Unakkalari Payasam Recipe (Kerala Rice Kheer in Coconut Milk)

A sweet simple Rice Kheer made with Coconut Milk.  A great addition to Kerala Sadhya.

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Ingredients:

Method:

1. First, make the ‘Sarkara Pani’ (Sugar syrup). See Notes.
2. Rinse the rice just once to prevent loss of the color. Drain well to remove all water.
3. Heat 1-2 spoons of ghee and lightly fry the drained rice. When fragrant, remove from heat and set aside.
4. Make freshly squeezed coconut milk in 3 stages. First, add the grated coconut to a stong mixer/blender with very little water. Just enough water to grind is enough. Squeeze this ground coconut through a straining cloth to extract 1 cup/ 250 ml of coconut milk. This is the ‘first press’.
5. Next, return the squeezed coconut pulp back to the grinder this time adding a little more water to be able to squeeze 2 cups of milk this time. This is the ‘second press’.
6. Once more, return the squeezed, ground pulp back to the grinder with 1 cup water and extract 1 more cup of light (dilute) coconut milk. This is the ‘ third press’.
7. Set aside the ‘first press’, ‘second press’ and ‘third press’ separately.
9.  Add the drained rice to a pressure cooker with two cups of water ( or the ‘third press’ ). I prefer water, as the coconut milk tends to spray more while pressure cooking. Cook this on low flame for 8-10 steams to retain as much of the color as possible. Color tends to be lost if cooked on higher heat.
10. Allow to cool naturally, then open. It should be cooked but still retain some bite to it. (Please note that some times the rice you buy may need a quick pulsing in the food processor/grinder to make the grains smaller. The rice in the picture didn’t require this step).
11. Now add the ‘second press’ coconut milk now. Also, dilute the thickened ‘Sarkara pani’  with 2 cups of hot water, and strain the mixed solution into the cooker. You can add 3/4 of it firs and more after tasting.
12. Once the mixture comes to boil, add the ‘third press’ coconut milk. Let it come to a boil again. Add the spices ( powdered cumin and green cardamom) and pinch of salt.
13. Stir well and lastly add the ‘first press’ coconut milk (the thickest extraction for last). Now just bring it to a boil, and keep stirring. Don’t boil too long. You can remove this payasam from heat now.
14. In a small pan, heat 2-3 Tbsp ghee and fry the coconut slivers till golden and add to the payasam. Then fry the cashew nuts in the same ghee, also till golden and add to the payasam along with the ghee.
15. Reheat the payasam along with the fried ingredients, until it reaches a simmer one last time. Unakkalari Payasam is ready!

Unakkalari Payasam Recipe (Kerala Rice Kheer in Coconut Milk)

Notes:

• Make Sarkara Pani by adding the Jaggery to 1 1/2 cups of water and boiling till it thickens to a bubbly state and becomes syrupy. You know it’s ready when you take a drop with a spoon and drop it into a bowl of cool water. It should instantly become solid. If it dissolves in the water, it is not thick enough. This Sarkara pani can be made ahead of time. It may be stored in airtight jars after cooling. As it has a tendency of hardening, I usually mix with hot water before adding it to the Payasam.
• Freshly pressed coconut milk is always preferred when making payasam, but if you are ‘pressed for time’ lol – you can use good quality coconut milk from a can or carton. Just dilute it further for each press. As purchased coconut milk is quite thick, even the first press requires the addition of some water.

Key Ingredients:

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Unakkalari Payasam Recipe (Kerala Rice Kheer in Coconut Milk)

Author: Shana Shameer