ഓണാശംസകള് !
We wish you all a very Happy and Cheerful Onam , complete with a scrumptious sadya, replete with warm memories of the Onams past !
If you feel like experimenting with the payasam you are making this Friday, here is a special something for you. This is a carrot halwa meets pal payasam kind of sweet stuff. You will process the carrots till it goes to an almost Halwa-ish stage, before taking a turn and swiftly adding it to a pot of pal payasam. I can only describe it aptly in Malaylam, a language I heavily rely on for speaking out what I really,truly and sincerely mean.
ക്യാരറ്റ് വിളയിച്ച പാല് പായസം !
ഓണാശംസകള് !

Carrot rice pal payasam (Milk and rice pudding with carrots sautéed in ghee)
Recipe
Milk – 10 cups
Water- 2 cups
Broken red rice – ¼ cup
Carrot - very finely grated – 5 cups
Sugar – 1 3/4 cup
Ghee- 1 tbsp
Cardamom – 4 pods
Cashew nuts – ¼ cup
Raisins – ¼ cup
In a non stick pan, mix grated carrot with ¼ cup sugar and ½ tbsp ghee. Cook with constant stirring at high heat, till the grated carrots dries up (about 10-15 minutes). Turn off the heat. You can do this step ahead of time, and keep the prepared carrot frozen until ready to use. In a pressure cooker, mix milk, water, rice and sugar. Close the lid, turn on the stove. When you see steam coming out of the valve, put the regulator on, keep in high heat for 2 more minutes. Turn the heat to low and leave the cooker undisturbed for the next 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and open the cooker after releasing the steam. Add the prepared carrots; turn the heat back on, cook with constant stirring at medium heat for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, add cardamom powder. Heat ½ tbsp ghee in a small pan, add cashew nuts and raisins. Sauté till the nuts begin to turn golden brown. Add it to the payasam. Serve warm or cold.
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