Parippu Pradhaman | Onam Special

Wishing all my lovely readers a very Happy and Prosperous Onam! This year my parents are here with us and that makes everything so much more special. 

Daddy's pradhaman (Payasam/Kheer prepared with jaggery) preparations are very popular at home. Both my dad and my father-in-law are in-charge of the payasam preparations during festival season. They put in a lot of effort into the preparations and the payasams always taste amazing. I tried getting Manish to watch and learn how it is made, but I'm sure that didn't work as much...lol! Daddy already made Ada Pradhaman a month back for no special occasion as such. It was so good! It was so good that I was too busy savoring it that I forgot to take a pic for sharing it with you all. ;-)

So last weekend when he made this delicious Parippu Pradhaman/Payasam for an Onam potluck with our friends, I knew it has to come on the blog for me and you all to drool over and prepare in future. :-)

Daddy likes to make his Parippu Pradhaman with split yellow moong dal. Jaggery, Coconut milk and some flavorful spices makes this payasam very unique and apt for serving as a special occasion sweet dish. It's a very easy recipe and tastes divine.  I have tried my best to explain the recipe in detail and almost as exactly as Daddy made it. 

You can see the concentration on Daddy's face as he prepares his signature Parippu Pradhaman ;-)

Parippu Pradhaman

Serves: 3-4

You'll Need

1 cup yellow split Moong Dal

2 cups water

2 cups Jaggery

2 Tablespoons Water

2 cups Coconut Milk (if using canned coconut milk)

3 cups water 

½ teaspoon dry Ginger powder

½ teaspoon Cumin powder

½ teaspoon Cardamom powder

2 Tablespoons Dry Coconut slices

2 Tablespoons sliced Cashew nuts

2 Tablespoons Ghee

Directions:

1. In a heavy bottomed pan roast split Moong Dal until it is golden brown and fragrant.

2. Add 2 cups water (or enough to cook the dal) and cook the dal until it gets soft but not overcooked/mushy.

3. While the dal cooks, in a separate frying pan, heat 2 Tablespoons Ghee and fry the coconut slices until golden brown. Next fry the cashew nuts and keep both aside.

4. Melt Jaggery in a pan with 2-3 tablespoons of water. Strain and keep aside.

5. Once dal cooks well, add the melted jaggery and cook the dal-jaggery mix until jaggery thickens and almost reaches a string like consistency over low heat (when a drop of jaggery syrup is pinched between fingers it should stick and form a thin thread)

6. Divide the 2 cups Coconut milk into 1 cup, ¾ cup and ¼ cup each – which we call 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd milk.

- Into the 1 cup coconut milk, add 2 cups water – keep aside (1^st milk)

- Into the ¾ cup coconut milk, add 1 cup water – keep aside (2^nd milk)

- Into the ½ cup milk add Cardamom, Cumin and Ginger powders – keep aside (3^rd milk)

7. Now add the 1^st milk into the dal-jaggery mix and cook over medium-low heat until the mix thickens.

8. Then add the 2^nd milk and continue to cook until the payasam reaches a good consistency. It will thicken as it cools so don't thicken it too much while cooking.

9. Finally add the 3^rd milk, stir well and turn off the heat.

10. Garnish with fried coconut slices and cashew nuts – delicious Parippu Pradhaman is ready. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy it as is or with small banana and pappadam …yumm!

Once again wishing everyone a very Happy Onam, from our family to yours! 

-Manju