Kadala parippu prathaman/Chana dal payasam/ Chana dal Jaggery pudding

My hubby loves this payasam/prathaman. I love it too; I also like other kinds of payasam. If you ask him what you want for payasam. He will say make kadala parippu payasam. Amma used to love it too. If she got a chance she will make it, but on the other hand appa loves Ada prathaman or payasam. For this Vishu I made this Kadala payasam, even my little one had her taste test, she likes sweets. Now a days she has becomes more demanding, she needs attention, makes noise to get attention, upset if she is not getting food. I am enjoying every bit of motherhood nowadays. It brings back memories of my mother.

I lost amma in 2004; she was diabetic and died of cardiac arrest. I was here in US, unable to see her during her final moments. For that reason, till now one corner of my mind always says that amma left for some place. Then the next moment reality kicks in and says that she is gone forever, she won’t come back. She was more like a friend to me, I could talk anything with her, including teasing during college days, she gave me mental support and advice me on what I have to do. Of course every mother does that. She was a real fan of old Malayalam actor Prem Nazir, she watched his movies a lot of times, me and sister will change the channel when she was watching a Nazir movie and looks for movies of Shahrukh Khan. I think he is the superstar for two generations of our family; I and my sister liked him, now my niece also likes him. I don’t think my little one going to watch any movie soon, as she is going to busy with sesame street, and all other Disney movies. Now thinking back I should have let amma watch her favorite star’s movie.

Amma loved sweets too, once she was diagnosed with diabetics I was strict and won’t let her eat any sweets. However, she would ask appa and eat sugar without my knowledge. Now my hubby is diabetic, he is afraid of sweets, and I would tell him to take a small portion, and I think I changed my tactics here. I need to do the opposite. 

I decided to make amma’s version of kadala pariappu pradhaman/payasam. As she did not measure with cups and teaspoon’s I have to come up with my own variations. I was able to make really tasty payasam. Jaggery: dal ratio should be 2:1. I wanted it to be traditional so added ghee, roasted chopped coconuts and cashews, but avoided raisins. Here comes the recipe. 

What you need

Kadala parippu/chana dal: 1/3 cup
Sabudana/Tapioca pearls: 1 tablespoon
Jaggery: 2/3 cup
Ghee/Clarified butter: 1 tablespoon
Coconut milk or cream; ½ cup ( I used store bought one , if you wish use home made one)
Ground ginger: 1/8 teaspoon
Coconut chopped: 2 tablespoon ( if you want reduce or increase the quantity, use copra for authentic)
Cardamom: 3 pods
Cashews: 10 nos.
Water: 2 1/4cup





How I made

Wash and soak chana dal/ kadala parippu and sabudana/ tapioca pearls  in water for 30 minutes.

Cook chana dal with 1 ½ cup water in pressure cooker until 2 visil or 20 minutes and switch of flame and keep aside.

In the mean time cook saubdana in 1/8 cup of water in small pan until they become translucent. It takes about 5-6 minutes. Switch off the flame and let it cool.

In a medium sauce pan add ¼ cup of water and jaggery let jaggery melt itself and drain using a strainer to remove the impurities.

In the same pan add cook chana dal , sabudana and jaggery syrup cook for 5 minutes and add ¼ cup of coconut milk and 1/3 cup of water. After 5 minutes add ¼ cup of coconut milk along with crushed cardamom pods, ground ginger and let it boil for another 5 minutes . Switch of the flame and keep aside.

Heat ghee in a small pan add cashew and fry until brown it takes about 2 minutes, remove them and keep aside. Same pan add chopped coconut and fry until they become slightly brown. It takes about 3-4 minutes.

Garnish the kadala parippu payasam with ghee roasted cashews and chopped coconuts.

Preparation time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4 serving
Verdict: very yummy and tasty
Will you make it again: Yes I will.



Swathi