Name: Paal Payasam (Rice Payasam)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: South Indian, Tamil Nadu
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons basmati rice (or any regular or long grained non-sticky rice); 1 litre whole milk (or full fat milk); 4 tablespoons sugar (or add as per taste); 1 tablespoon ghee ((clarified butter))

Fragrant, comforting, and easy to serve as a complete meal, Paal Payasam (Rice Payasam) is a gluten-free, vegetarian South Indian, Tamil Nadu desserts, sweets made with simple everyday ingredients in about 60 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Total time: 60 minutes
Yield: 4
Category: Desserts, Sweets
Cuisine: South Indian, Tamil Nadu

Ingredients

3 tablespoons basmati rice (or any regular or long grained non-sticky rice)
1 litre whole milk (or full fat milk)
4 tablespoons sugar (or add as per taste)
1 tablespoon ghee ((clarified butter))

Method

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.