Thursday, January 16, 2020

PASI PARUPPU PAYASAM

PASI PARUPPU PAYASAM

Happy New Year, dear readers! I am back after a break of about six weeks. Yesterday was an auspicious day for us in india. We celebrated the festival of Pongal/Sankranti. Yesterday, is also significant as being the start of the harvesting season.

Like in every Hindu home where Makar Sankranti/Pongal is celebrated, I made a sweet too. This one is from Tamilnadu and is called Pasi Paruppu Payasam. It gets it's name from "Pasi Paruppu" being the name for Moong Dal ( yellow lentils) in English. "Payasam" is a sweet dish somewhat like "kheer" made in North India.



Ingredients:-
  • Pasi Paruppu or Moong Dal, 1/2 cup
  • Jaggery, grated, 3/4 cup, or to taste 
  • Thin Coconut Milk, 1/2 cup
  • Thick Coconut Milk, 1 cup
  • Ghee, 1 and 1/2 tbsp to 2 tbsp
  • Cashewnuts, 10-12, broken into halves
  • Raisins, 1 tbsp
  • Cardamom Powder, 1/2 tsp 

Method:-

First, we will extract the coconut milk if you are making it from scratch
Grate 1 full medium-sized coconut
In a mixer, grind the coconut gratings along with a cup of water for a few minutes at high speed
Filter the ground mixture using a damp muslin cloth or a strainer and press the mixture till all the coconut milk is collected . This is the thick coconut milk. Keep aside.
Next, return the coconut pulp to the mixer and blend again with another cup of water and repeat the straining process to extract the thin coconut milk. Keep aside.
The pulp that remains can be discarded,

Obviously, the above steps are not required if you are using store bought canned Coconut Milk

Dry roast the moong dal till it becomes slightly golden in color and gives off a good aroma
Rinse the roasted moong dal and place it in a vessel and add to it 1 and 1/2 cups of water
Pressure cook the moong dal in the vessel for about 3-4 whistles or till it gets fully cooked
Once the pressure cooker cools, transfer the cooked moong dal to a pan and and mash it with the back of a ladle
Heat the pan and to this add 1/2 cup of thin coconut milk that you have prepared, grated jaggery and cardamom powder
Mix well and stir continuously on medium heat till the jaggery gets fully dissolved and well blended with the cooked moong dal and bring to a boil 
Now add the thick coconut milk, mix well and let it simmer on low flame for 1-2 minutes
(Do not overheat after adding the thick coconut milk as this could curdle)
Switch off the gas and keep the payasam aside
Heat the ghee in a tempering pan and on medium heat add the cashew nuts, broken into halves, and fry them till they become golden in color
Add the raisins and fry till the raisins swell up 
Lastly, add the roasted cashew nuts, raisins to the Pasi Paruppu Payasam  and serve it hot







1 comment:

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