Penne Payasam (Hindi/Marathi: Pasta Kheer)

Description

This is a sweet dish that is easy to make and my children like it a lot. By and large, women folks are usually good in making sweet dishes or desserts but this is simple to make for male duds like me :) In case you are in a hurry and want to do things faster, just reduce on the use of dry fruits into it. Do note, that if you plan to use all the dry fruits mentioned in the ingredients then there is a bit of preparation that needs to be done ahead in time. This sweet dish can be served hot or cold... my recommendation would be to serve hot during winters (especially dinners) and cold during summer afternoons.

This is something that I learnt from my mother and then enhanced on it by reading through some recipes on famous sites. If you have some friends/relatives (especially in-laws) visiting you for lunch/dinner this is something that will not bounce unless you intend to ;).

Preparation Time:  30 min

Cooking Time :  120 min

Yield : 10 servings

Ingredients

Item	Unit	Quantity	Comments
Milk	Lts	3	If you would enjoy milk-fat or cream use regular milk else you skimmed milk.
Penne Pasta (made from Semolina or )	Cup	2	Prefer to use Penne Rigate over Pennoni. Alternately you may use Rigatoni, Pipe Rigate or Vermicelli. When you use Penne, the milk fats and dry fruits get trapped into the tubular structure giving a nice textured feeling while eating it.
Sugar	Cup	3/4
Ghee	Tbsp	2
Green Cardamom Powder	Tsp	1 1/2	If you are going to use readymade powder available in the market, it may require you to add half to one Tsp more. You can do minor adjustments to the flavor towards the end of the procedure too.
Almonds	Qty	10	Use non-salted dry-fruit, else rinse them nicely with water to wash away the salts.
Resins	Tbsp	2
Pistachios (optional)	Qty	6	Use non-salted dry-fruit, else rinse them nicely with water to wash away the salts.
Walnuts (optional)	Qty	4	Use non-salted dry-fruit, else rinse them nicely with water to wash away the salts.
Cashews (optional)	Qty	10	Use non-salted dry-fruit, else rinse them nicely with water to wash away the salts.
Saffron (Hindi: Keshar)	Qty	10 strands

Utensils

1. Kadhai (2 of them needed: On to boil and simmer the Milk, another for Penne)

2. Spatula

Procedure

1. Dry Fruits:

    a) Rinse the Almonds, Walnuts and Resins thoroughly.

    b) Soak Almonds and Walnuts in water (by completely submerging) for 6-8 hours.

    c) Once the Almonds & Walnuts are soaked, peel the outer skin and chop them into fine slices (paper-thin).

    d) The Pistachios should be coarsely chopped.  

    e) Soak Resins in a separate container for 3-4 hours.

    f) Soak Saffron in warm milk (2 Tbsp) for 3-4 hours.

   Note: As Resins are sweet they will flavor the Almonds/Walnuts if they are all soaked together in the same container. This will result in a loss of flavors of the Almonds and Walnuts.

2. Heat the milk into a thick bottomed vessel and put it on the low heat.

3. Bring to a boil. Then simmer, stirring continuously till it is thick and reduced to 3/4 of the original quantity.

4. In a separate container take Ghee, and keep in on low flame.

5. Once the Ghee melts and heats up, put the Cashews into it and sauté it till it turns golden brown on both sides.

6. Remove the fried Cashews and keep it aside to cool.

7. Now add the Pasta into the Ghee and fry it too till it turns golden brown. This is done so that it does not grow excessively when added to the Milk.

8. Add all the Milk in the other vessel (prepared in the step 2-3) to this container (the one with Ghee and fried Pasta).

9. Keep stirring continuously. Add Sugar and continue to stir.

10. Once the whole content in the container comes to a boil, add Cardamom and continue to stir.

11. While the Pasta cooks in the Milk, chop the cooled fried Cashews into coarse sized pieces.  

12. Add the Dry Fruits (soaked Resins and chopped Cashews, Almonds, Walnuts and Pistachios) into the Milk and let it simmer

13. Mix well and remove from the stove.

14. Delicious Pasta Kheer or Payasam is now ready. Serve warm or chilled as you may opt.