Pal Payasam
(rice-milk pudding)




Onam is over, we are getting out of a bout of nostalgia, which periodically surfaces every year during the season. We will be sitting down with our good friends for a proper Onam sadya sans Melamine this weekend. There will be “true” banana leaves, and probably a repeat of the curries we made last weekend. Payasam, which is an essential dessert topping the sadya grandeur is going to be my all time favorite, rice -pal ( milk) payasam. You could make payasams in a jiffy, or devote half a day from your life for the preparation. In the Sri Krishna temple situated in Ambalappuzha ( Kerala) where the far-famed Ambalppuzha pal payasam is made, the process of making this offering reportedly starts in the wee hours of the morning, and ends closer to noon. Onam is the only time of the year when I make pal payasam in the right way, forbearingly lingering around the stove, stirring away my impatience. There are only a couple of ingredients, but please do not forget to stock up some perseverance, you might require it in this recipe!

Long method


Milk – 8 cups
Water – 6 cups
Rice – 1 1/4 cups
Sugar – 2 cups
Cardamom, crushed – 2 pods

Mix water and milk, cook in medium heat with occasional stirring till the volume reduces to half. Wash and drain rice, add it to the cooked milk, cook under medium heat till rice is done. Add sugar, cook for 20 more minutes with frequent stirring. Add crushed cardamom. Remove from stove. Optionally, cashew nuts toasted in ghee can be added.

* I use the red rice from south India which imparts a shade of pink to the dessert, but any other not so sticky rice will do fine.

Quick method


Cook rice in 2 1/2 cups water + 1 cup evaporated milk + 1 cup milk , till rice is done ( Pressure cook if you are in a hurry) Add sugar cook for 5-10 more minutes with constant stirring. Add ½ cup evaporated milk, mix well, cook for 5 more minutes. Add cardamom. You are done!!!

54 comments:

Anonymous said...

Midukki,kollamallo,ithanu real pal paysam color. Pramadmayirikkunnu..
I love your blog, who don't !
Saritha

Maneka Nirmal said...

hey archana..
the photo is sooooo goood..so onam adichupolichu??? hey there is another recipe fo the palpayasam that u don't have to use the brown rice to get that pink color..i'll post that recipe once i make it..

Priya said...

Just awesome archana. My favorite one too.

Anonymous said...

Hi Archana,

Your blog is more than excellent no words to say.

Every recipe is mouthwatering.Presentation is very good.looks like you are having a resturant or something.

Thanks for blogging.

Gattina Cheung said...

Archana,
even I don't know about your culture, but as long as come to your blog, your beautiful writing, photo and recipe never fail to touch my heart!

Anonymous said...

what a yummy looking payasam

Sudha said...

Archana, looks like i have missed your lovely ona sadya..its ok..i can still come over na? the paysam looks so yummy..thanks for sharing dear...

Orchidea said...

Nice... I have tried something very similar when I was in South America... really good!
Ciao.

Priya said...

WOW...the payasam looks sooo delicious. raice-pal payasam...is my most favourite sweet...it surely is the King of payasam's and cooked the long way it tastes heavenly. I get away with the short method most of the times though, and add some condensed milk if available :-)

Meena Kandlakuti said...

Archana,

though its know dish it looks great in the picture..i feel like having right now that complete bowl:-))thanks for sharing

Krithika said...

What a co-incidence ! Just finished making this as we are celebrating our twins birthday today. I love this payasam. I used saffron instead of cardamom. Your pic looks so good.

Anonymous said...

Love your recipe, what could be more simpler yet delicious!! Thanks!!

FH said...

Hey , That was me posted a comment just now!! Not anonymous!!

Anonymous said...

Palpayasam kemamayittundu....u have got the exact colour...Btw I just baked ur butter cake. Got the recipe from SudhaV's blog. It turned out great as expected. But still scared of decorating the cake :-)) Anyway thanks for the recipe

Priya Bhaskaran said...

ouuuuu.... eniki venam aa payasam.... I am also going to have a another Onasadya soon!!!! There is a Malayalee association here..who conducts all functions with Sadhya--- anagana nammal oke jeevichu povunuuu:)

Menu Today said...

Hi Archana,
I ALWAYS prepare pal payasam in pressure cooker. The pic of your payasam is too good. Thanks for sharing. See my version here.
http://menutoday.blogspot.com/2006/03/pink-pal-payasam-pal-payasam-payasam.html#links

Anonymous said...

hey archana...seems like you took quite some trouble making the payasam...heres an easier method 2 go abt it...the pressure cooker ambalapuzha palpayasam...same quantities of rice, milk, sugar etc.i cut down on the water...its ok even if u dnt add it at all...jst saute some cashews n dry grapes in a tsp of ghee in a pressure cooker...saute the rice in the same...add cardamom, milk n sugar n stir till the sugar dissolves...put
the pressure cooker top(not the weight knob)...wait till steam starts coming...put the knob...reduce the flame to very very low...if the flames high then u will get all the payasam out with the pressure...keep the cooker untouched for 20-25 mins...dnt even dare move it...turn off the flame...leave it till all the pressure is out by itself...open it, stir well...add a teaspoon of homemade unsalted butter if available...mmmmmmmm...its so yummy...the pink tinge comes automatically...whethr it is rice, ada or semiya u hav used!!!

