Payasam, The Sweet South Indian Dessert. And It's Gluten Free.

   I've been having a lot of fun lately exploring some of the new products that Whole Foods sent my way. It seems that every year there are new trends in foods just the same as there are in hair, clothes, and make up. Smoking, fermenting, gluten free, and a host of other stuff I haven't yet gotten around to are the things that are looming for 2015. At least, that's what I hear.

I've smoked vegetables in hay...

...and served them with a seaweed pesto.

I've pickled and fermented...

...and yet, every year there are still more frontiers to be crossed.

   Every year I intend to get to the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, and somehow something always seems to interfere. Two years ago it was a storm that made travel difficult, last year I had the flu, and this year the Golden Gate Bridge was closed to re-do the middle barrier the very weekend I'd planned on going. So once again I missed a bunch of the fun. But when I got the offer to try some new goodies from Whole Foods Market it was like my own little mini fancy food show.

   I have to say, that I have a lot of weird stuff  (by conventional standards) in my pantry normally. It's a habit I got into when I was a kid growing up in San Francisco in a working class household where money was super tight. Food was not something one helped oneself to without permission. Hearing Alan's stories about just getting anything he wanted out of the fridge at any time he wanted blew my mind. I did not grow up in Westport Connecticut and anything in the pantry that had a piece or slice missing was going to be the subject of a lot of rigorous questioning. Think Bengazhi, only about peanut butter.

   So I devised a way of getting around the problem. I took my pocket money from neighborhood jobs like sweeping up the hair in the local beauty salon and baby sitting and took myself all over San Francisco where I would shop at any ethnic neighborhood market. I cultivated a taste for stuff that the rest of the family wasn't interested in. Stuff that was tasty and inexpensive. Stuff that I could stash in the pantry and be assured it  would not be touched by anyone but me. I cultivated  tastes that went beyond peanut butter and jelly, and once I started cooking, the world opened up. Sometimes things are exotic, but sometimes even the simplest things make a big difference, which brings me to Payasam.

   Payasam is a fabulous South Asian dessert that goes by many names. Kheer, Payesh, Khir, Payasa. It's enjoyed all over the sub-continent by every ethnic and religious group. It's a versatile dish, as it can be made with dairy, or vegan, with coconut milk, sweet with sugar or jaggery, and filled with nuts, raisins, dried fruit, saffron, semolina, vermicelli, dal or rice, nobody doesn't like Payasam. A lot of Westerners know it as a thick and delicious Indian rice pudding. I've made a lot of kheer/payasam of various types.

With dal...

With coconut milk...

With shredded bottle gourd...

With fruit and rice...

All of them were delicious. But one thing I never equated with payasam was quick and easy. In fact my kheer recipe is in Paula Wolfert's Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking. It's based on a Northern Italian Budino and it takes a while to say the least. So, when it comes to payasam, fast and easy makes for a great dessert. Since even though no one at our house is gluten intolerant a great many friends are, which was why I was so happy to get a carton of Maninis Gluten Free Pasta.

This made for a perfect South Indian style Vermicelli Payasam that was also Gluten Free!

South Indian Vermicelli Payasam

Here's What You Need:
1 cup of Maninis fresh gluten free spaghetti
2 and 1/2 cups of milk
3 Tbs of sugar
1 Tbs sweetened condensed milk
1 pinch of ground cardamom
2 Tbs of cashew pieces
1 pinch of saffron
2 Tbs chopped fresh pistachios
1 tsp ghee, unsalted  butter or coconut oil

Here's What To Do:
Melt 1 tsp ghee butter in a small saucepan.

Add in the cashew pieces and toast them gently.

When they're nice and golden set them aside.
Pour 2 and 1/2 cups of milk into a pot or pan.

Add in 3 Tbs of sugar and stir it together well.

Bring the milk and sugar mixture to a boil.

Add in 1 cup of pasta.

Stir everything around and let the pasta cook. Fresh pasta takes only a few minutes. You want your pasta soft but not falling apart mushy.  
When the pasta has softened add in 1 Tbs sweetened condensed milk...

...and 1 pinch of ground cardamom.

Stir things up until the mixture starts to  thicken a bit and then add the  cashews.

Take the pan off the heat and let it cool a bit.
The payasam will thicken in the fridge as it sits for a few hours.
Ladle it into serving dishes or bowls.
Sprinkle the top with a bit of crumbled saffron and finely chopped pistachio and serve it up!

