Pink Payasam | Beetroot Payasam | Pink Kheer | Easy Payasam Recipe

This is a very easy peasy, delicious payasam recipe that also has the goodness of beetroots in it. Beetroots used here gives a nice tint to the dish and its taste does not dominate the payasam. If your kids are fussy eaters and refuse to eat vegetables, you can sneak veggies into their food as in this recipe. Do try and let us know your feedbacks too :) 

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4 to 5 people

1. Vermicelli - 100 grams
2. Beetroot - 1 (small)
3. Milk - 1 litre
4. Condensed milk -  200 grams
5. Sugar - 2 tablespoons
6. Ghee - 5 tablespoons
7. Cardamom pods - 5 (crushed)
8. Cashews - Few 
9. Rose essence - 1 teaspoon

PREPARATION METHOD 

• Peel, chop and grind beetroot into a smooth paste. Add a little water if necessary while grinding. (I got 3.5 tablespoons of paste from a small beetroot) 
• Place a heavy bottom pan on flame.
• Add ghee and wait until it heats up. Make sure you cook on low flame all throughout!
•  Now add cashews whole or broken and roast until golden brown. Remove from flame and set aside.
• Add vermicelli (broken into smaller pieces) into the same pan and fry until there's a slight color change. Take care not to burn them. This ensures that the vermicelli doesn't get overcooked and mushy while cooking for longer time. 
• Immediately add boiled milk and cook on low flame until the vermicelli softens up. 
• Now add crushed cardamom pods and stir well.
• Then add the beetroot paste and stir well. 
• Now add condensed milk, sugar and stir well. Sugar is totally optional here. 
• The color of the payasam will change from pink to a peach-ish pink color. This indicates that the beetroot has got cooked. 
• Now add rose essence and switch off the flame. 
• Garnish with cashews and serve hot. 

TIP 1: You can pressure cook beetroot first and then add it while doing the kheer. But that would be double the work and also cooking beetroots too much may cause nutrients loss. 

TIP 2: You can add more ghee to the recipe. Will taste richer.

TIP 3: You can add less amount of condensed milk and replace with sugar instead. 

TIP 4: After adding essence do not boil the payasam for long. As it will make the essence lose flavor and also will cause bitterness.

Watch the video recipe on youtube!

For more payasam recipes click here!