Paal Payasam is a simple South Indian variant of a slow cooked rice pudding made with only 4 ingredients. This recipe is of a typical Tamil style Rice Payasam that is creamy and delicious.
Heat ghee in a thick bottomed wide pan or kadai until it melts. Keep the heat to a low or medium-heat.
When the ghee melts, add basmati rice.
Stir the rice grains and sauté for about 30 seconds on a low to medium heat or till you get a nice fragrant aroma from the rice. Do not allow the rice to get browned.
Then add milk which has been boiled before. The pre-boiled milk can be hot, warm or refrigerated. Stir the rice grains with the milk.
Bring the milk to a boil first on a low to medium heat. Do stir when the milk is getting heated up, so that the bottom of the milk does not get scorched.
After the milk has come to a boil, continue to simmer till the rice grains are cooked completely and softened.
For quick cooking of the rice, I kept a lid on the pan. But in this case, you have to be in the kitchen so that you open the lid when the milk starts frothing up. Or else you can cook the rice uncovered. But do stir regularly.
Another tip is cover the pan in such a way, so that some of the steam can be passed through.
Continue to cook further till the rice grains are completely softened. After the rice grains are cooked, you can even mash them while stirring with a spoon or spatula.
Once the rice grains are cooked well, add sugar. Stir so that the sugar is dissolved.
Simmer for a further 8 to 10 minutes till the milk has reduced and the payasam has thickened. Do keep in mind that as this payasam cools it will thicken more, so you can decide the consistency which you prefer.
Serve Paal Payasam as is or garnished with saffron, rose petals or sliced almonds. You can serve the payasam hot or cold. You can also offer the payasam to any deity first before serving to anyone else.Keep any leftover payasam in the fridge after it comes at room temperature.
Notes
When making rice payasam for the deities, do not taste or smell any of the ingredients. Also use freshly purchased ingredients.
Feel free to include your choice of nuts and dry fruits. You can opt to fry the nuts separately in 1 tablespoon ghee and add this entire mixture of the fried nuts and ghee to the payasam once it is cooked.
For flavorings, you can add add cardamom powder, cloves powder, nutmeg powder, cinnamon powder, saffron strands, rose water or kewra water.
While I have used raw sugar to make this sweet, you can also use jaggery omitting the sugar. Grate or finely chop the jaggery. Let the payasam cook first. After the payasam is cooked, set it aside on the countertop for 3 to 4 minutes. Then add the jaggery and stir to mix until the jaggery dissolves. You could add about 4 tablespoons of grated or finely chopped jaggery.
This recipe can be scaled easily to make for less servings or more portions.