Make your Diwali celebrations sweeter with this easy cooker payasam recipe. Prepared with simple ingredients, this delicious dessert is perfect for festive gatherings and will leave everyone craving more.
Festivals always bring new clothes, celebrations, and lots of sweets to our minds. We usually serve sweets to relatives and friends who visit us during special days like Diwali. You will feel much happier when you make a healthy and tasty sweet at home instead of buying it from shops.
You might worry about finding time to make sweets amidst festival work. This jaggery payasam is a perfect choice for you. You can make this payasam easily in a pressure cooker using very few ingredients. The sweetness of jaggery, the aroma of ghee, and the crunch of cashews and raisins make this payasam a favorite for everyone from kids to elders. We will tell you how to make this easily at home.
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Ingredients Needed
Rice – half a cup
Bengal gram – two teaspoons
Jaggery – one and a half cups
Water – one and a half cups
Water for melting jaggery – a quarter cup
Thick milk – half a cup
Cardamom – three
Cardamom powder – half a teaspoon
Ghee – three teaspoons
Cashew nuts – ten
Raisins – three teaspoons
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How To Make Payasam In A Cooker
You must first wash the rice and Bengal gram well and soak them in water for some time. The rice and dal will cook faster when you soak them. You then place the pressure cooker on the stove. You add the soaked rice, dal, and one and a half cups of water into it. You pour half a cup of thick milk into this and mix it well. You close the cooker and let it cook on a low flame for about three whistles. The payasam will taste great when the rice cooks soft and mushy.
You can break or grate the jaggery into small pieces while the rice cooks. You pour a quarter cup of water into another vessel and add the jaggery to it on a medium flame. You turn off the stove once the jaggery melts completely. You then filter the jaggery syrup using a strainer. This step removes small dust particles from the jaggery. You do not need to boil the jaggery for a long time to make a thick syrup.
You open the lid after the cooker releases its pressure completely. You check if the rice and dal have cooked well. You now add the prepared jaggery syrup to the cooked rice and mix it gently. You keep the open cooker on the stove and let it cook on a low flame for 3 to 4 minutes while stirring. The jaggery sweetness mixes well with the rice and gives a wonderful taste to the payasam.
You heat three teaspoons of ghee in a small pan. You add the cashew nuts and fry them until they turn golden brown. You then add the raisins and fry them until they puff up. You mix these ghee-roasted cashews and raisins into the payasam. You finally sprinkle the cardamom powder, keep it on a medium flame for one minute, and turn off the stove. You can also add a tiny pinch of edible camphor if you like. Your delicious, ghee-scented jaggery payasam is now ready to serve.
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Tips For Extra Tasty Payasam
You can make the payasam taste even better if you follow a few small tips. You can add a little extra milk while cooking the rice if you want a thick and creamy payasam. You should add the required milk and cook it before adding the jaggery syrup. The milk might curdle sometimes when you add jaggery directly to hot milk. You should also stir the payasam on a low flame for a few minutes after adding the jaggery syrup so the sweetness gets into the rice.
You must avoid using a high flame while making payasam. You prevent burning at the bottom and get the right consistency when you cook on a low flame. You can increase or decrease the amount of jaggery based on your family's preference because the sweetness varies depending on the jaggery type.
You should store the payasam in a closed container in the fridge once it cools down if you are not serving it immediately. You must avoid keeping it at room temperature for a long time because it contains milk.
