Milk and Rice pudding - Instant version (Pal payasam with ari)

I have been extremely lazy this past year in updating blog posts. But hey I found my liking on Instagram and have been posting quite a lot there. Have you been following me there? If not for the food posts you do get to see interesting stories on my feed. So do follow me there?

If you have been noticing my posts on FaceBook , you would know I have a major sweet tooth along with being slightly health conscious.  Be it bakes or the traditional Indian sweets its always something sweet but with healthy alternatives. Also though I make them a lot I try and stick to portion control. If not for that, I would have lost my health a long while ago.

Today's post is no different.Its a very traditional post lunch payasam/kheer/pudding that most Keralites make at home. I have used a better option than white sugar for the sweetness in the pudding with no change in taste. And an added advantage is that it is an easier version as well. You could put this whole dish together in about 10 minutes. I for one have no patience during holidays to stand around in the kitchen all time. Also the simplicity of this sweet lies in the flavour from the rice, milk and cardamom powder. There are no add ons like ghee, cashew or raisins. 

So what is that better option you may wonder? Its a natural form of sugar from coconut. Coconut palm sugar it is. Thought it has the same amount of calories as white sugar it has a low glycemic index which means it does not let your blood sugar spike all of a sudden on ingestion.

So why don't you try this out and let me know how you liked it?

Ingredients

1)Cooked and slightly white rice (ponni/sonamasoori/any type)                 1 cup

2)Coconut palm sugar                                                                                 1/4 to 1/2 cup

3)Boiled milk(Cow's)                                                                                    1.5 cups

4)Cardamom powder                                                                                    3/4 tsp

5)Dry ginger powder                                                                                     1/4 tsp

My way of making

1) Heat the milk in a thick bottomed wide container. When the milk begins to boil add coconut sugar into it and stir until all the sugar is combined.

2) Once the sugar is dissolved add cooked rice into the milk and begin stirring. Stir for some 5 minutes till boiling. There would be a decrease in the amount of milk as the rice would begin to absorb. Boil for another minute or two till it thickens.

3) To this add cardamom powder and ginger powder and give it a good stir and let it boil.

4) Shut off the stove and keep covered for about 5 minutes. This will help the flavours get absorbed.

5) Serve warm or cold depending on individuals preference. 

Notes

1) You could make a vegan version with almond milk or other non dairy milks.

2) You could add a table spoon of ghee along with fried cashew nuts and raisins

3) Ginger powder could be avoided but its presence balances out the sweetness of the pudding.