Today’s Navarathri recipe is my grandmother’s recipe for coconut paayaasam, as remembered and replicated by my mother. Many people generally use dairy milk for the ‘paal paayasam’ but my grandmother preferred using coconut milk for sago pudding and now, that’s the way it is made in our family.

Paayaasam

Time taken: 15 mins

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• Pearl sago/ Savvarasi – ¼ cup
• Cardamom – 2, crushed
• Chickpea – 1 tbsp, fried and split
• Cashewnuts – 2 or 3, chopped
• Coconut milk – ½ cup
• Sugar – 1 tbsp or adjust per taste
• Raisins – 1 tbsp
• Kesari powder – pinch

Method:

1. Heat 1 cup of water in a pan, adding 2 crushed cardamoms, for about 5 mins.
2. Add the pearl sago and let the boiling continue for a couple of minutes.
3. When the sago is half-cooked, add the split, fried chickpea and cashewnuts and continue cooking for another couple of minutes.
4. Once the sago is well cooked and the mixture thickens, add the coconut milk and the kesari powder.
5. In a few minutes, add the sugar and mix well and let the ‘paayaasam’ simmer for another couple of minutes.
6. Add the raisins just before removing the pan from the stove.
7. Stir and serve either hot or chilled.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.