Chana Dal Payasam

P

ayasam is kheer in Tamil. This is a very simple yet aromatic payasam which I recently saw online. What tempted me most in this recipe is the combination of jaggery and coconut as this is one of my favorite combinations. You can make this payasam on some religious occasions for neivedyam to God.

Prep Time: 1 hr

Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Chana dal

• 1/3 cup heaped Powdered jaggery

• 10-12 Cashew nuts

• 2 and 1/4 cups Hot milk

• 1 tbsp Ghee

• 1 tsp Cardamom powder

• 2 tbsp Fresh grated coconut, for garnishing

• 1 tbsp Coconut bits, for garnishing

Instructions

1. Soak cashew nuts for an hour in hot water

2. Pressure cook chana dal in a pressure cooker for 2-3 whistles with enough water (it should not be mushy it should just be cooked), drain and retain the water

3. Retain 1 tbsp of cooked dal and grind the rest with the cashew nuts to a coarse paste without adding water

4. In a pan heat 1/4 cup of water (you can use the retained water) and add the jaggery. Bring to a boil.

5. Filter for impurities and add the syrup back into the pan

6. Add the ground mixture and the retained dal to the syrup and mix well to avoid lumps. Switch off the flame.

7. Add hot milk and mix, blending it well

8. In a pan take 1 tbsp ghee and fry fresh grated coconut till the coconut pieces are light brown (you can also add raisins)

9. Add this to the kheer and garnish with cardamom powder