Anonymous said...

oops...that was a long comment...anyways this is the measurement i take for the payasam...(my moms recipe)...1/2 cup rice...2 litres milk...1 and 1/4 cup sugar...2 cardamoms...cashews n dry grapes...

Anonymous said...

sorry the last anonymous comment was from me...sorry!!!

Anonymous said...

Which camera do you usee? The pictures are always fantastic.

Visala Manaskan said...

എന്നെയങ്ങ് കൊല്ല്!

ഖേയിലി ഖേയിലി ഖൂബെ!

Anonymous said...

I get a caramelised pink like color when i use the pressure cooker, but red rice gives the exact pink color of ambalppuzha pal paysam. I had that payasam so many times it is very pink.

Anonymous said...

Thatz an amazing picture..tempts me a lot. Sure the taste beats all the pain involved.Thnx for sharing

Nabeela said...

that payasam looks soooo good...sluuurrrp!

Mandira said...

Hi Archana - the pal payasam looks absolutely delicious. I love payasam! Hope you had a wonderful time with your friends.

sudha said...

My favorite sweet is payasam and on i prepare this on every occasion. As usual your photo is irrestible.

Mandira said...

Archana - have tagged you for a meme. Looking forward to your responses.
http://ahaar.blogspot.com/2006/09/meme-nyt-article.html

archana said...

Saritha
Thank you, welcome to Spicyana.

Maneka
Thank you friend. Yes, cheriya thothil.. I hope you will share your pal payasam secrets with us.

Priya
Thank you, it is my favorite too.

Deepa
Welcome to this blog, thank you so much for these kind words.

Gattina
Thank you so much friend.

Shaheen
Thank you

Sudha,
You can come over anytime you want dear, i sure will make a sadya for you anytime when you are here.

Orchidea
Thank you. Was that somehting called "arroz con leche" ?

Priya,
I agree 100%,nothing beats the long method. I don't make it that often too, Onam is the only time of the year when i take out my patience.Evaported milk and condensed milk are conceptually same if you take out the sugar, so probabaly we have similar recipes.

Meena,
Thank you.
Sure,please....

Krithika
Belated happy birthday to your little boys ! Saffron will be nice too. Thank you.

Foodie'shope
Thank you

Keralagirl,
Thankyoutto....
I am so glad that the cake worked well for you. I am sure that you will be amazed to see your skills once you start decorating your cakes. Go ahead, jump right in..

Priye..
sari , OK, muzhuvanum eduthoolu. Our second sadya was just like the first one, except that a friend made a superb chakka pradahman to go along with it. Onam evideyairunnalum nattilanennu thonnum.......

Menu today
Thank you for letting me know,i would love to try the recipe with the spices that you have used. Thank you.

Rashmi
Thank you so much for writing in detail,your method sounds so similar to the cooker payasam recipe my mother uses.Sauteing the rice and adding plain butter are new to me, but i make ada palpaysam using a similar method. Have noted suggestions,thank you.

Anony
I use a Sony Cybershot DSC-P92. I can't really do many things i want to do with this camera, but still i love it. Thank you.

Vishalji
Thnak you.
Athentha bhasha, Arabic ano?

Saritha
I have had Ambalappuzha palpaysam many times ( I am from Alpy). That payasam sure has a deeper shade of pink.

VeggieD,Mandira,Priya,Nabeela
I am so happy that you guys liked it. Thank you.

Mandira
Will play, thank you.

Shammi said...

Wow, I think I'm good for the quick version of pal payasam :) I admire your patience... but it's not all that surprising in someone who takes the time to make such beautiful icing flowers and cakes and takes such ravishing photos!

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Priya said...

Hi Archana, I just stumbled upon your blogs today....and I simply could'nt resist the inclination to appreciate....so..here goes..wonderful fotografs and mouthwatering recipes, seemingly easy and have this air of encouragement about them...great work dude! :)

Anonymous said...

Great article! Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Nice Blog!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for interesting article.

remya said...

hii archana...
i tried ur awesme palpayasam yestrdy for onam....it make out really well....as a beginner in cookg ... ur recipe really helpd me ...thankuu

Anonymous said...

Very interesting site. Blog is very good. I am happy that I think the same!

Anonymous said...

Excellent website. Good work. Very useful. I will bookmark!

remya said...

Payasam is really very tasty.i tried it for onam...my hubby liked very much.nice pics...Just cool archana...keep it up

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actually, that's brilliant. Thank you. I'm going to pass that on to a couple of people.

Sona said...

Hi Archana i am new to your blog loved your recipes.. Today will try this palpayasa. Husband loves this.

Anonymous said...

I thought Ambalapuzha paal payasam had "Pazham" in it. Does anyone know that recipe??????

Unknown said...

can u please tel me where to get red rice. i am in toronto

Fitness said...

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Anonymous said...

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