Tandla Godshe (Rice Payasam)

Rice Payasam is a popular sweet dish in South India. South Indian people love rice in any form. They love to have rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Rice Payasam (kheer) is a popular sweet dish made during festivals, get togethers, marriages etc. Kheer can be made by cooking rice in milk and then sweetened it with sugar and finally flavored with cardamom or it can be made the way I have shown today. The cooked rice is sweetened with jaggery and then enriched with coconut milk (or plain milk) and cardamom. Both ways it turns out good. Do try making this and I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients:

• White Rice** - 1/2 cup (I used Basmathi)
• Thick Coconut Milk* - 3/4 to 1 cup
• Jaggery, powdered - 1/2 cup (vary accordingly)
• Cardamom Pods - 3-4
• Raisins - 1-2 Tbsp (optional)
• Water - 2 1/4 cup

*I have used canned coconut milk. It works well but for best results, you can use freshly extracted coconut milk. You can check out the method of extraction here.

You can use any white rice. 

Procedure:

Wash the rice 2-3 times and put it in a cooking pot. Now add 2 1/4 cups of water . Start heating it.

When it comes to a boil, continue heating for a minute and then close the lid. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 15 minutes. After 15- 20 minutes, the rice will be cooked and most of the water will be absorbed.

Now start heating the rice mixture. To this add raisins and powdered jaggery. Once it comes to a boil, heat it on a medium flame for 3-4 minutes.

Then turn off the heat. Finally add in the coconut milk and cardamom powder. 

Mix well.
Tandla Godshe is ready!

Serve it hot or warm. Above measurement serves 3-4 people.

Note: The Payasam thickens as it cools. If it becomes too thick you can always add little water or milk to get desired consistency.
The color of the payasam depends on the color of the jaggery.

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Moogadali Paaysu (Moongdal Kheer)

Moogadali Paaysu is a popular South Indian Kheer. I got this recipe from my mother. This kheer is very simple to make. The moongdal is cooked and then sweetened with jaggery. Finally it is enriched with coconut milk and a dash of cardamom. 

Long time back my brother had suggested me to post this recipe. I have been thinking of making this since then and finally I made it. It is my first try and  turned out pretty good. Do try making this for any festivals which are lined up and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Moongdal* (Split skinless green gram) - 1 cup
• Jaggery - 1/2 cup (adjust accordingly)
• Thick Coconut milk - 3/4 cup
• Cardamom Pods - 3
• Ghee - 2-3 tsp
• Cashew and Raisins - As desired

*You can also use 3/4 cup of moongdal and 1/4 cup of sabudana (sago pearls) for variation.

Procedure:

Wash moongdal 2-3 times and drain the water completely. Now take this dal in a pressure cooker and fry this for 2-3 minutes along with a tsp of ghee (you are not looking for change in color of the dal) until a nice aroma is got.

Then add 2 cups of water and pressure cook it for one whistle.

Then mash it lightly with a wooden spoon. Add little water to loosen it and then add powdered jaggery. Start heating this mixture.

Turn off the heat when the jaggery is well dissolved and the mixture has boiled for 2-3 minutes. Now add in the coconut milk and cardamom powder. 

Mix well. Also add cashew and raisins fried in ghee. Mix well. 

Moogadali Paaysu is ready!!

Serve it warm. Above measurement serves 3-4 people.

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Cheppi Kheeri (Unsweetened Rice Pudding)

Cheppi Kheeri is a popular dish in Konkani cuisine. It is prepared especially during festivals like Nagarpanchami, Gowri Tritiya and Navaratri. I got this recipe from my mother. This dish is unique. The rice is cooked along with turmeric leaves until soft. The leaves infuses a mild flavor to the rice. It is then enriched by adding freshly extracted coconut milk. The coconut milk makes the dish little sweet and no other sweetening agent is added.

My husband is a great fan of this dish. Hence I decided to plant turmeric roots. Now I have five plants in my garden. I used those leaves in this dish. This is the first time I am making it and it did turn out very tasty as my mother's would taste! :-)

Ingredients:

• Rice - 1/2 cup
• Homemade Thick Coconut Milk - 3/4 cup
• Turmeric leaves, small sized - 2
• Water - 2 1/4 cup

Procedure:

The most important ingredient for this dish is freshly extracted coconut milk. So please don't use canned coconut milk. 

Another important ingredient is turmeric leaves. This is the picture of the plant from my garden.

For extracting Coconut milk- 

Break open the coconut into two pieces using a hammer.

Now take one of the piece and remove the coconut meat (white part) using a knife (or use a scraper if you have).

Now transfer the coconut meat into a blender along with water (1 1/4 cup).

Grind it to get a smooth paste.

Place a fine sieve (or cotton cloth) over a bowl. Now add the coconut paste into the sieve.

Press it until all the milk is removed. You will be left with dry coconut scraps. The bowl will have the thick, creamy coconut milk (thin coconut milk can be extracted using the coconut scraps by adding 1 1/2 cups of water and then passing it through the sieve. This thin milk can be added while making payasam).

I extracted both the thick and thin coconut milk. Now set it aside.
Next step is to cook rice.
Wash the rice 2-3 times and put it in a cooking pot. Now add 2 1/4 cups of water (or I added 1 cup water and 1 1/4 cup thin coconut milk) and turmeric leaves. Start heating the mixture.

When it comes to a boil, continue heating for a minute and then close the lid. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 15 minutes. After 15- 20 minutes, the rice will be cooked and most of the liquid will be absorbed.

