RICE PAYASAM AND MOONG DHAL PAYASAM/KHEER

These payasam recipes are for my mom to give her an idea about sugar-free Indian desserts. Whenever my mom prepares any traditional sweets on festivals, my dad will sometimes miss out on all the sweets, especially during festivals like Diwali. Since Tamil New Year is around the corner, I am hoping that my mom would prepare these for my dad for the New Year. I am reposting the moong dhal payasam recipe also in the same post. The two kheer/payasam recipes posted here are sugar-free. I have used agave nectar instead of jaggery here. When going for sugar-free substitutes, I go for ones with natural ingredients like agave nectar or Truvia in the raw, since natural ingredients are devoid of any side effects and ideal for long term use.

I would also like to say a few of my random thoughts which I have observed from some of my friends and family members. Generally when a person is diagnosed with diabetes, they start cutting out on sugars, which is really good for blood sugar control. Sometimes people go to the extremes saying that “I am getting used to not having any sweet at all, even fruits and these days I am even used to the taste of drinking my tea without sugar”. These words were said by a close family member of mine and I felt that I should definitely say something about this in my blog. From my own experience, this type of extreme diets will result only in cravings for sugary foods and will result in overeating the same. I feel that there is no necessity to go to these extremes and cutting down on everything. These days, sugar-free and fat-free alternatives are available everywhere ranging from ice cream, jam, fruit juices, cereals to even mouthwash. We have to read the labels and choose the right ones with natural ingredients. These sugar-free substitutes have a carbohydrate value of 1 g or lesser than that, hence they are no-carb or low-carb. There are even products, which are sweetened with fruit or fruit juices, so if anyone is a little skeptical about using artificial ones, they can always go for these kind of products, all we need to do is check the ingredients in the labels. Please beware that sometimes sugar-free products are also sweetened with sugar alcohols. Sugar alcohols can lead to stomach upsets and gastric issues, so that if there sugar alcohol is one of the ingredients in a jam or ice cream, just go for a different one.

Coming on to the recipes, I am sending these two kheers to Kheer Festival conducted by Shama.


I modified the rice payasam a little bit by using brown rice instead of regular rice.


RICE PAYSAM/KHEER





INGREDIENTS:
1. Brown rice,1/4 cup.
2. Milk, ½ cup.
3. Fat-free half and half, 2 tablespoons, (optional).
4. Grated or dry coconut, 1 tablespoon.
5. Jaggery or agave nectar or any sweetener of choice, ¼ cup or more.
6. Cardamom, 2.
7. Raisins and nuts like cashews, almonds, and pistachios, ¼ cup. They can be chopped or left whole.
8. Ghee or unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon. (I used a low-fat version).

PREPARATION:
Crush the cardamom coarsely. Cook the rice separately and let it cool. Once the rice is cooled, pulse it coarsely using a blender or food processor. Heat a pot with the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the raisins and chopped nuts and fry for a few seconds and until the raisins are plumped up and the nuts turn golden brown. Add the milk, half and half, crushed cardamom, coconut along with 2 cups of water and the rice and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Once the mixture starts to thicken add the sweetener and let the kheer simmer for a few more minutes until the desired consistency is reached. Serve hot or chilled.


MOONG DHAL PAYASAM



INGREDIENTS:
1. Split moong dhal, 1 cup.
2. Agave nectar/brown sugar/any sugar substitute, 1 cup.
3. Cardamom pods, 2.
4. Ghee/butter 1 tablespoon (I have used Promise Activ Butter here).
5. Dry fruits, raisins, and mixed nuts like cashews, pistachio etc chopped, around ½ cup.
6. Milk, 1 cup.

PREPARATION:
Crush the cardamom pods coarsely. Wash the dhal well and transfer it to a microwave-safe dish. Add enough water to cover the dhal, add the cardamom powder, and microwave it on high for 15-20 minutes until the lentils are cooked and soft. Meanwhile, heat a small pan with the butter or ghee and fry the dry fruits and nuts until good aroma comes from the mixture. Pour this over the cooked dhal, add the sugar or sweetener and milk, mix everything well and microwave for 5 more minutes. Some water can be added for the desired consistency, add extra ghee if needed and enjoy hot or cold.

