For natives of Thiruvananthapuram district, Pancha Madhura Payasam is quite familiar. There is a popular belief among the natives of Thiruvananthapuram city. Long ago, sugarcane farming was common in Attukal and its premises. When Madurai Meenakshi Amma came here, very tired and hungry, the natives of Attukal village decided to treat her with a simple and quick payasam. They chose easy ingredients available at home, prepared the payasam, and served it to the goddess.

When it is prepared in a traditional urli, it is transferred to banana leaves. When it cools down, it can be cut into pieces. As it includes both jaggery and milk as ingredients, it has a distinct taste, different from milk payasams or jaggery pradhamans. For the same reason, you won’t easily get bored with its taste. However, sweetness is at its peak. You may reduce the amount of jaggery or sugar if you are health-conscious. Otherwise, follow this recipe to taste the trademark Pancha Madhura Payasam. It is very easy to prepare, as it doesn’t need melted jaggery or coconut milk.

Pancha Madhura Payasam of Thiruvananthapuram

Ingredients for Pancha Madhura Payasam (5-Sweet Payasam):

  1. Payasam rice (Chemba Pachari) – ¼ kg
  2. Milk – ½ litre
  3. Jaggery – ¼ kg
  4. Sugar – ¼ kg
  5. Coconut – ½, scraped
  6. Cashew nut – A handful
    Raisins – A handful
    Sugar candy (Kalkkandam) cut into small pieces – 3 big spoons
  7. Ghee – 2 big spoons
    Honey – 1 big spoon
  8. Cardamom – 5, powdered
    Small banana (Palayankodan) – 3, chopped into thin round pieces

How to prepare Pancha Madhura Payasam (5-Sweet Payasam)?

  1. Wash and cook the rice, adding sufficient water.
  2. When rice is 3/4th cooked, add milk and boil well.
  3. Add powdered jaggery, followed by sugar.
  4. Add scraped coconut, cashews, raisins, and sugar candy.
  5. Add ghee and honey, and mix them well.
  6. Add cardamom powder and chopped banana pieces.
  7. When it boils, and the payasam thickens, turn the flame off.

Courtesy: Vanitha Magazine April 1-14, 2019

Also read a few more payasam and pradhaman recipes. Here is the page link. Click on the images in the gallery to read. 

 

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