1 cup Chana dal / bengal gram(pachi chanaga pappu)
½ cup Sago (sabudan, sabiyamu)
1 cup jaggery
3 cups milk
1 cup water
2 cardamom crushed
2 tbsps gheeclarified butter
handful of cashew and raisins
To grind -
10 whole cashew
½ cup grated fresh coconut
½ cup milk
Instructions
In a mixer grind the cashew and coconut with half cup of milk and set a side.
Cook chana dal with 1.5 cups of water in the pressure cooker. Make sure the dal still holds its shape, so its very important not to over cook it. You can also cook the dal directly on the stove top.
In a vessel add the sago/sabudan with two cups of water. Cook till soft, mixing often. Drain the sago and set a side.
In a small pan add the ghee and fry the cashew and raisins till golden brown. Set a side.
Now in a heavy bottomed pan, add one cup of water and jaggery. Boil till the jaggery melts completely. You can strain the jaggery syrup to remove any impurities.
Add the cashew-coconut paste and 3 cups of milk. Cook all these in medium heat for about ten minutes.
Now add the cooked chana dal and boil the whole thing in low heat for another ten minutes.
Finally add the cardamom powder and fried cashew and raisins.
Serve the payasam warm. Its tastes good when it is cold too.
Notes
Please note that the payasam gets thicker after couple of hours, you can thin it out by adding some milk or water.