Pal Payasam is a traditional South Indian dessert with a creamy texture and sublime sweetness. This rice pudding is made for festivals and special occasions. If you are looking for the easiest yet authentic recipe of pal payasam, it's time to rejoice. To begin this recipe, prepare your ingredients. You will need 1 cup of raw rice or basmati, 4 cups of full-fat milk, 1 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons of ghee or clarified butter, and some cashews and raisins to use as a garnish. If you do not mind a little extra flavour, add a few drops of cardamom to it, too. First, wash the rice thoroughly till the water runs clear. Then, soak the rice in water for about 30 minutes. In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat two tablespoons of ghee over medium heat. To this, add the cashews and raisins. Saut them till the cashews turn golden and the raisins puff up. Remove from the pan and keep aside. Add soaked rice to the same pan; stir for a minute. Add milk and bring it to a gentle boil. Turn the fire to low and simmer occasionally, stirring sometimes to prevent sticking. Let cook for 20-30 minutes or until the rice has cooked through and the mixture has thickened. Once the rice is cooked, add sugar and mix well. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Finally, stir in the saut ed cashews and raisins along with crushed cardamom if desired.

• 1 l milk
• 3 tbsp rice
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 3 cardamom

• First of all, take a wide, deep-bottomed heavy pan. The pan used for this recipe is very vital, and the milk will be boiling for an immense length of time. You would not want it to burn or stick at the bottom. So, the thickness of the pan will help to distribute the heat evenly and stop the milk from scalding.
• To begin with, you put in water and milk, which is in the ratio of 1:4; for example, 1 cup of water to 4 cups of milk into the pan.
• Water doesn't let the milk curdle while it is cooking; it helps the milk to keep it's smooth and creamy texture.
• Place the pan on the stove over medium-high heat and bring the milk and water to a boil.
• Stir occasionally to prevent the milk from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• Meanwhile, wash and clean the rice well. Any kind of short-grain rice can be used in this recipe as it goes well with milk.
• Once the milk mixture reaches a boil, put the rice in that pan, wash it, and clean it well.
• Turn the flame on to medium-high and let the rice cook in the milk.
• It will allow the liquid to be absorbed from the rice as it is simmering; the rice is going soft and cooking.
• Cook on the same flame but occasionally stir so that the rice does not sit at the bottom.
• Stirring also serves to break down the rice and release its starches gradually into the milk, giving a creamier consistency.
• You'll see that the mixture of milk will start evaporating and shrink as the rice cooks.
• That process is long so it calls for great patience. It will reduce to half in about 30-40 minutes.
• The mixture will have thickened a bit, and the rice will be fully cooked and tender.
• With starch coming out from the rice to the milk, it begins to thicken more.
• You then keep stirring occasionally so as not to allow the sticking in and ensure the milk reduces evenly.
• Your goal is to reduce it to half the quantity so you will have a thick, creamy consistency with concentrated flavours.
• After one hour and fifteen minutes, the milk-rice mixture would have turned into a creamy, rich texture.
• It would be off-white to almost creamy because of the reduced milk and starch released by rice. By this point, it will be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Now that the pal payasam has reached the desired consistency, it is a good time to add sugar.
• Add the sugar to the pan and mix it very well with the creamy rice mixture.
• The sugar melts very quickly and makes the mixture a bit more liquid, but it will again thicken after some minutes of simmering.
• Let the payasam boil for 2 minutes longer so that the sugar gets well mixed in it.
• Let the flame be switched off and add a pinch of powdered cardamom.
• The addition of cardamom will give it a fine aroma and subtle spice to temper its sweetness; the well-mixed cardamom in payasam with its fragrance has infused the dish.
• Ghee-fried cashews are the finishing touches to this very rich payasam and provide a crunchiness with their nutty taste.
• Take a small pan and heat some ghee by keeping it over a low flame. Add broken cashew nuts and fry until they turn golden brown.
• Stir frequently so that the nuts will not get burnt.
• Once they have turned golden brown, remove them from the heat and pour the ghee-fried cashews into the pal payasam immediately.
• Your pal payasam is now ready! What with the creamy feel of the rice, added to it, is the sweetness from sugar, aroma from cardamom, and crunch from cashews.
• Pal Payasam is a heavenly traditional dessert for an individual and family alike. Serve it hot, warm, or even chilled, as preferred.