Sweet Potato Mergol

Ingredients
raw rice - 1/3 cup
sweet potato - ½ kg
coconut - 1 large
jaggery powder - 1 cup
cardamom powder - ½ tsp

Method
Soak rice in water for 2 hours. Drain and grind to a smooth pate with fresh water.
Extract 2 cups of milk from coconut.
Peel and cut sweet potatoes into 2 cm cubes.
Add about 4 cups of water and cook till soft.
Add the rice paste and jaggery powder.
Cook stirring for 8-10 minutes, till the jaggery is dissolved and the rice past is cooked.
Add the coconut milk and cardamom powder.Just as the kheer begins to boil, remove
from fire.
Serve hot or cold.

Note: instead of extracting coconut milk, 1 packet of coconut milk, mixed with one cup of
water can be used.
Paneer Kheer
Ingredients
milk - 1 liter
paneer - 200 gm
sugar - ¼ cup, or to taste
almonds - 2 tbsp
pistachio - 2 tbsp
raisins - 2 tbsp
ghee - 2 tbsp
cardamom powder - ½ tsp
rose essence - few drops

Method
Pour the milk in a thick bottomed pan and simmer till it is reduced to ½ its volume.
Mean while grate the paneer.
Soak almonds and pistachio in hot water, peel and slice thinly.
Fry sliced nuts and raisins in ghee.
When the milk is reduced, add sugar and grated paneer.
Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add fried nuts, raisins, cardamom powder and rose essence.
Serve hot or cold.
Sago Kheer
Ingredients
sago - ½ cup
milk - 4 cup
sugar - 1/4 cup, or to taste
raisins - 2 tbsp
ghee - 1 tbsp
cardamom powder - ½ tsp
saffron - big pinch

Method
Wash the sago and drain. Add 4 cups of water and cook stirring, till the sago is transpar-
ent.( add more water if necessary, while cooking)
Meanwhile, soak saffron in little milk and crush.
Heat the milk .When the sago is cooked, add the hot milk. ( If cold milk is added to hot
sago mixture, it may curdle)
Add sugar. Stir till sugar is dissolved. Let the kheer boil for one minute.
Add saffron and cardamom powder and remove from fire.
Taste and add more sugar if desired.
Heat the ghee, fry the raisins and add to the kheer.
Serve hot or cold.( The kheer thickens as it cools. If it it is too thick, some milk may be
added.)
Semiya Payasam
Ingredients
roasted vermicelli (semiya) - 1 cup
milk - 1 ½ litre
sugar - ¾ cup or to taste
ghee - 1 tbsp
cashew nuts - 2 tbsp
raisins - 1 tbsp
cardamom powder - ¼ tsp

Roasted semiya, known as payasam or kheer semiya is available in super markets.

If it is not available, roast ordinary semiya in a little ghee and use.

Method
Boil the milk, add semiya and cook for 5-6 minutes. Or till the semiya is soft.
Add sugar and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Fry cashew nuts and raisins in ghee and add to the payasam.
Add Cardamom powder. Serve hot or cold.
Pal Payasam
Ingredients
basmati rice - ¾ cup
milk - 1 ½ litre
sweetened condensed milk - 1 tin.
cardamom, saffron - little
almond and pistachio nuts to garnish

Method
Wash the rice, soak in water for 1 hour.
Drain well and crush with your hands. ( It will become like broken rice)
Boil milk in a thick bottomed pan.Add the rice cook for 10 minutes. , stirring now and then
till the rice is very soft.
Add condensed milk. Let the payasam come to a boil.
Add cardamom, saffron and nuts. Serve hot or cold.
Semiya and Banana Kheer
Ingredients
roasted semiya (vermicelli) - 1 ½ cup
finely chopped nendra pazham - 1 cup
coconut - 1 large
powdered jaggery - 3/4 cup
cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Roasted semiya, known as payasam or kheer semiya is available in super markets.

If it is not available, roast ordinary semiya in a little ghee and use.
These are a variety of bananas from Kerala. If they are not available, use any ripe but
firm banana.

Method
Extract 1 ½ cup 1st milk and 2 cup 2nd milk from the coconut.
Dissolve jaggery in 1/2 cup water and strain.
Cook Nendrapazham in 1/2 cup of 2nd milk till soft.
Cook semiya in the remaining 2nd coconut milk.
Add cooked nendrapazlam and jaggery liquid. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Add 1st coconut milk .When the kheer just begins to boil, remove from fire .
Add cardamom powder. Serve hot or cold.
If it becomes too thick when cooled, a little milk can be added to thin it down.

Note: Instead of extracting coconut milk, 2 packets of coconut milk can be used.
Dilute ½ packet with enough water to use in place of thin milk and use the rest as thick
milk.
Bele Gasagasa Payasa
Ingredients
poppy seeds - 4 tbsp
cardamom seeds - ½ cup
grated coconut - ½ cup
green gram (moong) dal - 1/2 cup
bengal gram (chana) dal - 1/4 cup
jaggery powder - 1 cup
milk - 1 liter

Method
Lightly roast the poppy seeds and cardamom seeds without oil or ghee.
Cool slightly and powder Add grated coconut and grind to a smooth paste with a little milk.
In a thick bottomed pan, roast the green gram dal over a low flame till pale brown.
Add the Bengal gram dal and 2 ½ cups of water. Cook till the dals are soft.
Meanwhile, dissolve jaggery in 1 cup of water Strain through thin cloth..
Boil this liquid for 10 minutes and keep aside.
When the dals are cooked, add the jaggery syrup.
When it starts boiling, add the ground paste. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the milk, give one boil and remove from fire. Serve hot or cold.