Thengai Paal Payasam; payasam with coconut milk

Thengai Paal Payasam

I remember the smells of festival days I experience as a small boy.  The early morning sounds.  The milkman and the newspaper boy were the most eagerly awaited visitors.  Soon the priest arrives on a bicycle and my father is briefly separated from his newspaper.

Boiling Milk

My mother is dressed in a nine yards silk saree.  Her hair in damp strands loosely tied in a knot. Fresh kumkum, the smells of nallennai, turmeric, shikkai and soap mingle in my mind with the aroma of boiling milk and pacchai karpooram. Her thengai paal payasam (coconut milk payasam) is the one that I taste as these images float by.  I always thought of it as her specialty.  All the other smells wafting from the kitchen of perungaayam and coriander fade in deference to the payasam.  

Jaggery

The festive lunch that followed the puja was usually served on big banana leaves.  She would always save an end leaf (nuni ilai) for me.  The hot payasam served from her big, round stainless steel flange pot was so full of milk and coconut and lentil flavors. I have never had it made by anyone else in quite the same way.  Today, on my father’s birthday, I make this payasam and I sense their presence with me.

Cardamom and Saffron

Milk and payasam are inextricably linked to our cultural memories with religious rites and festivals. Stories of Sri Krishna playing in Brindavanam mingle in our mind to the subtle refrain of songs like Ksheerasagara shayana and Palaale Kaal Alambi and memories of family weddings and the payasams we were served.

With all this floating through my mind, I boil three liters of milk. I  take care to reduce the heat and stir constantly lest it scald. As the milk thickens and forms a creamy texture I add cardamom, saffron and jaggery.  I keep stirring gently and add brown rice and moong dal (paruppu) that I had cooked together.  Gently stir some more. At the very end I add a handful of mixed dried fruit. My mother would have used golden raisins.  Finally, a full cup and a half of rich coconut milk is stirred in.  The payasam is now heated gently and taken off the heat before it boils again. 

For a more detailed recipe and additional pictures please see http://www.thesimplevegetariancookbook.com/payasam-coconut-milk/