Desserts

Palada Payasam

 

Palada Payasam

Palada Payasam is Kerala's authentic sweet dish, or a rice pudding made with rice, milk, and ghee. A feast (sadya) is not complete without this rich, delicious payasam. It is also prepared for special occasions like marriages and birthdays.
Palada Payasam is prepared with rice flakes, milk, and ghee. The rice flakes are cooked in full-cream milk until they attain a creamy consistency. Then sugar is added, and finally garnished with roasted or fried dried fruits.
What is an ADA
Ada in Malayalam means rice-based mini dried papads or flakes. It is essentially rice flour paste, which is first dried and then cooked or steamed while preparing the payasam. Pal means milk, and Pal ada means rice flakes cooked in milk. Traditionally, it was prepared at homes, but because it is quite time-consuming and a long-drawn process, ready-to-cook ones are used to prepare the Palada Payasam nowadays.
I have prepared Palada Payasam with readymade adas, which are easily available in South Indian stores. They come in packets and can be stored for a few days. They taste as good as the home-made ones.
The difference between Pal Ada Payasam and Ada Pradhaman
Many people tend to get confused between the two. While Palada Payasam uses rice ada, milk, and sugar, Ada Pradhaman is prepared with rice ada, coconut milk, and jaggery. So, both are different, and only the ingredient `Ada' is common.
Print Recipe
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour
Course Dessert
Cuisine Indian, Kerala Cuisine
Servings 2 people

Equipment

  • 1 Deep Pan
  • 1 Small pan

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup Rice ada (rice flakes)
  • 1/2 litre Milk (Full cream/fat)
  • 1/2 cup Organic sugar/raw sugar
  • 1 tbsp Ghee/clarified butter
  • 8-10 nos. Cashewnuts
  • ¼ tsp Cardamom powder
  • 2 cups Water

Instructions
 

Milk

  • Boil 1/2 litre of full-cream milk in a deep pan and set aside.

Rice ada/flakes

  • Take ½ cup broken rice flakes. Boil 2 cups of water and add the rice flakes into it, stirring continuously to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
  • Cook on a low flame for 10 minutes till the adas/flakes are soft.
  • Once cooked, strain the cooked adas and run them under cold water. Set aside.
  • Meanwhile, in a small pan, heat ghee and fry cashew nuts. Keep aside.
    Into the boiled milk, add the cooked rice adas and mix well.
  • Boil on medium to low flame until the milk appears creamy and rich.
  • Add cardamom powder and ½ cup organic sugar and mix. Boil for 5 more minutes on a low flame. More sugar can be added if you want the payasam to be sweeter in taste.
  • Switch off the flame and garnish the payasam with fried cashews.
     Serve hot or cold.

Notes

Tips & Notes
You can increase the quantity of milk if needed. It will thicken and become creamy when boiled for some time.
Do not boil the milk on a high flame once the sugar is added, as it can curdle. The payasam has to be cooked on a medium to low flame.
Jaggery is an alternative to sugar if preferred. But jaggery should not be boiled with milk. The jaggery powder must be added once the payasam is cooked and switched off.
Note that jaggery powder will turn the payasam’s colour to light brown.
 
Keyword cardamom powder, cashewnuts, Creamy milk, dry fruits, full fat milk, ghee, organic sugar, rice ada, rice flakes