Rava Paayasam / Semolina Pudding

There are so many different kinds of paayasams (sweetened porridge/pudding). Of all the paayasams that can be made, this version with semolina/rava is one of the simplest and fastest, because rava cooks in no time!

Caramel Rice Kheer

Rice Kheer / pudding is a classic Indian dessert. In my community, it is called milk paayasam (pudding), because it is primarily sweetened milk with a few pieces of cooked rice here and there.

Recently, I decided to experiment with the flavors a bit and tried adding some caramel sauce to get that sweet, caramelized taste that goes so well with a milk-based pudding. I recommend making the caramel sauce at home (refer to the recipe below), because you can control the amount of sugar. And it tastes infinitely good when it's home-made. It is also very easy to prepare with just some brown sugar, butter, and half & half (or cream). You can also use store-bought caramel sauce, but be sure to adjust the amount of sweetened condensed milk you add, because the store bought ones are generally too sweet. 

 

It is worth the effort to add the caramel sauce. It makes the pudding so much more flavorful and richer!

Ingredients (serves 6-7):

1. 1/4 cup plain, uncooked rice
2. 3 cups milk (I used just 2% milk)
3. 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
4. 1 cup caramel sauce (I use this recipe to make home-made caramel sauce)
5. 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder (freshly ground)
6. 1/4 cup chopped pistachios
7. 2 tablespoons raisins

Preparation:

1. Cook the rice with 3 cups of milk until the rice is completely cooked and mushy. If you are using a pressure cooker, place any metal (such as a stainless steel spoon or a small plate) in the cooker, otherwise the milk will boil over and you will have a mini milk-volcano spewing all over the kitchen. I cooked for 4 whistles on medium heat. 
2. When the rice is cooked, mix in the condensed milk and caramel sauce and let everything cook for 10-15 minutes on low heat until everything incorporates well. 
3. Finally, add the cardamom powder, raisins, and pistachios and mix well. 

Serve in a bowl or in a pretty tall glass. 

Coconut Rice Pudding

Recently, my sister-in-law made some pretty awesome cupcakes that were flavored with pistachios, cardamom and rosewater! I often use saffron and cardamom in my desserts (especially a ton of cardamom!), but I had never used rose-water, especially in combination with pistachios and saffron and cardamom. So, I was inspired to recreate those flavors with a simple rice-pudding. This rice pudding is thickened with unsweetened coconut milk and flavored with plenty of Indian and Middle-Eastern spices - cardamom, saffron, pistachios and rose water.

Ingredients (serves 4-6):

1. 2 cups raw rice
2. 16 ounces unsweetened coconut milk (2 cans)
3. 1/2 cup chopped toasted pistachios
4. 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
5. 2 teaspoons rose water
6. a pinch of saffron
7. 1/4 cup sugar (or up to 1/2 cup for extra sweetness)
8. 1/2 - 1 cup hot milk (as needed to dilute the pudding)
9. pinch of salt

Preparation:

1. Cook the rice with 5 cups of water until it is soft. Fluff the rice with a fork. 
2. Transfer the cooked rice to a medium sauce-pan and add the coconut milk and sugar. Heat the pudding over low-medium heat, stirring frequently to mix the rice and coconut milk. Heat for about 20 minutes.
3. Next, add the cardamom powder, saffron and pinch of salt and mix well. Simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup of hot milk (more or less) to dilute the pudding a little because it thickens at room temperature. 
5. Garnish with chopped pistachios and rose water. Mix well.

Serve! Keep some warm milk at hand before serving, because the pudding does thicken over time.