   I love this dessert, it's sweet but not too sweet and the milk and spices gives it a lovely, fragrant flavor. As for the pasta, if you've never had a vermicelli pudding before, try it, you'll like it. Also unlike a lot of payasams, this makes up very quickly and is ready to eat after just a couple of hours in the fridge.This recipe makes 4 or 5 generous servings. Coming up next, I seem to be on a dessert kick and I'm on the fast track to a vegan chocolate mousse. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

Pasta For Dessert? Try This Easy Indian Pudding.

   When planning any sort of dinner party one of the first questions I always ask myself is ... "What's for dessert?!"

   There are a lots of wonderful Indian desserts to go with a variety of meals but when planning dessert for the Indian equivalent of our Thanksgiving, there are traditions and rules. Think pumpkin pie. What would Thanksgiving dinner be without pumpkin pie? Pongal meals very often finish with a sweet rice kheer or pudding, done with special pongal rice. But since I was already serving a big rice and dal main dish, I went looking for other suggestions. That's when vermicelli pudding was suggested to me. 

   Growing up in an Italian American household, vermicelli meant one thing. Tomato sauce, pasta and definitely not dessert. Even in my mom's wild, culinary imagination, she's never been willing to go that far. First I had to explain to Alan that he was going to be having pasta for dessert. Good thing he trusts me. 

  Actually, pasta for dessert is a great idea. Thread-thin vermicelli noodles in a sweet vanilla milk pudding spiced with cardamom and studded with butter-toasted raisins and cashews is perfect after any company meal whether you're serving Indian food or not.

  Another great thing is that this is a dish that can made ahead and served either rewarmed a bit, at room temperature or chilled. Can't beat that. It also cooks in about 1 hour. 

Vermicelli Pudding

Here's what to do:

In a large pan or pot, heat 8 cups of milk.

Stir the milk as it heats and bring it to a boil.

Lower the heat to a simmer and keep stirring. There's a lot of stirring in this recipe, but it's worth it.

Simmer it down until it's reduced about 1/4 of it's volume.

Meanwhile heat 1/2 cup of unsalted butter in a skillet. When it's hot and melted, toss in:

2 Tbs of halved cashews 

1 Tbs of raisins

When they're lightly browned, take them out and set them aside.

In the same butter, saute 1 cup of vermicelli broken into pieces of about 1 and 1/2 inches. Where to find this special dessert pasta? I get my vermicelli from the Indian market, but if you don't have an Indian food source near you, any fine, thin, dry vermicelli will work.

When it turns a dark reddish color, add it all to the milk mixture. Keep the milk boiling when you do this.

Cook it all together until the vermicelli is cooked through.

Toss in:

1/2 cup of sugar

4 crushed whole green cardamom pods

1/2 tsp of saffron

Stir it together well.

Take the raisins and cashews and garnish the pudding before serving it.

Serve it warm or cold.

This is a delicious twist on traditional rice pudding and what can you say about a recipe where the hardest part involves stirring?

When the Weather Gets Tough, The Tough Get Cozy. Warm Dessert For A Cold Night!

 Yesterday we were bouncing around in that weird mix of rain/sun/clouds/shadow/wind that comes to Sonoma at this time of year. Spring had sprung and it was a chilly one.
  This morning it was raining.

 
A light cold rain just damp enough to know that there would be a fire this evening and a cozy warm dessert to go with it. I know this because I did the same thing last night, creature of habit that I am. When I get hold of a good thing I just hate to let it go.
 Patsy, our Siberian husky likes nothing more that to go out and get soaked in this weather. When she comes in, I'm waiting with a towel so that she's house-ready. Alan couldn't help taking a picture of her with her little terrycloth bandanna on she looked so cute.

  As for me, when not dog-drying, I've been busy getting ready for what is known around my house as the Spring Tri-fecta.  Easter Sunday/ My dads birthday/ my parents' anniversary. This year two of those (birthday and Easter) are on the same day. My parents' anniversary is a few days later. There is usually just one big family celebration. It is always at our house.
 Since my Italian parents don't like to eat anything but Italian food, and even there they are insanely picky, this is my last chance to cook Indian food for a couple of days, so I figured why not close out with a dessert.
  We stayed in last night, keeping warm and watching  Sherlock Holmes On Demand in HD. This demanded an "elementary" dessert. Halwa or as it's also spelled Halva. This warm, sweetly dense pudding is simple, easy, cooks up fast and I already had everything I needed for it in my larder. Can't get easier than that.
  I wanted my pudding served warm, right as the film started. No problem there either as this stuff cooks up easily within a half hour. The recipe I used is Bengali. It's called Sooji Besan Halva and is my adaptation of Yamuna Devis' recipe .
   I started out by  bringing to a boil
1.) 2 and 1/4 cups of milk  mixed with
2.) 1 cup of sugar

