Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Orange Payasam (Milk sweet with oranges)

For the longest time now I have been wanting to experiment using agave nectar entirely in Indian sweets but did not get around to it. Additionally this past few weeks I have been craving some kind of milk based sweet, every time I visit a friend's blog I seem to see some kind of milk based sweet which did not help matters either :-) Anyway the opportunity to do both presented itself when out of the loads of oranges I buy regularly in this season I landed up with a batch that seemed a little tangy. Normally on the rare occasions that I find myself with slightly tangy oranges I just toss the oranges in fruit salad with a host of other fruits.

But this time since I had been wanting to make payasam too, it got me wondering how payasam would taste if I used these oranges in it. Since there is no better way to know than to really try it, I decided to go ahead and see how this works out. At the end of the experiment, after thoroughly enjoying some of this payasam (tasting yummy stuff is one of the fringe benefits of cooking isn't it? ), I concluded that this was a successful experiment, the payasam turned out to be light, mildly sweet and fruity and the orange added an exotic touch to it.The saffron and oranges complemented each other and lent a pretty color to the payasam and from the reactions I received I would say this sweet is here to stay in my kitchen. :-)






Ingredients and method to make the orange payasam
3 1/2 cups milk ( I used 2 % but you can use whole milk)
few strands of saffron
pulp from 3 little oranges (approximately scant 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup agave nectar ( or substitute with 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar according to taste)
3 tsp sugar (optional) (omit if using sugar instead of agave nectar)

Remove the outer skin of the orange, then remove and discard the inner thin skin and the seeds and just save and keep aside the pulpy part of the orange.

You know the drill, as with any other milk based payasam, the first step is to place the milk in a heavy bottomed  large pan and heat on a medium to medium high heat. When the milk comes to near boil,add saffron strands to the milk and  turn down the heat to medium to medium low and let it simmer for some time.

When the milk is on a low simmer add agave nectar (or sugar if you are using that ) and let it melt and mix with the milk.

When the milk is halved ( took me about 30 mins)  and is looking creamy in both color and texture, remove from heat and keep aside.

Let it cool THOROUGHLY  before adding the orange pulp to it. Do keep in mind, if orange pulp is added to milk before it cools completely the milk will curdle.

Chill this in the refrigerator for a few hours and serve cold.

Serves approximately 3

Notes:
If using very sweet oranges in this payasam, reduce the sweetness a little if you like mild sweets.

This is my entry into the Sweet celebrations event  being hosted by Aparna 

This is also my entry into the Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipe Carnival  being hosted by Mansi.


50 comments :

Swati said...

What a novel way to incorporate oranges in kheer.. Love it!!

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

orange in a payasam? cool idea..i wud like have some please..

Pam said...

What a wonderful way to use oranges that are a bit tart. It looks so creamy and delicious.

Shama Nagarajan said...

wow....new sweet......lovely

CurryLeaf said...

Lovely way to use oranges.I am yet to try agave nectar.I also saw it in another recipe of yours.From that day I am interested in using it.But no luck till now.
Combining a nectar in the kheer with oranges is lovely.Looks creamy and thick :P

Finla said...

This is really clever using oranges like this.
Looks delicious

Cham said...

Another delicious way to eat fruit, just awesome!

Vaishali said...

Oranges in payasam sound so delicious, yet I'd have never thought of it. A lovely recipe, Usha.

Unknown said...

sounds delicious... thxs for sharing..

Unknown said...

I've heard of this but never really made it at home:) looks delicious Usha! thanks for sharing it with us for the event!:)

Laavanya said...

I would've never thought to combine oranges & milk... looks to be such a pretty payasam.

VG said...

Yum...

As you can see, I am back from my holidays and a surprise is waiting for you on my blog. Check out my post AWARDS: LOADS OF THEM - AGAIN

Unknown said...

looks yummy..nice recipe...

Gita Jaishankar said...

