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

FOR PANEER/ CHENA

• 1.5 ltr milk full fat
• 2 tbsp vinegar

FOR PAYASAM

• 1 ltr milk
• 1/4 cup milk powder
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• A fat pinch of saffron
• 15-20 almonds roasted and crushed
• 15-20 cashew nuts roasted and crushed

Instructions

• First make the paneer by bringing the milk to heat in a thick bottomed pan. As soon as the milk starts boiling, add the vinegar. We will see that the milk splits. Switch off and drain into a colander covered with muslin cloth. Keep aside till the liquid is completely drained.
• Once drained, take out the chena/ paneer and crumble. This would give you around 125 gm of paneer.
• In a thick bottomed pan, combine the milk, milk powder, sugar, cardamom and saffron and bring it to boil. Keep on low flame and cook, stirring occassionally till the milk is slightly thickened, around 30 minutes.
• Add in the crumbled paneer and crushed nuts and cook for a further 20 minutes or till the paneer starts floating on to the top.
• Enjoy warm or cold, as per liking...

Notes

If you are using frozen paneer, then thaw around 125 gm paneer and crumble. Use as instructed.

The post Paneer Kheer | Chena Kheer | Paneer Payasam appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

While working on my posts for the Blogging Marathon #122 theme of “Sweets with Fruits or Vegetables”, after making one with banana and another one with chickoo, I obviously wanted to make something with a vegetable. Even though vegetables are not known to be a part of dessert usually, we all love our gajar ka halwa or chukandar halwa. One of our favorites were these potato jamuns that didn’t even show any trace of the potatoes. I have also tried making halwa with zucchini and it was so delicious, that it used to be a part of my diet plan as well, not mentioning about the moist bakes that vegetable can give, just like this chocolate one.

But I have been wanting to try making lauki ka halwa since time immemorial. I always have lauki in my fridge because my girls love this side and it appears on our lunch table at least once a week. When this theme was declared, I kept aside a peice so that I could make the halwa. Before making it, one night, I ordered a meal from a Pakistani restaurant through Zomato and included this halwa from their menu. What came in a small bowl was the creamiest dessert I have ever eaten. I am usually someone who finds fault with desserts from out, but this lauki halwa was amazing. It was really creamy with strips of lauki and plump sago balls studded through the dessert. I used that halwa as a benchmark for myself to make this dessert.

I wouldn’t say that my pudding turned out like how I had eaten it but it was delicious in its own way. The bottlegourd is first grated and squeezed on any additonal water. I used my food processor to grate the lauki. I sauteed it up in ghee for some minutes before adding the milk and condensed milk along with the sago and cooking it till th sago is all plumped up and the milk thickens. I have added only cardamom and rose water for flavor but next time, I would love to add some kewra essence and/or saffron too, even though I had both in my pantry. Doesn’t it happen that the head gives ideas a long time later?

Just like most of the desserts, it thickens as it sits, so make sure to leave enough liquid in your kheer. I actually wanted to add some cream at the end of the whole process, but didn’t want to add any extra calories. Unlike me, if you are in a mood to add, then go ahead and do so. Off to this super simple recipe…

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Lauki Kheer ~ Bottlegourd Pudding

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 2 cups grated bottle gourd
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 500 ml milk
• 1/4 cup condensed milk
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• 3 tbsp sago seeds
• 1 tsp rosewater
• Crushed nuts for garnish

Instructions

• Squeeze out the excess water from the bottlegourd if it is watery.
• Soak the sago seeds in boiling water for 15 minutes.
• Heat ghee in a thick bottomed pan. Saute the grated bottlegourd till it looks crisp.
• Add the milk and condensed milk along with the cardamom and salt and bring to boil.
• Drain the sago and add into the mixture. Cook on low flame, stirring occassionally and scraping the sides.
• Switch off once the mixture is thickened and the sago is transparent.
• Add the rosewater and nuts as needed and enjoy warm or cold.

Notes

Sago seeds is optional but gives a good body to the pudding.

You can add flavorings of your choice. Saffron is a good choice to add, so is kewra essence.

To make the kheer richer, you may add a small pack of cream before switching off and mix it in.  

The post Lauki Kheer ~ Bottlegourd Pudding appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Onam may be a religious festival for the Hindus of Kerala, however for the rest of us, it is all about viewing the beautiful pookalams in front of our Hindu friends’ houses, beautifully clad girls and ladies and then the highlight – the meal on the banana leaf, called the Onasadya (ഓണസദ്യ).