38 comments:

Padhu Sankar said...

I love this moong dhal kheer .Both Kheer looks yummy.

Chitra said...

Both looks yumm and mouthwatering.never tried with brown rice.kheer is also different from mine.. will try both :)

Hamaree Rasoi said...

Great post for diabetic patients...Now they can have their fav sweet dish without effecting their sugar level. Very healthy way to substitute sugar with natural ingredients.....
This moong dal payasam is tottaly new to me.
Thanks for sharing these 2 recipes.
Deepa
http://hamareerasoi.blogspot.com/

Valarmathi Sanjeev said...

Kheer looks tempting and yummy.

Aruna Manikandan said...

Sugar free Healthy kheers !!!!!
Thx for sharing :-)

Ms.Chitchat said...

Loved both the yummy kheers, but my vote goes for moong dal payasam. It is so light and tasty too.

Sushma Mallya said...

healthy way of eating sweet dish, looks yum..

BeenaShylesh said...

payasams are all time favt....i love...it...

anupama said...

Dear Gita,
Good Morning!
Thanks for the information.
And it's nice of you to think of your Appa at the time of New Year and he should not miss the payasam!
This is the real dedication of a thoughtful and loving daughter to Appa,dearest!
Wishing you a wonderful Sunday,
Sasneham,
Anu

kitchen queen said...

2 mouthwatering and tempting payasams.

Treat and Trick said...

Love both payasam, looks great and suitable for diabetic too...

http://treatntrick.blogspot.com

Cool Lassi(e) said...

Both the payasams are looking splendid!

Usha said...

Both kheers look yum and inviting !

Priya Suresh said...

Both payasam looks delectable Gita, especially loved the way u prepared as sugarfree, definitely a fantastic twist for diabetic peoples craving for these sort of sweet dishes..

Kiran said...

Very yummy payasams.They both look very delcious.

Cham said...

Sugar subs payasam looks good and i love the mong dhal one!

Meena said...

Gita, Such a Lovely Post dear!!! just loved the way you talked about today's healthy alternatives!

These are two of my fave kheers...love, love the way you used brown rice here:))

Rumana Rawat said...

I love the rice kheer.. both looks deicious...

ARUNA said...

nice kheer Gita, looks yumm!

Kanchan said...

Both the Kheers looks yummy ! Adding brown rice to kheer is like making sweet sin lesser :)

Indian food recipes said...

Luv the healthy version.Both kheer luks delicious n tempting dear!

Sum Raj said...

both looks yummy and delicious..therez somthing waiting for u on my blog..plz collect them :)

Shama Nagarajan said...

thank you dear for these two yummy delights...nice post

Malar Gandhi said...

Rice payasam looks great, natural sugar sounds wonderful...hope your Dad will enjoy it:)

Sarah Naveen said...

payasams looks awesome..nice recipe too..yummy!!!

Vikis Kitchen said...

Like those thoughts on diet. Rice payasam looks very delicious,.....nice one with brown rice. Perfect entries Gita.

Shanthi Krishnakumar said...

Simple yet tasty

Deepa G Joshi said...

hey the desserts looks so yummy..have never tried moong dal payasam..

www.foodlyrics.com

Devasena Hariharan said...

both looks really yummy Gita.. especially that rice kheer

Namitha said...

Both looks wonderful..I am confused..which one should I choose..lol..

SpicyTasty said...

Both of 'em looks delicious. Moong dal payasam is one of my favs.

FoodLovers said...

Pls collect ur award from my blog dear

Preety said...

both looks prefect

FoodLovers said...

Gita Pls collect ur award from my blog dear

Hayley said...

Lovely moon daal kheer..innovative! tempting and intresting..Great post..Sorry I'm bit late here, kids are at home for easter break and house is going crazy!

AnuSriram said...

Both looks delicious! Yummy!

Anonymous said...

yum

Soma Pradhan said...

yummy kheers !!!!!!!!!!!!!I wish I could have the rice bowl