  When the milk boils add in
3.) 1/4 tsp of saffron threads
4.) 1/4 cup of dried currants

   Quickly turn down the heat to the lowest temperature and place a lid on the pot.
   Meanwhile, in a heavy pan melt
1.) 1/2 cup of unsalted butter
   When the butter is melting and foamy add in :
2.) 1/2 a bay leaf
3.) 1/2 tsp of fennel seed (Note: I used about 1/2 tsp of fennel pollen. Paula Wolfert had given me some awhile back and I wanted to experiment with a lighter more delicate fennel taste. I also love the mysterious little leather pouch it came in. It sort of worked in with the whole Sherlock Holmes thing).

Stir the bay leaf, fennel and melted butter for about 30 seconds or so then add in:
1.) 3/4 cup of very fine semolina flour
2.) 1/2 cup of sifted chickpea flour
3.) 1/2 cup of slivered almonds

  Mix all of this together, turn down the heat and keep stirring while the flour and almond mixture toasts. This should take about 10 minutes or so. Do not let it get too dark, just a nice golden color.

  While I was stirring my flour and butter together I gathered an audience outside the kitchen window.

When the flour mixture has turned golden take the pan off the heat

 Pour the milk sugar mixture slowly into the grain and butter

Stir it together  and put it back on a low heat until it's until it's smoothly blended, it should take about 8 to 10 minutes.

Put it into individual serving bowls and sprinkle each one with a bit of freshly ground black pepper and some grated nutmeg.

 The combo of the cracked black pepper and nutmeg topping along with everything else makes this truly outstanding. From pot to plate we were ready to roll in about a half hour, all set for lots of tasty Robert Downey Jr. goodness.
  These little halva puddings can be made many different ways  and if the weather holds cold here, I'll be exploring more of them. They're a quick easy way to get comfort food "on demand".
 

Simple Sweet Payasam Dessert...Got Milk?

 It stormed and blew all day yesterday in Sonoma. Patsy was packed off to dog camp for the day at Vintage Kennel Club. Huskys need a lot of exercise and for the last couple of weeks the dog park has been closed due to sodden turf. Our property is not fenced, and I've written before about what can happen when a Husky is in an area that's not fenced. It isn't pretty.  Just plain walks, no matter how long just don't cut it. She's used to off leash time every day for play. So a day at the dog camp seemed a good investment. Large play yards to run in, tubs of water to jump in and lots of her friends to play with.  It also seemed a good day for a dessert. Patsy got a treat, why not us?
I always look for what's at hand when making a dessert and we had plenty of milk. I'd been meaning to make some chenna cheese but got distracted, so I thought what can I do with this? Milk pudding anyone??
  I decided to make a Payasam. It's a South Indian milk pudding and there are a million varieties of it.
   The ingredient list is pretty simple and cooking time is fairly minimal. It involves about 30 minutes or so of stove time and stirring, so it's not as fast as a box of instant pudding, but it tastes a whole lot better!
  It starts as many desserts do, with Basmati rice .
 1.)  Take  1/4 cup of Basmati rice. wash and rinse it then soak it in water to cover for about 30      minutes.
  Drain the rice.
  Place it in a blender or grinder with :
2.)  2 Tbs of water  and grind to a thick paste.
 3.) Place 4 cups of whole milk in  a heavy pot or kadhai
   Bring the milk to a boil and when it is boiling add in :
4.) 1 and 1/4 cup of sugar
 5.) The rice paste
   Stir it well with a whisk , and then lower the heat and cook it down until it's reduced in volume. Keep stirring so no lumps form and it doesn't stick and burn on the bottom of the pan. About 30 minutes or so.
 6.) Add in 1 tsp of saffron dissolved in 1 Tbs of warm milk
7.) 1 tsp of ground green cardamom
8.) 1 tsp of rosewater
  Pour the Payasam into individual  small glass bowls or ramekins, or little clay pots if you have them.
9.) Sprinkle a mixture of 2 teaspoons chopped blanched almonds and 1 tsp chopped raw pistachios  on top of the pudding.
10.) Let cool  a bit and place in the fridge to chill. This dish can also be served warm as a soupy dessert pudding. Last night I served it chilled with spiced Chai.
  This is also one of those dishes where one can let the imagination run wild. Got raisins? Add 'em. Some other nut?  Toss 'em in. A bit of mango? Why not? Get creative.
  This recipe left me with 6 little ramekins of Payasam. Guess how long they're going to last.