CHADHACHADHAYAM / IDICHU PIZHINJA PAYASAM.

Onam is truly a very spectacular and vibrant Kerala festival! Being a Palakkad native, I can never forget the exuberant colours and lip smacking dishes that one could get to view and taste during this festival. As Onam will be celebrated in the next couple of months, I would like to introduce a classic Onam sadhya payasam!

Chadhachadhayam payasam is a true delicacy as far as Onam is concerned! Its rich sweetness and finger licking goodness is something all of you must try out. The star ingredient of this payasam is of course the famous Coconut. As the name stands, “Idichu” means “grinding” and “Pizhinja” means “squeezing”, the fresh coconut to create a magical dessert.  This payasam can be a truly inspiring offering for any important function at home to a deity. Check this recipe out and I am absolutely sure your entire family will love it!

Ingredients

Rice —                                ¼ cup

Moong Dal—                        2 tbsp

Jaggery—                               1 cup

Coconut milk powder—      1 cup

Ghee—                                   1 tsp

Cashew nuts—                     1 tsp

Cardamom powder—       ½ tsp.

Method

Take a cooker, fry moong dal till it changes colour and you get a nice aroma. Wash the moong dal and rice, and pressure cook them (add half a glass of extra water than the normal ratio). Add 1 ½ glass of water to the coconut powder to get thick coconut milk.

Mash the cooked rice and dal. Now add the jaggery and mix it together. Add ¼ glass of water and keep stirring. Once the jaggery melts add the coconut milk, and let it cook for about 4-5 minutes. Heat ghee in a pan, fry the cashew nuts. Add the fried cashew nut and cardamom powder to the payasam. Chadhachadhyam is ready.

Traditionally Chacdhachadhyam doesn’t have moong dal. I added moong dal for extra taste.