Barley payasam ~ Jau ki kheer ~ Indian Milk pudding with barley

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Festival season means there are a lot of occasions for making sweets these days. The other day  when I was flipping through a channel I came across a cooking show that was showcasing a barley kheer that looked and sounded really promising. Since the very next day was Ganesh chathurthi, I decided to add one more sweet for the occasion and included barley kheer on my to do list. Luckily I had all the ingredients on hand and I did not have to make a run to the grocery store just because of my last minute addition :)

Since I was cooking at the time of the show, I did not note down the proportions, just made a mental list of the ingredients. I went with my instincts with regard to proportions, but the kheer turned out very well. Definitely a winner, it was quick, easy and delicious. It hardly took anytime at all to get done, it was pretty effortless. This is the first time I used barley in a sweet dish, usually any time I reach for barley it is to use it in some kind of savory recipe.  If the thought of using barley in a kheer/ payasam intrigues you too, give this one a try and enjoy it with your family for any festive occasion or even just to indulge over the weekend :)

 
Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Barley Payasam  (adapted from a tv program)
1/4 cup pearl barley (jau/ vargodumai)

2 and 1/2 cups whole milk (doodh/ paal)

1/4 cup sugar (shakkar/ sakkarai) (see notes)

1/4 tsp green cardamom seed powder (choti elaichi/ ellakai)

1 Tbsp clarified butter (ghee/ nei)

Garnish

5 almonds cut fine (badam)

1 Tbsp broken cashew (kaju)

Soak barley in sufficient water overnight. Drain and fill with fresh water and pressure cook until soft. About 3 whistles in the pressure cooker is sufficient to cook the barley.

Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan, add cashews and almonds and stir until golden brown.Add cooked barley and stir a couple of times. Break off lumps if any.

Add milk and sugar and simmer for a few minutes until milk thickens to desired consistency. Do keep in mind, the kheer thickens further when cool. Add cardamom powder and mix well. Simmer another minute or two.

Remove from heat, serve hot, at room temperature or chilled.

Serves approx 2 to 3

Notes:
With this quantity of sugar, the kheer turns out mildly sweet, if you want a more pronounced sweetness, you can increase the quantity of sugar to 1/2 cup or to taste.

If you are looking Kheer/ Payasam/ Indian pudding recipes, here are a few more

Oats Poha Kheer ~ Oats Aval payasam ~ Beaten rice flakes pudding

Gajar kaju kheer ~ Carrot cashew payasam

Badam Kheer ~ Payasam ~ Indian almond pudding

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Diwali Wishes and Easy Diwali Sweets and Snacks 2013

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To all my readers celebrating Diwali, here's wishing you a very Happy Diwali. Hope you have a wonderful time with friends and family. Enjoy all the yummy snacks and sweets that always seem such an integral part of this festival :) 



Usually I plan out what to make for Diwali at least a week ahead, this year I haven't quite decided what to make. I am hoping to try a few new things, will see how that works out :)  If you are in the same boat too and are still wondering what to make for Diwali, here is a collection of easy Diwali recipes...........


First the sweets :) (click on the title or the picture and it will take you to the recipe)

Mung Ladoo (Pasi Parappu Urundai/ Indian sweet made with mung bean lentil )




Easy Poha Laddu/ Aval Urundai ( Indian sweet with beaten rice flakes)



Mixed Nuts Burfi




Rava Ladoo (Indian sweet made with Semolina and Coconut) 



Kaju Katli (Simple Indian Cashew fudge) 



Easy Atta Laddu (Indian sweet made with wheat flour)



Besan Kaju Burfi (Indian fudge made with cashew nuts and chick pea flour)



2 minute microwave almond pedha (Almond milk fudge)



Microwave Doodh Pedha (Quick Indian milk fudge)



Rava Kaju Burfi ( Indian fudge made with semolina and cashew) 



And if you are trying to avoid all sugar this Diwali, then you can still indulge with this healthy sugar free

