Pineaaple Payasam / Kheer

 Easy & Deliciously Fruity

 

Payasam is a milk based dessert, very similar to a kheer.

This was my first day getting really started on this blog and I thought I should start with a recipe that is not very common and something which I was making for the first time. I had some pineapple in my fridge and instead of eating it or turning it into juice, I wanted to make something different with it.  At a wedding, I once had a pineapple payasam and had loved the taste and texture of it. I had a full day in front of me and thought of whipping up something for hubby dearest. After all I knew the basics, you cant go wrong with milk and sugar right?

Wrong! And that’s how things went. Very wrong.  I may have got my payasam basics right but I forgot the very  basic principle of hot milk that it curdles when something citric is added to it.

Needless to say, my first attempt at making this elusive payasam went down the drain – literally. As second attempts go, mine wasn’t so bad, in that I managed to churn out a successful payasam. Its not all that difficult after all, just a bit time consuming, especially when you have to do the whole thing twice.

Anyways I made that mistake, so you don’t have to.

Here’s a step by step procedure to make Pineapple payasam, the right way.

What you need:

Pineapple chunks – 1 cup (fresh or canned)
Sago pearls – ¼ cup (Also known as Tapioca pearls or Sabudana)
Brown Sugar – ½ cup
Milk 1 ltr
Cardamom powder – a pinch
Saffron – a few strands (optional)
Cashew nuts and raisins as needed.

How we do it:

Cooking the sago-

Dry roast the sago pearls for a few minutes and then add boiling water to it. Keep cooking until it becomes transparent. It will take approximately 20-25 minutes. Once the sago becomes transparent, carefully drain out the hot water and immediately add cool water to the pearls. This will prevent them from sticking to each other. Let it rest in this cool water until the other ingredients are ready.

 

 

 

Cooking the pineapple-

Add the chunks to a non-stick vessel and add 2 tablespoons of sugar. Let the sugar caramelise the pineapple. Add a little water and continue cooking until the pineapple turns soft and mushy. Let it cool completely. You can now use the pineapple chunks as is but the pieces were too big for me so I pulsed them for 30 seconds on the blender so that they were just mashed and not puree.

 

 

 The milk-

Boil milk on a thick bottom pan. Once the milk is boiled, add the rest of the sugar and reduce the flame so it doesn’t boil over. Add some saffron strands which will give the milk a lovely colour. You can also add dried rose petals but if adding the rose petals, add at a later stage when the milk is almost done.

 

Putting it all together -

Now add the cooked and drained sago to the milk. Stir occasionally so that it doesn’t stick to the pan. Keep reducing the milk until you get the desired consistency. At this stage you can check the sugar and if you want, you can add some more, but remember that the pineapple will also be sweet. I put the milk on flame for just half an hour as I didn’t want it to be too thick. (Also I was impatient, remember I was doing this for the second time). Once done, take it off the heat and let cool.

Add the pineapple mix to the cooled milk and mix well. Remember people, the key word here is ‘Cooled;. Stir in some cardamom powder. You can separately fry some raisins and cashewnuts in ghee/butter and add to the payasam.

Your delicious Payasam is ready to be enjoyed.

Tips:

• Don’t blend the pineapple for too long. We still need to feel its texture in the payasam.

• Ensure that the milk and the pineapple is cool before you mix them up. I know, I know, I’m repeating myself but I just cant seem to stress the importance of that enough.

• When frying the nuts, always do the raisins first as they get brown and burn very fast. And trust me, the best of payasams get ruined by burnt fruits or nuts.

 

 

Love to hear what you think!

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