I cannot even start counting the number of sweet dishes we make back home. There are many sweets, all unique to their own region. Rosgulla makes you think of Kolkotta, Sakhar or Naarli bhaat from Maharashtra, Shavige Pheni - a classic Bangalore wedding dish and Mandige being a north karnataka wedding staple.
Apart from these there are your universal sweets like laddoos and payasams (kheer) which have their own variations in every region. One such festive sweet typical to our cooking was "Godhi kuttida paayasam" - literally translates to pounded wheat payasam. I believe the wheat is coarsely pounded and cooked with jaggery, chana dal and the usual kheer ingredients like milk, nuts, coconut, flavoring. The resulting texture is very unique with a very chewy yet juicy wheat granules. Being in the US, I would never go through the effort of getting wheat pounded and the whole procedure, given my (anti-)fondness for sweets ;) :P
But one of my experiments during a quick fix dessert/sweet dish using barley and the broken wheat tasted a lot like the original payasam. It uses jaggery which is a fresh change from the usual sugary sweets, is relatively healthy due to the addition of barley, daliya, chana dal and it comes together pretty quickly, easy to make! I personally love the chewy juicy texture and tons of nuts. Give it a try!
It is also a good breakfast option(in moderation and you could make it less sweet) because of the good grains and nuts - especially since it stores well in the fridge and can be re heated in the microwave oven easily.
This payasam tastes best when served warm.
What you need:
Broken wheat/Daliya - 1/2 cup
Barley - 1/4th cup
Chana Dal/Bengal gram - a little less than 1/4th cup
Ghee - about 3 tbsp. Adjust as per your taste/health. more = tastier :P
Jaggery - about 3/4th cup. Grated or cut into chunks. Alter per your taste. I like a low to moderate sweet dish.
Saffron strands
Cardamom powder/Elaichi powder
Chopped Nuts - Cashews+almonds. You could add raisins and other nuts too.
Milk
Method:
1) Wash the dal, barley and wheat till water runs clear. Drain.
2) Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan. Add the nuts. Fry till they are golden. Then add the drained dal, barley and wheat. Roast on medium flame till lightly golden and a mild aroma wafts out.
3) Pressure cook the nuts and roasted wheat mixture with roughly equal quantity of water and milk. The quantity of liquid is about 2-3 cups. Cook for 4-5 whistles.
4) Once pressure releases, start making the jaggery mixture. Heat remaining ghee in a non stick pan.
5) Add jaggery and keep stirring on medium low flame till jaggery melts. Add saffron. Alternatively you could add saffron soaked in warm milk. But I found that adding it to the hot jaggery brings out the flavor well.
6) Add in the cooked wheat mixture and enough milk to get a runny consistency. It will thicken a bit. Add more milk if you'd like it more runny/liquid-y.
7) Add some elaichi powder/other spice as per your taste. Keep cooking it on a medium flame till it boils and is homogenous.
8) Check taste and add more jaggery or milk as per your preference.
Note: I usually like the nuts in my dessert to be on the softer side and full of flavor. That's the reason I add nuts in the very beginning. Alternatively, if you prefer crunchy nuts you could keep the fried nuts aside and add it in the very end.
Apart from these there are your universal sweets like laddoos and payasams (kheer) which have their own variations in every region. One such festive sweet typical to our cooking was "Godhi kuttida paayasam" - literally translates to pounded wheat payasam. I believe the wheat is coarsely pounded and cooked with jaggery, chana dal and the usual kheer ingredients like milk, nuts, coconut, flavoring. The resulting texture is very unique with a very chewy yet juicy wheat granules. Being in the US, I would never go through the effort of getting wheat pounded and the whole procedure, given my (anti-)fondness for sweets ;) :P
It is also a good breakfast option(in moderation and you could make it less sweet) because of the good grains and nuts - especially since it stores well in the fridge and can be re heated in the microwave oven easily.
This payasam tastes best when served warm.
What you need:Broken wheat/Daliya - 1/2 cup
Barley - 1/4th cup
Chana Dal/Bengal gram - a little less than 1/4th cup
Ghee - about 3 tbsp. Adjust as per your taste/health. more = tastier :P
Jaggery - about 3/4th cup. Grated or cut into chunks. Alter per your taste. I like a low to moderate sweet dish.
Saffron strands
Cardamom powder/Elaichi powder
Chopped Nuts - Cashews+almonds. You could add raisins and other nuts too.
Milk
Method:
1) Wash the dal, barley and wheat till water runs clear. Drain.
2) Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan. Add the nuts. Fry till they are golden. Then add the drained dal, barley and wheat. Roast on medium flame till lightly golden and a mild aroma wafts out.
3) Pressure cook the nuts and roasted wheat mixture with roughly equal quantity of water and milk. The quantity of liquid is about 2-3 cups. Cook for 4-5 whistles.
4) Once pressure releases, start making the jaggery mixture. Heat remaining ghee in a non stick pan.
5) Add jaggery and keep stirring on medium low flame till jaggery melts. Add saffron. Alternatively you could add saffron soaked in warm milk. But I found that adding it to the hot jaggery brings out the flavor well.
6) Add in the cooked wheat mixture and enough milk to get a runny consistency. It will thicken a bit. Add more milk if you'd like it more runny/liquid-y.
7) Add some elaichi powder/other spice as per your taste. Keep cooking it on a medium flame till it boils and is homogenous.
8) Check taste and add more jaggery or milk as per your preference.
Note: I usually like the nuts in my dessert to be on the softer side and full of flavor. That's the reason I add nuts in the very beginning. Alternatively, if you prefer crunchy nuts you could keep the fried nuts aside and add it in the very end.
