Getting ready for Onam – Thulli Payasam
This is that time of the year when I could launch myself into a nostalgic ramble with ease and enthusiasm. Onam is just a day away. My head is filled with images of clear blue skies, eye tickling sunshine of a gentle kind and old Dalda cans full of home made banana chips. Folks back home tell me that there the current Onam visual consist of traffic blocks, appalling prices for food supplies and a maddening rush to get into every shop regardless of what they are selling. Yet, we are back to the Onam of our childhoods the moment we sit down for the sadya, no matter catered or homemade. T is traveling this week, so we made Onam sadya in advance with two good payasams.
We made thulli payasam for the first time, and LOVED IT. . The word “thulli” means “drop” in malaylam . This payasam is made with cooked drops of rice flour batter. It tasted so much like the one made with homemade ada, only with less hassle attached to it. May be you could tell me which part of Kerala this excellent idea is from. While I wait to hear from you, here is the recipe.
Rice flour - ¾ cup
Bananas, ripe – 3nos
Ghee – 2 tsp
Brown sugar/jaggery – 2 cups
Coconut milk – thick and thin a cup each
Ghee toasted Cashew nuts and raisins or chopped coconut – to garnish
Dried ginger powder ( Chukku) – 3 pinches
In a blender puree 2 bananas with ¼ cup of water, add ghee and rice flour, blend till a thick batter is formed, adding more water if necessary. Keep it for 10 minutes. Boil water in a large sauce pan and drop the prepared batter in to it through a slotted spoon to make drops ( thulli, hence the name ) When the batter drops are cooked it will raise to the top. Whisk the cooked drops with a slotted spoon and spread on a plate. Repeat till all the batter is over.
Finely chop a banana. Heat ¼ cup water in a thick bottomed vessel and add banana. Cook till the pieces are tender, adding more water if necessary. When the pieces are completely cooked, add brown sugar, 1 tsp ghee, cooked thulli, and cook for another 5 minutes with constant stirring. Add thin coconut milk (mix canned coconut milk with equal quantity of water to make thin C milk), ½ cup of water and cook for 5 minutes. Add thick coconut milk and cook for 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat. Keep the vessel covered for the next five minutes. Add ginger powder, ghee toasted cashew nuts and raisins or toasted silvers of coconut. Payasam is now ready to serve
This is that time of the year when I could launch myself into a nostalgic ramble with ease and enthusiasm. Onam is just a day away. My head is filled with images of clear blue skies, eye tickling sunshine of a gentle kind and old Dalda cans full of home made banana chips. Folks back home tell me that there the current Onam visual consist of traffic blocks, appalling prices for food supplies and a maddening rush to get into every shop regardless of what they are selling. Yet, we are back to the Onam of our childhoods the moment we sit down for the sadya, no matter catered or homemade. T is traveling this week, so we made Onam sadya in advance with two good payasams.
We made thulli payasam for the first time, and LOVED IT. . The word “thulli” means “drop” in malaylam . This payasam is made with cooked drops of rice flour batter. It tasted so much like the one made with homemade ada, only with less hassle attached to it. May be you could tell me which part of Kerala this excellent idea is from. While I wait to hear from you, here is the recipe.
Rice flour - ¾ cup
Bananas, ripe – 3nos
Ghee – 2 tsp
Brown sugar/jaggery – 2 cups
Coconut milk – thick and thin a cup each
Ghee toasted Cashew nuts and raisins or chopped coconut – to garnish
Dried ginger powder ( Chukku) – 3 pinches
In a blender puree 2 bananas with ¼ cup of water, add ghee and rice flour, blend till a thick batter is formed, adding more water if necessary. Keep it for 10 minutes. Boil water in a large sauce pan and drop the prepared batter in to it through a slotted spoon to make drops ( thulli, hence the name ) When the batter drops are cooked it will raise to the top. Whisk the cooked drops with a slotted spoon and spread on a plate. Repeat till all the batter is over.
Finely chop a banana. Heat ¼ cup water in a thick bottomed vessel and add banana. Cook till the pieces are tender, adding more water if necessary. When the pieces are completely cooked, add brown sugar, 1 tsp ghee, cooked thulli, and cook for another 5 minutes with constant stirring. Add thin coconut milk (mix canned coconut milk with equal quantity of water to make thin C milk), ½ cup of water and cook for 5 minutes. Add thick coconut milk and cook for 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat. Keep the vessel covered for the next five minutes. Add ginger powder, ghee toasted cashew nuts and raisins or toasted silvers of coconut. Payasam is now ready to serve