Very creative recipe, A totally different and yummy payasam Usha :)

Varsha Vipins said...

wow..thats quite innovative Usha.loved it..:)

Navita (Gupta) Hakim said...

Hi Usha..(ur name reminds me of bright sunlight)...:-)
lentils n squash go great together..esp bengal gram, learned this from my mom, who in turn had learned it from my grandmom. Its a typical bengali dish. hope u like it!
oranges are my fav..infact when i was in florida...thts what i ate for brkfast lunch n all time in between..lol..
great idea.

Jaishree Iyer said...

A totally different and yummy payasam Usha :)New to me.. Nice Recepie..

Anonymous said...

what a great idea Usha ..looks very delicious ..great work

love
veena

Sujatha said...

this is the first time I'm seeing oranges and milk.. really interesting.. cooling off the milk before adding oranges is the key! Nice.. :)

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

Orange in payasam. Sounds interesting. Lovely recipe.

Sunshinemom said...

Very exciting! The first thing I thought was - will the milk not curdle but then many people add it to basundi too! Beautiful entry!

Deepthi Shankar said...

that totally new to me .. looks yumm

Anonymous said...

Hi Usha :) Thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog :) I'm loving this recipe - I've already created a list of recipes from your blog thats on my "to cook" list :)

AnuSriram said...

Thats a lovely idea! Looks delicious and the photo is tempting... A must try recipe for me..

Unknown said...

Looks yummy!!!

Adlak's tiny world said...

hey chance illa.... orange in payasam such a new thought and wonderful looking....
can i have some for me....

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Mom makes kheer like this but never bothered to ask her how, thought its lotta work... now after seeing your I just feel like having them...

raaji said...

i make this so often with the plenty of oranges available here.....love it.so simple and delicious.

Red Chillies said...

I do not know about agave nectar, but adding oranges to kheer has captivated my thinking :-))

Uma said...

lovely idea to add oranges to payasam! looks so good usha!

Srividya said...

The kheer looks yummy.

Srikitchen said...

looks delicious and inviting! join in the sweet event going in my blog!

Priya Suresh said...

Am speechless..lovely kheer..cant imagine like this..delicious..

Unknown said...

This is gorgeous!I make something similar to this but I use pineapple instead.

Aparna said...

The orange colour peeking out of your payasam looks lovely. I like fruity payasams (actually any payasam).:)
I wish agave nectar was available here.
Thanks for celebrating with me.

Lore said...

I would've love to have this for dessert today! There's something about milk and oranges that puts me in a holiday mood.

anudivya said...

Nice.. didn't the citrus curdle the milk? I am curious.
Agave is my favorite sweetener for now :)

anudivya said...

Ah! Now I read the tip... cool before adding the oranges... sorry did not see it before.

Usha, isn't your family back in Bombay? Are everyone safe?

Dori said...

That must smell great with the orange and saffron!

Rajesh &Shankari said...

I love oranges and love kheer, the two together must be a killer combo!

Vidhya said...

Never tried orange in payasam. Thanks for sharing the recipe dear...

Purva Desai said...

Payasam with orange sounds really interesting....will try this.
Thanks for sharing

Cynthia said...

I saw this once at Nupur's blog, bookmarked it but never got around to making it. Perhaps now is the time? :)

Rajee Mani said...

Great recipe Usha....Orange in payasam, I would have never thought of that combo :-)

Maria said...

I love orange everything! Looks good!

Alexa said...

This looks like a wonderful treat!

Srikitchen said...

it sounds unique and new for me!

join in the SWEET event going in my blog!

Anonymous said...

very innovative sweet! I am sure the orange twist to the kheer will be delicious.

Anisheetu said...

wow yaar this is very innovative.. good idea will try it for sure...

gtyuk said...

Hello Usha,
Thanks to YOU for stopping by my blog and letting me know one more creative vegetarian blogger like you. First time in your blog too and all I could say is that your recipes really encourages me to eat more vegetarian food. You're doing a wonderful job Usha! And thank you for the compliments!

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