My memories about these sadyas during childhood is what we used to have from my uncle who was the member of the Indian Association during those times and he would get passes for all of us for the Onam celebrations. We would so excitedly wait for that day. It isn’t easy cooking up the whole meal at home, so we would wait for the day. Once the day is over, all we would want is to have a good nap, after eating all the food and drinking as much as payasam we can afford to drink. My bestie Ramya’s mother had invited me a couple of times ago to her home, and to my surprise, aunty served the sadya with a piece of fried chicken! A few of my other acquaintances told me that some houses do serve something non-veg along with their sadya, but for me, a sadya has to be only vegetarian. It is then you get a complete feel of the meal.

Another beautiful memory of an Onasadya was when I was half way pregnant with Azza. Umma was back home, so Rasha used to go to my friend Rashee’s home after her nursery classes. That year, Onam had fallen in between Ramadan and since we both were pregnant, we weren’t fasting. When I heard the ads, I called her and asked if she was ready to have a sadya. A yes, a booking and two big bags that afternoon – we hogged like crazy till we felt so full and I left from her house that day very close to Maghrib, after a very tight nap. Her daughter and Azza are just a couple of weeks apart… Somehow it feels surreal that the sadya has reminders of lovely friendships that I cherish in my life.

The later memories were then of the sadyas that HD’s friends would organize. Every family would volunteer to prepare something or the other. HD would always volunteer pappadam and order it from somewhere. Maybe he is just being sweet by taking up something that won’t take away my precious weekend. Hehe… Once I had made the Cherupayar Parippu Pradhaman and taken for the organizing team, and they really loved it. Of late, we haven’t had such get-togethers over the past couple of years, due to so many reasons and I really miss them. I feel my sister, who stays in Virginia US has eaten more sadyas than me in recent times. I must admit, I am jealous of her…

I have tried to put the recipes that can go into a Sadya under this tag. However, it is not even complete, since I have never done a whole sadya myself and not so surprisingly, the majority of the recipes I have tagged are all payasams… Hehe… I have been planning to do it over the past so many years, especially during our anniversary month, since it coincides with Vishu, which is another occasion when a sadya may be eaten, but it has never happened. This time as well, when I was planning whether to do a post for Onam or not, we ended up buying a couple of packs of rice ada since we were craving some payasam. What better time to cook and post!

Rice ada are dry rice sheets, cut into small peices. You will get them in large strips as well, but the small ones cook faster and hence is easier. The cooking time of them depends from brand to brand, so please follow the instructions on the pack! If there are no instructions like on the one I had used, do follow the method I had used. It works in most of the cases.

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Ada Pradhaman

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 4 -6

Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

• 200 gm pack rice ada
• 350 gm jaggery melted in 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/4 tsp dry ginger powder
• A pinch of salt
• 2 cup semi-thin coconut milk randaam paal
• 1/2 cup thick coconut milk
• FOR TEMPERING:
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 3-4 tbsp coconut peices
• 10-15 cashew nuts

Instructions

• Bring lot of water to boil. Add the rice ada into it and simmer for a couple of minutes. Switch off and allow it to sit. When you taste test, the ada will feel cooked. Drain the ada, wash it well under running water and set aside.
• In a large saucepan, add the jaggery, the spice powders, salt and the thin coconut milk and bring it to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes.
• Add the drained ada and mix well. Let it cook till the ada is completely done and the sauce thickens.
• Add the thick coconut milk and switch off. Do not boil at this stage. Mix well.
• For tempering, heat the ghee, fry the coconut slices. Add the cashews and as it fries, add the raisins and switch off. Toss well so that the raisins puff. Add in to the pradhaman. Enjoy warm!

Notes

If you are using fresh coconut milk, you can refer to the link given in the post. You may need to use a little more than one whole coconut for the milk.
I used coconut milk powder - prepare as per the instructions on the packet.
If using canned coconut milk, use one whole canned coconut milk (400 ml). Shake well and reserve 1/2 cup for the last. To the remaining, add water to make it 2 cups and use as thin coconut milk.
The color of the ada pradhaman will solely depend upon the jaggery used. Try to use the dark one (karupetti) for maximum color.

The post Ada Pradhaman appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

For the Blogging Marathon #101, while I was deciding to make a sweet dish for the theme “Cooking with Besan”, my first intention was making some barfis or laddoos. I was planning to make it during Eid, since my cousins would be around and it would be easier to finish it off rather than make something that I am not sure my children would eat. But that didn’t happen. During the mad rush of those five days, time flew and I was still left with the task of having to make a sweet dish with Besan.