Now again heat the rice mixture and mash it lightly using a ladel. Once the mixture looks thick, turn off the heat. 

Let it cool for 15- 20 minutes. When it is still warm, add thick coconut milk and mix well. 

Cheppi Kheeri is ready!!

Serve it immediately. Above measurement serves two people.

Serving suggestion: Sprinkle little salt while eating. 
Discard the turmeric leaves.

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Kharjura Paaysa (Dates Kheer)

Kharjura Paaysa is an easy dessert. I got this recipe from a cook book written by Kaveri B S. This dessert is simple yet tasty. The sweetness from the dates, texture from the semolina and the richness from the coconut makes it tasty.

I am a big fan of dates and eat couple of them regularly (they are rich in Iron). I have been thinking of posting this from a long time but it never happened. This dessert requires less sugar as the dates are already sweet. Do try this making this for a quick treat :)

Ingredients:

• Seedless Dates, Chopped- 1 1/4 cup
• Semolina (sooji)- 1 Tbsp
• Sugar- 1-2 Tbsp (vary accordingly)
• Thick Coconut milk* - 3/4 cup
• Ghee- 2 tsp
• Cashew nut- 1-2 tsp
• Cardamom Pods- 3-4

*You can substitute plain whole milk.

Procedure:

Chop the pitted dates.

Then cook them in a pan containing little water, until soft.

Then grind them coarsely (I used a hand blender).

Then in another pan start heating the ghee. Then add broken cashew and fry until it turns slight brown. Now add the semolina and roast it until a nice aroma is got (when the semolina is roasting make sure you have a cup go hot boiling water ready). 

Once a nice aroma is got, add the hot water carefully. Let the semolina get cooked.

Then add the ground dates and mix well. Taste the mixture and add sugar accordingly (add water if the mixture is thick).

Then finally add the coconut milk and bring it to a gentle boil. Turn off the heat and finally add cardamom powder and mix well. 

Kharjura Paaysa is ready!!

Serve it warm. Above measurement serves 2-3 people.

Note: The semolina gives thickness and texture to the paaysa (pudding). You can totally skip it, if desired.

Since we add semolina, the paaysa tends to thicken as it cools. So you can add hot milk to get the desired consistency.

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Ponsa Gharai ( Ripe Jackfruit Paayasam)

Ponsa Gharai is a very popular jaggery based seasonal dessert in Coastal Karnataka. In Konkani, ponosu means ripe jackfruit. I got this recipe from my mother. 

Ripe jackfruit is abundantly available in the summer time and this is one of the preparations made using the jackfruit. Pudding is made by cooking it slightly and then sweetened using jaggery. Finally it is made richer using coconut milk...!! Does it sound yummy?:-) This dessert always takes me back to childhood. As kids we used to anxiously wait till our mother made yummy delicacies using jackfruit. Those were the days!! Do give this a try and enjoy.

Ingredients:

• Ripe Jackfruit, chopped- 1 cup, heaping
• Sooji/ Semolina- 1/3 cup
• Jaggery - 3/4 cup (vary accordingly)
• Thick coconut milk - 1 1/4 cup
• Cardamom pods- 4-5

Procedure:

Clean the ripe jackfruit. Discard the seeds and chop the clean jackfruit pods.

Now heat water (I used 2 1/2 cups) in a pot. When it comes to a boil add the chopped jackfruit pods.

Allow it to cook for 6-7 minutes on medium heat (or until it is soft but still holds its shape). Then add semolina slowly with continuous stirring (stirring is required to avoid formation of lumps). 
Allow the semolina to cook (here semolina is used as a thickening agent. Some people also add rice paste instead of semolina).

Once the semolina cooks, the mixture thickens. Now add the crushed jaggery.

Mix it and allow it to melt. Once it melts, let the mixture boil for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Then turn off the heat.

Finally add the cardamom powder and coconut milk. 

Mix well until homogenous. 

Ponsa Gharai is ready!!

Serve it hot or warm. Above measurement serves four people.

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Phova Kheeri (Flattened Rice Payasam) ~ Ugadi Special!!

Phova Kheeri is a popular Jaggery based dessert. In Konkani, phovu means flattened rice and kheeri is nothing but pudding. This payasam is commonly made on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. 

I got the recipe from a cook book (written Jaya Shenoy). I came up with my own measurements and it turned out very tasty. This kheer doesn't have any dry fruits and demands less ghee. Do give it a try and enjoy this simple jaggery based dessert.

Ingredients:

• Flattened Rice/Poha (Thick variety)- 1 1/2 cups
• Ghee (clarified butter)- 2-3 tsp
• Jaggery- 1 cup (adjust accordingly)
• Coconut milk (thick)- 400ml (1 can or little more than 1 1/2 cups)
• Cardamom pods- 4-5
• Water- 2 cups

Procedure:

Take ghee and flattened rice in a pan and start frying it on a medium heat until a nice aroma is got (we are not looking for any color). This might take around 3-4 minutes. Then transfer the roasted flattened rice to a bowl.

Now in the same pan start heating water. When it comes to a boil, add the roasted flattened rice. Cook it until it turns soft slightly (for 2-3 minutes).

Then add the powdered jaggery and heat it further until the jaggery dissolves completely.

Finally add in the coconut milk and cardamom powder and mix well. Then turn off the heat.

Phova Kheeri is ready!!

Serve it hot or warm. Above measurement serves four people.

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