Phool Makhanar Payesh

Makhana are the puffed seeds of giant water lilies. Makhana or Euryale ferox is an aquatic cash crop in India. The Mallah community of Bihar use indigenous methods for harvesting the seeds of water lily plants, and spend a lot of their time in processing the seeds of this crop. Read an interesting paper on Makhana and its harvesting method here.

I first had my share of Makhane ka Kheer or Makhanar Payesh in Madhubani as a pre-teen. I wasn’t particularly thrilled about the fact that the dessert was made of “seeds”.

Our hosts, an elderly couple who were both resident doctors spoke Maithili and regarded this kheer as a great delicacy which paired well with a dinner of Sattu ka Paratha or locally called Makuni.

I was surprised to find these natural foods here in Toronto at the Indian store. I was quick to grab two packets. We spent the first just snacking on it. I tossed the Makhana in hot ghee and seasoned with salt and pepper and fried them on very low heat till each “seed” got blissfully crispy. They beat a bowlful of calorie-rich buttered popcorn hands down!

But tonight I made Makhanar Payesh or Makhane ka Kheer, a simple dessert of thickened milk (or cream) and the Makhana thrown in and cooked till soft. The chopped almonds and cardamom powder were just the fringe benefits of an innovative dessert.

My childhood friend Rajni consulted her Mother for me before I started on my payesh project. “Aunty” suggested I toss the Makhana in ghee and then add them to the milk. And I did exactly that.

Ingredients for Makhanar Payesh are:

1 liter half and half cream
250 grams makhana
2 tablespoons ghee
5-6 tablespoons sugar
Few almonds, roughly chopped
Quarter teaspoon powdered green cardamoms
Few strands of saffron (optional)

Start boiling the cream in a thick bottom pan. You could also use milk, I used cream to reduce cook time. Add the cardamom powder and half the chopped almonds to the cream.

In a separate pan, heat ghee and toss the Makhana on low heat till they get crispy and brown on the edges. Keep them aside.

Babysit the milk/cream and keep stirring it continuously. It should reduce to almost half before you add the toasted Makhana. Add sugar.
 
Cook till the Makhana is soft in the insides. Add the leftover chopped almonds and sprinkle some saffron before you serve. The Makhanar Payesh can be served either warm or chilled.

Drink your Milk!

I have a sneaking suspicion that PreeOccupied will no longer remain just a food blog. At least not for the next few months.

May I warn you not to be totally surprised if one day all you see on this space are details about a pregnant woman’s diet and food habits, not to mention her aversions towards anything that can be eaten. Or drunk.

I have never been fond of milk. Surprise, surprise.

If you ever meet my Mum she would tell you horror stories about a certain four-year-old deliberately toppling her glass of milk almost every day during breakfast. Or get all teary-eyed and gurgle the milk out without any effort.

That same four-year-old brat has grown up to be in her first trimester now, and all she sees are people breathing down her neck to drink milk. She is pretty sure there will be no escaping this time, and has finally become a very consenting mom-to-be, drinking the recommended quota of milk. But in her own way!

The Badam Milk way…

Ingredients for Badam Milk are:

1 liter milk
Handful of almonds
Handful of cashew nuts
Handful of pistachios
4-5 green cardamoms
Pinch of saffron strands
Sugar

Boil the milk on low medium heat for about 10 minutes. Soak the saffron strands in a tablespoon of water and add to the boiling milk. Watch the plain white milk turn gourmet at that very instance!

In a mortar and pestle coarsely crush the nuts and the cardamoms all together. Add them to the milk and cook for 5-6 minutes more. Add sugar to taste. Let the milk cool down completely before chilling it for 4-5 hours. Give it a good stir and serve chilled.

The Badam Milk makes a wholesome, healthy and high on protein and vitamin drink, especially for pregnant women who need that extra ounce of everything! Not to mention the natural benefits of milk. The nuts, cardamom and saffron pack in a whole lot of taste and flavor and makes it more desirable even among stubborn adults like me.

Old Fashioned Payesh

I have eaten Payesh, the quintessential Bengali rice pudding or Kheer as they like to call it in Hindi since I was a child. Every birthday, till the age of 21 when I left my parents’ home. Some that I have eaten (not cooked by my Dida or Mum), have been overcooked, a wee thick, almost to the extent of being a lump of milk and rice, and some others which need no mention here.

Payesh is a traditional Bengali dessert made of rice (Basmati or Gobindo Bhog) and milk, slow cooked with aromatic cardamoms and bay leaf and generous amounts of chopped nuts (cashews or almonds) and raisins. This dessert ought to be made with precision and timing…and patience! And if you don’t get it exact, the imbalance in consistency and sweetness will be very obvious.

This recipe makes enough to fill eight-10 dessert bowls, five if all of your guests have a sweet-tooth!

Ingredients for the Payesh:

1 liter milk (use the full cream milk you get in India)
4-5 tablespoon whipping/ heavy cream (because the milk that we usually get here is 1-2% skimmed, works well for a smooth, creamy taste to the payesh)
2 tablespoons rice which has been washed and drained
4 tablespoons sugar
2-3 bay leaves
Handful of almonds, soaked in water overnight, peeled and cut into slivers
3-4 green cardamoms, crushed coarsely
1 tablespoon raisins
Few strands of saffron
In a thick-bottom saucepan, heat the milk and the heavy cream till almost boiling. Reduce the heat to low, add the bay leaf and keep boiling. Add the crushed cardamoms and boil for a few minutes more on very low heat. Add the grains of rice and cook on the simmered heat.
I did not remember to soak the almonds overnight, so I quickly soaked them in hot water which was easy for me to peel off their brown skin. You can chop them or make slivers of them and add to the milk along with the raisins. The milk would have been boiling for about 30-40 minutes and hence reduced in consistency. Watch the milk change color from a chalk white to a very nice, silky ivory color.
After about 40-50 minutes of slow cooking, a liter of milk would reduce to about one-fourth, giving you that semi-thick consistency of the payesh. Make sure you are stirring continuously. Add the sugar at this stage and cook for a few more minutes till the sugar dissolves with the milk.
Garnish with a few strands of saffron. Allow the payesh to cool to room temperature, then keep it in the fridge (covered of course).
Serve in small silver bowls (if you have it) after an Indian meal. Traditional and low on sweetness, that’s how I like my Payesh.