Oat and Nut energy bites



The savories :)

Thenkozhal (Gluten free crunchy rice spirals) 




Chakli  (Fried crunchy gluten free rice spirals) 



Thattai (Gluten free crispy rice snack ) 

 

Ribbon Bakshanam ( Crispy Gluten free rice and chick pea flour spirals) 




Mullu Thenkozhal/ Mullu Murukku (Gluten free crunchy rice and chickpea spirals)

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Thenkozhal- Crunchy Gluten free Rice Spirals and a neat tip :-)

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Fried rice sticks is the best way I can think of to describe thenkozhal , but this term just does not seem adequate to describe such a wonderfully crunchy and delicious snack. For a little background, thenkozhal which is pronounced as thane-ko-yal , is a fried snack that originates from south Indian cuisine and falls under the broad category of "bakshanam" a term that is used to describe a lot of fried savory snacks in Tamil (an Indian language).

In terms of effort and time, this snack is far easier and takes much less time to make than this thattai for instance. In under one hour you can make a fair quantity of this, which usually lasts quite a while. Even with that I rarely make these........The guilt I feel for having indulged in fried snacks is only one of the reasons that I do not make this frequently. The other reason is the smell of oil, whenever I make any fried stuff the smell just seems to linger for hours after that and I do not like that smell at all.

Apparently I am not the only one with a dislike of the lingering smell of oil. Sometime back, I noticed this post on my friend ISG's site, where she shared a tip about boiling vinegar in water while deep frying. As soon as I read it, I knew that I would try it the next time I made fried stuff. As she suggested I took 5 cups of water and 1 cup of distilled white vinegar in a pot and placed it on another burner. The mixture simmered on low heat while I did the frying and voila most of the oil smell got neutralized. I was so happy with this idea, thanks ISG, I am really glad you shared this very useful tip with us.

Now if only someone could find a way to make fried foods healthy, I may actually fry more often...........yes I know, wishful thinking :-) Anyway if you are in the mood for a little crunchy snack as an indulgence, give this simple bakshanam a try...........

 


Here is a picture of the press, just to give you an idea.......

 


Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Thenkozhal
4 cups rice flour
1/2 cup split black gram lentil flour ( urad/udad dhal flour / ulatham parappu maavu)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/jeeragam)
salt to taste (I used approx 2 1/2 tsp for this quantity of flour)
2 tbsp butter melted
Water as required
Oil for deep frying
Press (picture above) to shape the dough

Heat oil in a deep pan on medium heat.

In a large bowl, add the two flours, salt to taste, cumin seeds and mix well.

Add melted butter to this and mix it in thoroughly. Add water as required to make a soft non sticky dough, with the emphasis on soft. If the dough is very stiff then it will take more effort to shape it through the press, if it is too soft, it will consume more oil when deep fried, so add water slowly a little at a time to get the right consistency for the dough.

Place the desired shape disc in the press. Then pinch out required quantity of dough, roll into an elongated ball, place in press,close and press directly into the hot oil if you are comfortable doing that. Alternatively on a large wide kitchen tissue press out the dough in small circles in as large or small size as you are comfortable.
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Gently remove each one from the tissue by placing it on your palm and slide it into the oil. Depending on how much oil you have heated, and the size of the pressed out dough, you may be able to put in more than one into the oil.

After a few minutes flip with a spatula to ensure even cooking. Remember to keep the heat on medium throughout, otherwise the outside will be very dark and the insides not properly cooked. When the thenkozhal turns creamy/ pale golden remove from heat and place on kitchen tissue to drain excess oil.

When cool store in an airtight container, and it stays for a good long while if it lasts that long :-) Enjoy with tea/ coffee or as an anytime snack.

Notes:
I find pressing out the dough on a tissue gives me more control and makes it easier to make even sized circles.It also spares me from standing near the hot oil during the entire time so I prefer to press out the dough on a tissue before transferring it to the oil.

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