Kurukku payasam...Healthy kerala style red rice pudding

 Rice payasam is usually a heavy, occasional indulgence, it's pretty easy to cut some corners to turn this former guilty pleasure into a healthy, diet-friendly treat!

  

 Today i am here with a traditional kerala style payasam. Red boiled rice. The red rice is also known as the unakkalari by kerala peoples. If you cannot find red rice in store then you can buy Rose Matta rice or you can use some any non-sticky rice like brown basmathi for preparing this type of payasam .This is a very healthy pudding as it is made with red rice and jaggery. Red rice , rich in fiber and is a good source of manganese and selenium. Jaggery is rich in iron and is definitely a better choice than sugar.

This recipe combines coconut milk and red rice or brown rice to result in a delicious, creamy dessert. The coconut milk cooks the rice into a perfectly soft texture, and with a tad of sweetener and a dash of cinnamon, this rice Payasam is the poster child for sweet comfort food. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup rose matta rice/red rice (nellu kuthari)or Chamba arii or payasam Rice
• 1 Coconut ( grated)
• 1/2 Kg Jaggery
• 6-7 Cardamom
• 1/4 piece Nutmeg/jaipal
• 2 tsp Ghee
• 15-20 Cashew nut,broken
• 1 tbsp Raisins
• 8-10 Almonds,sliced
• 1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder

Cooking Directions

1. Soak rice in water for about 3 hours.
2. After 3 hours strain and grind rice, coconut grating,whole cardamom and nutmeg to smooth paste using 2 cups of water.
3. Add about 11/2 liter of water to make thin watery consistency and keep aside
4. Dissolve jaggery in a little water and heat on a low medium flame or until it begins to melt. stir well switch off the gas.Then filter it to remove impurities.
5. Heat non stick pan or thick bottomed kadai and add the ground rice -coconut paste and Water and cook on medium flame and stir continuously till the rice paste becomes almost thick.
6. At this stage add melted jaggery water, keep stirring till the payasam thickens to the desired consistency .
7. Now, heat the ghee in a pan and add the raisins pieces of cashew nut and almonds fry till golden brown and the raisins have puffed up, remove and add to the payasam and mix well preserving some nuts for garnishing...Enjoy!