Photo: Sumit Surai · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Kerala · Dessert

Nei Payasam

Dense, intensely ghee-laden rice payasam cooked with jaggery — the sacred prasad of Guruvayur Temple, Kerala's most visited Vaishnavite shrine. No coconut milk is used; ghee and jaggery alone carry this austere, powerfully flavoured sweet.

🧺 Ingredients

• Raw rice (white short-grain): 200 g
• Jaggery (dark, palm): 350 g
• Pure ghee (cow's ghee): 100 ml
• Water: 800 ml
• Cardamom: 6 pods (crushed)
• Dry ginger powder: ½ tsp
• Cumin powder: ¼ tsp (optional, traditional)
• It can be stored at room temperature for 2 days due to the high ghee content acting as a preservative

👩‍🍳 How to make Nei Payasam

1. Wash 200 g white rice thoroughly until water runs clear.
2. Drain.
3. Combine rice with 800 ml water in a heavy pan over high heat.
4. Bring to boil.
5. Reduce to medium.
6. Cook for 20–25 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until rice is completely broken down and porridge-like — no whole grains should remain.
7. Mash lightly with a spoon.
8. In a separate pan, dissolve 350 g jaggery in 100 ml water over medium heat.
9. Stir until fully melted.
10. Strain through a sieve.
11. Add jaggery syrup to rice over medium heat.
12. Stir continuously for 8–10 minutes.
13. The mixture will bubble vigorously and turn very thick and dark.
14. Reduce to low heat.
15. Add 100 ml ghee gradually, stirring after each addition — the payasam will absorb the ghee and turn glossy.
16. Add cardamom, dry ginger, cumin.
17. Stir for 2 more minutes.
18. The payasam should be thick enough to hold shape when spooned.

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