Rava Payasam | Sooji Cashew Kheer | Semolina Payasam | Rava Munthiri Payasam Without Condensed Milk

How many of you love payasams or kheers? I am such a crazy fan of any kind of payasam and recently I have been craving for some payasam very badly. Yesterday was a special day at home, it was my sil's birthday and so planned to make some divine payasam to treat her and of course  I got a good chance to treat my taste-buds too; but I did not want to make the same vermicelli payasam, so I planned to treat her with my special gulkand vermicelli payasam, but then I realized that I had no gulkand at hand, so finally I planned to make something rich with simple ingredients and decided prepare a yummy rava payasam with cashews. This payasam is super creamy, rich and delicious, but so addictive. You do not even need condensed milk or saffron make a payasam rich, just some cardamom pods, ghee, and cashews will give such an elegant taste and texture to the payasam. I have ground cashews and used them here, which will make your payasam have an unique taste, that other rava payasams might miss, and believe me people will come behind you to know the secret behind the yumminess of the payasam. My favorite part here, is you do not need to spend too much time and also no rocket science is involved here in the preparation, its such an easy peasy recipe. Just a precaution to be followed here is to add the correct quantity of semolina, if added in excess, you will get a milk kesari not payasam. Lets see how to make this lip-smacking payasam.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 3 to 4 people
Total Preparation Time - 15 to 20 minutes

1. Rava / Sooji / Semolina - 5 to 6 tbsp (nearly 30 grams)
2. Milk - 500 ml (I used full cream milk)
3. Sugar - 8 tbsp (nearly 60 grams) + 1 spoon of sugar
4. Cardamom pods - 4 (Crushed. Open the cardamom pods and crush it using a pestle or any hammer)
5. Cashew nuts - 15 
6. Ghee - 2 spoons 
7. Rose essence / Vanilla essence - 2 drops (optional) 

PREPARATION METHOD

• To a blender or mixer grinder (see that your blender jar is dry) add all the cashews and a spoon of sugar and grind well into a fine powder. Set aside. 
• Now to a sauce pan pour milk, place on flame and let it boil, remove from flame and set aside. 
• Place a pan on flame, add a spoon of ghee, after it starts to melt, add rava/sooji/semolina and saute well on low flame until you get a nice flavor. 
• Now pour the boiled milk and stir well, add the crushed cardamom pods. Cook for a minute on low flame, then add sugar and stir well. (Always add only 3/4th of the specified quantity of sugar into the recipe, check for sugar and then add if needed, as preferences change from person to person) 
• Once the sugar dissolves well, add the cashew powder, another spoon of ghee and stir well. 
• Cook for a few minutes or until the payasam thickens. Do not let the payasam sit on flame for a long time. 
• Remove from flame and add rose essence / vanilla essence which is completely optional. I used colorless rose essence, but still the payasam tastes good even without essence. 
• Serve warm or chilled. 

  

TIP 1: You can fry some cashews and raisins in ghee and add it to the payasam, just like you do in other payasam preparations. You can check my vermicelli payasam for reference. 

TIP 2: Adding powdered cashews increases the richness and taste of the payasam, but it is still optional. You can add some condensed milk instead. 

TIP 3: Never add too much of rava/semolina, it will make your payasam very thick. Payasam or kheer should have drinking consistency, so add very little rava while preparation. Just a few spoons will really be perfect for half liters of milk. 

 

Lip-smacking easy to make rava payasam is now ready!! Serve hot (preferably) or chilled on any special occasions, or treat yourself with this delicious payasam!!