Poori Payasam

Kheers / payasams are my favorite just for the simple reason that they satiate my sweet tooth with less guilt and minimal work. I jump in whenever I see a kheer related event going on in the blogosphere and so no surprise, my theme for the first week of blogging marathon is going to be on the same lines- Kheers / Halwas.

When planning for kheer posts, I realized that I haven't posted the ones that are regular in our homes. Surprisingly, even the most mundane vermicelli kheer hasn't been posted yet though I have close to 30 kheer recipes on my blog. And so I chose to go with this yummy poori payasam that used to be prepared on special ocassions in my MIL's kitchen. My mother would reach for a bag of vermicelli or a bottle of sago on festive days when she thought of kheers while my MIL for the wheat flour bag / chanadal. Those are/were their preferred choices. I keep preparing a variety of kheers but the ones with less calories. I don't deep fry very often and so this poori payasam doesn't appear even rarely in my kitchen. :) Probably I have prepared it once or twice and so, today it was like walking down the memory lane, remembering the good times spent with my dear MIL.

As the title suggests, this payasam needs pooris. This delectable kheer is particularly a breeze if you have any left over pooris. Even if you have to start from scratch, that should be no big deal as you may need only about 6 pooris for about 2 cups of milk used. I have posted the simple version that my MIL used to prepare. If you have company or want to make this kheer extra special, 1/4 cup powdered almond - cashew mixture / khova / condensed milk can be added to make the milk base richer. Or the milk can be boiled and reduced to 3/4th of the original quantity. 

Ingredients: (3 servings)
1.5 cup milk
2 - 3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp MTR badam mix (Optional)
4 pooris
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 Tbsp nuts to garnish
Method:
* Bring the milk to a rolling boil and reduce the flame to lowest setting. Let it simmer until pooris are prepared. Add sugar, cardamom powder and badam mix if using.
* Tear the pooris into small pieces, add them to the milk and switch off the stove after a minute or so. Garnish with nuts. Let it sit for about 30 minutes or so.
* It can be served warm or chilled. I prefer it warmer.

Note:
If you need to prepare pooris, take about 1/2 cup of wheat flour / all purpose flour and prepare a firm dough adding water as needed. Let it rest for about an hour. Divide into 6 equal portions, roll them into rounds and deep fry until they puff and turn golden brown both sides. Drain them on paper towels and press them between paper towels if needed to remove excess grease.

Check here to know what other marathoners are cooking during BM#17.

Comments