Cherupayar parippu payasam/ Split mung bean payasam(kheer)

This feature is assigned to those who consider the sweet tooth a vital part of their body, keeping it happy and bringing into congnizance all the lovely things that need to be eaten in a lifetime. Of course, it could purely be my own survivalist thinking, but I like to believe, that in the general realm of assumptions I speak for many of us. Am I right?

Payasam. What is it? After this one conversation, we haven't had another centering it. Surely, a coconut milk based pudding deserves more recognition than that. It certainly makes an entry into every inherited celebration our household knows, some stemming from what my imagination concocts.

With remarkably intense flavors, taken from all over the Indian food spectrum, payasam is the crown and glory of dining tables across the subcontinent's beloved Southern belt, tables teeming with no less than ten dishes and five assorted sweetmeats.

The mung bean or moong dal, a parcel of the legume family is boss ingredient in today's show. It is, in all fairness and to the credit of the post, native to India. However, of late, the moong has gained international notoriety. Punched with a plethora of minerals, these lentils are high in protein with generous amounts of disease preventing antioxidants. It would be safe to say the half cup in our recipe transcends to bowlfuls of life saving love.

Shaved jaggery and spices, imminent to South Indian dessert-ing, are part of the formula in getting our payasam sweet and tasty, so that the likelihood of second and third servings are terrifically inevitable.

Not to mention, working the variable of ingredients/methods through the Instant Pot will greatly decrease the gap from it being made over and again. Thanks to hyper cooker, the succession in steps of payasam slimmed in time, task, to sooner getting at a final taste. 

Before I conclude, below are some key points which might help in your own c.p. parippu payasam making journey. I press you to take note.

✻ There is an unsaid mung bean to lush payasam correlation. A greater amount of cooked mung, with the said amount of liquid, even a cup more, will yield a thicker, almost muckier the body, while less gives a soupy bean texture. Both are undesired. Keep to the measures given.

✻ The amount of jaggery adds to depth and sweetness. Tone it up or down, by the amount you shave in, according to your preference. You can portion in different sweeteners, like I did with the coconut sugar, to give it a bit of intrigue. But the hero of the parade will always be the jaggery.

✻ The trio of spice mentioned may be omitted. In place, you could lose out on the very essence of an old world Kerala sweet course. Hence not a commendable idea.

Take a cue and try what could be tops on your dessert list.

I'll even go as far as to dare you to swap it for one of the upcoming holiday's stipulated pies.
Then give me thanks later.

In using jaggery, you can err on the side of more, without screaming sugar coma. The sweetness of jaggery is one most people prefer in Indian sweetmeats such as these. To jazz it up, I  added coconut sugar, deepening the coconut flavor, which I very much enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• ¼ cup coconut slices
• ¼ cup cashews (I use roasted, salted)
• ½ cup split yellow gram dal/split mung beans
• 2 cups water
• ½ cup shaved jaggery
• 2 tsp coconut sugar
• 1 pod cardamom, crushed
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• ½ tsp ginger powder
• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk

Directions:

• Select saute feature on Instant Pot and set to high. Pour ghee and oil into the pot.
• Add coconut slices and cashews and lightly brown, about 1 minute each. Using a slotted spoon, skim them from the oil an set aside.
• Place mung beans into the same oil and saute until slightly roasted, not more than a minute.
• Add 1 1½ cups water.  Turn off saute function.
• Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook at high(manual) pressure for 10 minutes.
• Allow for natural release.
• Open the lid, mash the mung bean in the pot. 
• Select the saute feature to high, for 10 minutes.
• Add the cardamom, cumin and ginger powders. Stir in jaggery, coconut sugar and stir until sugars are dissolved.
• Pour in the coconut milk and the remaining ½ cup water( pour the water into the empty can to clean out milk contents and return it to the mixture)
• Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, allowing payasam to boil and slightly thicken.
• Top with the fried cashews and coconut slices.
• Serve hot or refrigerate to serve cold.

Notes:

This gets considerably thicker as it cools. Add either coconut milk or regular milk to loosen it up for a more pour-able consistency.

Don't worry and inhale coconut🥥 Since the State of Kerala owns it when it comes to coconut production, a mere hint of the fruit would qualify for an unworthy payasam. So, it's studded to the core,  with aplenty milk, and generous slices of flesh too. 

November~

2017: Curd(yoghurt) rice

2016: Cashew chicken curry

2015: Stuffed acorn squash

2014: Chili roasted cauliflower
2013: Dulce de leche cookies

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"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:58