Ada Pradhaman is a classic dessert or traditional payasam from the State of Kerala, India. Ada payasam, be it paal ada payasam (prepared with rice ada, milk and sugar) or ada pradhaman (prepared with jaggery, rice ada and coconut milk) is especially popular during the festival of Onam. Generally served with the Onam feast on plantain leaves, this is a delicious payasam adding the flavours of jaggery and thick creamy coconut milk.
This ada pradhaman tastes best the next day after it is prepared. This payasam tends to thicken over time. If the prepared pradhaman is very thick, add hot milk to dilute it.
Adding roasted coconut slices adds that extra crunchiness to this payasam so don’t miss to add it. Care should be taken while adding coconut milk to the hot jaggery syrup as it may get curdled if not in low flame. Otherwise it is a prettystraight forward recipe. Now for the recipe, you will need…..
Ingredients
- ½ cup Ada / Rice Pasta
- 2 ½ tbsps. Pure ghee
- 250-300 gms. Dark coloured Jaggery, adjust as per your taste preference
- 1 ½ cups coconut, grated
- ¼ tsp. Cardamom powder
- ¼ tsp. Cumin powder
- ¼ tsp. Dry Ginger powder
- 3 tbsps. each of Raisins, Cashews and Coconut slices
Method
- Heat 2 tablespoons ghee and fry the ada lightly.
- Next heat 2 tablespoons of ghee and fry the cashew nuts, raisins and coconut slices till light brown.
- Soak the grated coconut in 1 cup warm water, grind and extract thick milk. Repeat the process and make a second extract and keep aside. Crush the jaggery to fine powder and keep aside.
- Boil ada in 1 cup water and the second extract of coconut milk. The ada should remain soft but hold its shape.
- Add the crushed jaggery and continue cooking till it thickens. Heat the remaining ghee and add to the pradhaman.
- Mix in the first extract of coconut milk, the fried dry fruits. Stir well and heat thoroughly. Make sure it does not boil.
- Lastly add the cardamom powder, cumin powder and dry ginger powder. Mix well and switch off.
- Next add the fried coconut slices, cashews and raisins to the prepared payasam. Serve warm.
