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Thengai Paal Payasam displayed in tall vessel in a dark moody background.

Thengai Paal Payasam | Rice Coconut Milk Kheer

Payasam made with coconut milk and rice. 

Course Dessert
Cuisine Indian, Tamil Nadu
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 4 Cups
Author Nisha

Ingredients

  • 2.5 Cups Nariyal ki doodh | Thengai Paal | Coconut Milk Refer notes 1
  • 2 tablespoon Grated coconut | Nariyal | Thengai or coconut pieces Refer notes 2
  • 1 tablespoon Arisi | Chawal | Rice (optional)
  • 1 Cup powdered Jaggery | Gud | Vellam
  • 1 tablespoon Cashew Nuts | Kaju | Munthiri Parupu
  • 1 teaspoon Cardamom powder | Elaichi | Elakkai
  • 2 tablespoon Clarified Butter | Ghee | Nei

Instructions

Prep Work

  1. Soak the rice in water for about 30 minutes. Drain and grind the rice into a fine powder. If you are not using rice, skip this step. 

  2. Roast the cashews and coconut pieces in a teaspoon of ghee. Coconut pieces should become golden brown. Meanwhile, keep the coconut milk aside so that it is at room temperature. See notes below on how to make coconut milk different ways. 

  3. Add little water (hot water) to the jaggery and keep aside for few minutes. After few minutes, it will start to melt. Mash it with a masher or a spoon. Once it dissolves completely, strain the jaggery water to remove any impurities. 

  4. If you are using rice :  heat a heavy bottomed pan on medium high flame, add the ground rice mix and twice the amount of water. Let it cook for about 10-12 minutes. Keep stirring and be careful as it will splutter. 

    The rice mix will change to a half white colour. This is an indication that the rice is cooked. 

  5. Heat a heavy bottomed pan, add this strained jaggery mix and simmer it. In few minutes it will start boiling and starts getting thick. The important thing is to get rid of the raw smell of the jaggery. Keep stirring in between until it thickens. 

  6. Now, add the roasted cashews and cardamom powder. Mix well and take it off the flame. 

  7. Then add the coconut milk and the residual heat is enough. Do not heat the kheer after adding the coconut milk. It will curdle. 

  8. Finally add the roasted coconut pieces. Serve it warm. 

Recipe Notes

  1. There are many ways to make coconut milk. The natural way is to grind grated coconut with water and extract the milk from it. You can also use readymade milk that you can get in stores. Also, you can make coconut milk from coconut cream. The above mentioned recipe uses coconut cream (as it is more common here where I live). Mix 3-4 tablespoon of coconut cream in ¼ cup of Lukewarm water. 
  2. Substitute with desiccated coconut if fresh ones are not available. 
  3. Addition of rice is optional. This is a plain coconut milk payasam. Hence to get some texture and bite, I added rice. You can also increase the amount of roasted coconut pieces instead of rice. 
  4. Add water just enough to wet the jaggery. If there is more water, it takes more time to cook and get rid of the raw smell of the jaggery. The consistency of the syrup - it should be sticky when you touch. It should have become slightly thick. 
  5. Do not heat the kheer after adding the coconut milk. It will curdle.