Payasam
A classic British Indian Restaurant payasam made with a pre-cooked base sauce. Rich, fragrant and ready in under 20 minutes.
G1 Base Sauce
2400 ml (8 portions) · 2+ hours · Involved
Key ingredients
100 ml oil · 750 gm onions (prepared weight) · 1 tspn salt · 1 tbspn turmeric · 1 tspn ground coriander · ½ tspn ground cumin · +8 more
Ingredients
- 1 - 2 tspn goji berries (optional - see note 1)
- 1 nest of vermicelli - 20 gm (see note 4)
- 4 tbspn milk powder (see note 2)
- 10 gm butter
- 100 ml water
- desiccated coconut for garnish
- 2 tbspn condensed milk
- 1 tbspn kewra water (see note 5)
- ½ tspn cardamom powder (see note 3)
- a few cashew nuts for garnish
- 15 gm raisins (approx)
- a few pistachio nuts for garnish (optional - see note 6)
Method
- 1
Soak the goji berries in a little orange juice or undiluted squash of your choice for at least to soften the dried berries. You could just use water.
- 2
Using a small bowl, mix the milk powder with the water, stirring well with a fork, then stir in the condensed milk, cardamom powder and raisins.
- 3
Roast the cashew nuts and, if using, the pistachio nuts in a little butter until golden brown and then set aside.
- 4
Using a suitable saucepan (6 inch/15 cm diameter would do) melt the butter and 'crush in' the vermicelli (needs to be about 1 inch lengths although this is not critical) and cook, stirring until the vermicelli is golden brown.
- 5
Stir in the milk powder mixture and cook, stirring regularly to prevent sticking and burning until the mixture thickens to the consistency of double cream. (it will thicken upon cooling).
- 6
Add the kewra water and simmer, stirring, for about .
- 7
Remove from the heat, transfer to a suitable serving bowl, and set aside to cool.
- 8
Sprinkle the top with a little desiccated coconut and a few of the toasted nuts, then add the softened goji berries and spoon over any of the remaining juice from the goji berry soaking water.