I do make besan ka doodh occasionally, which is a hot thin concoction of milk and besan. That was when it clicked me, that there must be a kheer in those lines. My guess wasn’t out of place. Besan Kheer is prepared during the winter seasons in Punjab and some North Indian states. I could understand it. Even though I had made the kheer on a very humid night, I totally loved how earthy and comfortable it tasted. The recipe is very simple and flavors can be adjusted as per your requirement.

The beauty of this dish is that it can be enjoyed hot or cold. When enjoyed then and there, it is has a drink consistency but when kept to cool, then it becomes literally like a custard. Either way, it tastes amazing. I had only made little worrying if it would be accepted but surprisingly my usually reluctant girls drank it down happily. I guess I must make this a bit frequently for them, then.

This dish can be done in a way that you desire. To make it vegan, roast the besan without the ghee till nutty, and add almond or soya milk instead of the milk added. You can add more flavors to this kheer – I feel a pinch of dry ginger or a pinch of clove and/or cinnamon will take the dish way further. You can replace the sugar with a sweetener of your choice – jaggery, stevia or even honey would be delicious. I am sure that if prepared the way you like, it is going to be enjoyed truly. Off to the recipe…

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Besan Kheer

Course Dessert

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1/4 cup besan
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tbsp sugar
• A pinch of salt
• A pinch of cardamom powder
• A pinch of saffron
• 1 tsp rosewater
• Crushed almonds for garnish

Instructions

• Heat the ghee and add the besan. On a low flame, cook the besan till it is well roasted and a nice nutty aroma gives way. This process will take around 8-10 minutes.
• Add the water little by little and whisk till there are no lumps.
• Now add the ingredients from milk and saffron and cook till the kheer looks glossy and slightly thickened.
• Switch off and add the rosewater.
• Serve warm with crushed almonds, or let it sit and serve cold. As it sit, the mixture will thicken to custard consistency.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page to see what the other Blogging Marathoners are doing this BM#101.

The post Besan Kheer appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Assalamu alalikum to all my readers in this beautiful month of September! Hope you all had a wonderful Eid-ul-Adha celebrations. If you would like to read more about this festival, then do check out this post! I already have a pressure cooker version of semiya payasam on the blog, but this one is old school – needs some time and patience, but the end result is sweet!

I am not sure if anybody hates semiya payasam. I have a couple of cousins who don’t like this payasam, and I find them to be really weird. When anybody says “payasam”, the first thing that will always come into mind is semiya payasam, as it is easy to make, with easily available ingredients and basically, no-mess. Just like how you need to be while making the sago payasam, you have to cook enough that the vermicelli looks transparent, the milk looks thickened and the whole mixture looks creamy. If you don’t sufficiently cook your vermicelli or if the milk hasn’t thickened, then while serving, you will notice your vermicelli sinking to the bottom of the glass. This is not a very pretty sight to watch nor easy for our guests to have! I have been there and I have done that!

I always make sure I use the normal thick vermicelli (like Bambino you get at home). If you have the thin roasted Pakistani vermicelli, then the best thing to make with it is the sheer khurma. It will not lend richness to this semiya payasam, so do avoid it for this recipe. Here’s wishing all my readers the best of the festival… may Allah grant us all peace and happiness! My vacation is slowly coming to an end, but that’s how everything in life is… Off to the recipe…

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Semiya Payasam ~ Vermicelli Milk Dessert

Course Dessert

Cuisine South Indian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 4 -6

Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

• 3 tsp ghee
• 1 1/2 cup vermicelli
• 1 liter milk
• A fat pinch cardamom powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup thin coconut milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• FOR TEMPERING:
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 10 cahew nuts
• 10 almonds
• 15-20 raisins

Instructions

• Heat ghee in a thick bottomed sauce pan.
• Add in the vermicelli and roast till it looks golden brown.
• Pour in the milk along with the cardamom powder salt and bring it to boil.
• Keep on low flame, stirring occasionally. You will start noticing the vermicelli plump up and mix into the milk, rather than settling at the bottom. The milk will also start thickening. This will take anytime between 15 minutes to 25 minutes depending upon how quick the vermicelli cooks.
• Add in the coconut milk and sugar and simmer for five minutes. Switch off.
• Prepare the tempering by frying the nuts in hot ghee. Switch off and add the raisins, toss till the raisins plump up.
• Add into the prepared payasam and keep closed for at least 1/2 an hour for flavors to mingle.
• Serve warm!

Notes

The payasam thickens as it sits. Warm a little water and add till the desired consistency is reached.
This tastes amazing when served cold as well!

Wants a little more variety to your semiya payasam? Then try out this Carrot Sago Semiya Payasam or this Ragi Semiya Payasam!

The post Semiya Payasam ~ Vermicelli Milk Dessert appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.