Nei Payasam is very special in Kerala temples. It is a special sweet dish which is prepared as Neivedhyam in Kerala. This payasam is mostly made during festivals. It is also made as a prasadam for all occasions and is a tasty combination of rice, jaggery, ghee and grated coconut. Today on the occasion of Mahanavami, I decided to make this.
Unakkalari or short grain rice gives this payasam a nice taste, long grained rice like basmati rice will not give this payasam its authentic taste. I have used pudding rice in this recipe instead of the payasam rice (Chemba pachari) that we normally use in Kerala.
This payasam has a deep brown color which usually comes from jaggery. The colour of the payasam changes depending on the colour of the jaggery. Nei means ghee in Malayalam and a lot of ghee is added to this dish, hence the name of this dish.
So, here’s the recipe for this divine treat….
Ingredients
- 1 cup Rice
- 2 ½ cups Jaggery, powdered
- 3-4 tbsps. Ghee
- Cardamom powder, little
- Coconut cut into small pieces, a handful
- 2 tsps. Cashews
- 2 tsps. Raisins
Method
- Wash rice well. Add 3 cups of water to a thick bottomed vessel and boil it.
- Add the washed rice to the boiled water and allow it to cook.
- In the meantime, heat a heavy bottomed vessel; add the powdered jaggery and some water. When the jaggery dissolves completely, strain for impurities.
- To the cooked rice, add the melted jaggery. Mash the rice lightly and mix it well with the jaggery syrup. Keep stirring the jaggery-rice mix until it thickens.
- Add about 2 tablespoons of ghee. Mix well. Keep stirring till the payasam starts leaving the sides of the vessel and reaches a saucy consistency. Do not cook for very long as this will become very hard once it cools down.
- Next add the cardamom powder and mix well.
- In a small frying pan, add 1 tablespoon of ghee. Add cashews, and fry till it starts changing colour. Transfer it to a plate. Add raisins and fry till it puffs up. Transfer it to a plate. In the same pan, add coconut bits and fry till it becomes golden brown in colour. Transfer it to a plate along with cashews and raisins.
- Add the roasted ingredients to the payasam along with cardamom powder.
- Mix everything well. Delicious nei payasam is ready to be served.
