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Food

Payasum: An Indian Desert

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Before meeting my boyfriend, I’d never tasted an Indian pudding. A few months ago, he decided to make Payasam for me, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

It’s a milky desert, vaguely reminiscent of rice pudding, with added spice, of course. Instead of rice, it’s made with vermicelli noodles. These can be found in most big supermarkets, but are much cheaper if you can find an Asian supermarket. It’s not quick to make, but it’s very simple and definitely worth the time it takes.

We used the model of Rick Stein’s recipe (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/sweet_milk_pudding_with_68274) , but altered it according to taste to make it more like the recipe of my boyfriend’s family and friends.

You will need:

  • 50g vermicelli noodles, broken into pieces
  • 1 liter full fat milk
  • 2 tsp butter
  • 4 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom
  • A handful each of cashews, pistachios and raisins

The steps are simple, and once you’ve made it once, you can alter quantities and cooking times to suit your taste:

  • Bring the milk to a gentle simmer – leave it to reduce by half (this takes 10-20 minutes).
  • In the mean time, melt 1tsp butter in a frying pan. Toast the vermicelli noodles so they take on a bit of colour (they will be straw brown when they’re done).
  • Once the milk has reduced, add the noodles and simmer for another 20 minutes, or until the milk has reduced by almost half again (remember the milk will thicken as it cools, so take it off the heat just before it’s the thickness you desire).
  • Stir in the sugar and cardamom until fully dissolved – have a taste of the mixture at this point, as you may like to add more of either.
  • Toast the nuts and raisins in the remaining teaspoon of butter and use to decorate.

We usually serve this in mugs – it helps with any slurping you might need to finish up the noodles!

On a hot day, this is best served ice cold, so leave in the fridge for a couple of hours before you indulge. However, on a cold day or in the evening, I love this desert warm – there’s something about the milky cardamom that I find comforting.

I hope you enjoy! xo

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