Wheat Payasam (Kerala Style)

By Pavani @napavani
BM# 63: Journey through the Cuisines  Week 4: Kerala Cuisine 
Day 23: W for Wheat Payasam I went straight to Rajani's blog for today's letter. She did an A-Z Kerala Sadya recipes for one of the previous mega marathons and I knew she will have the perfect dish with the letter W. Rajani didn't disappoint me, this Wheat payasam, Kerala style with coconut milk was so decadent and delicious.
This payasam is made with cracked wheat or broken wheat, sweetened with jaggery and simmered in coconut milk. I used fine bulgur wheat and it worked just perfect for this recipe.
Traditionally coconut milk is made fresh in Kerala households. But I find the whole process tedious and time consuming, so I used canned coconut milk. I mixed it with some water to make thin coconut milk and used it as is for thick coconut milk.
I loved how creamy and delicious this payasam turned out. It tastes great when served warm or even chilled. I told myself this is health food -- cracked wheat, coconut milk and jaggery are healthy ingredients-- right?? I slurped up most of the payasam myself :-)

Recipe from Rajani's blog:
Wheat Payasam Ingredients:
  • ½cup Cracked Wheat (I used fine bulgur wheat)
  • ½C~¾C Jaggery (adjust according to your taste)
  • 1½cups Full fat canned Coconut Milk
  • ¼tsp Ground Cardamom
  • ¼tsp Dry Ginger
  • 2tbsp Ghee
  • 1tbsp Cashews, broken
  • 1tbsp Raisins
  • 1tbsp Fresh Coconut slices
Method:
  1. Pressure cook cracked wheat with 1½~2cups of water for 2~3 whistles. Alternately, it can also be cooked with 2½cups of water in a saucepan for about 20minutes.
  2. In the meantime, combine 1cup coconut milk with ½cup water -- this will be our thin coconut milk and the remaining ½cup will be our thick milk.
  3. Heat 1tbsp ghee in a small pan, roast cashews, raisins and coconut pieces separately until golden. Remove onto a plate and set aside.
  4. In a medium size saucepan, melt jaggery with 2tbsp water. Once melted, strain it if you see any impurities, otherwise add the cooked wheat and 1tbsp ghee. Simmer for 3~4 minutes, stirring frequently.
  5. Lower the heat and add the thin milk. Cook for 6~8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the ground cardamom and dry ginger.
  6. Finally add the thick coconut milk and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn off the heat and add the roasted cashews, raisins and coconut pieces. Mix well. Serve the payasam warm or chilled and Enjoy!!
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