Coconut Milk Payasam (Narali Payasam)

Name: Coconut Milk Payasam
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Indian (Maharashtra)
Ingredients: ½ cup (95 g) short-grain rice (Ambemohar or Kolam), washed; 2 cups (480 ml) thick coconut milk (first press — tinned or freshly extracted); 1 cup (240 ml) thin coconut milk (second press — or dilute thick with water 1:1); ½ cup (80 g) dark jaggery, grated; ½ tsp cardamom powder (4 pods); ¼ tsp nutmeg powder; 1 tsp ghee; 2 tbsp cashews, halved and fried in coconut oil; 2 tbsp raisins, fried until plump; 1 tbsp dried coconut flakes, toasted (garnish); Simmer (not boil) on low heat once thick coconut milk is added — boiling splits the coconut milk; Add jaggery only on low heat — this is the critical rule for coconut milk + jaggery combinations; Use fresh coconut milk for the most authentic flavour; tinned is acceptable; Ambemohar rice (a short-grain Maharashtra variety) gives the best texture — basmati is too long-grain and doesn't absorb coconut milk as well

🍗 Non-veg🌾 Gluten-free📊 Easy

A Konkan coastal dessert where rice is cooked in rich coconut milk rather than dairy milk, sweetened with jaggery and perfumed with cardamom — a dairy-free, deeply coconut-forward kheer that is the signature sweet of Konkan Maharashtra's fishing communities and temple festivals. The use of coconut milk instead of dairy gives it a distinctive tropical richness and naturally ivory colour.

⏱️10 minPrep

🔥35 minCook

🕒45 minTotal

🍽️4Serves

🧺 Ingredients

👩‍🍳 How to make Coconut Milk Payasam

In a heavy pan, bring thin coconut milk and 1 cup water to a boil over high heat.
Add washed rice.
Reduce to low-medium heat.
Cook uncovered, stirring every 4–5 minutes, for 20–22 minutes until rice is completely soft and the liquid has reduced significantly.
Stir more frequently in the last 5 minutes — coconut milk catches the bottom quickly.
Reduce to low heat.
Add thick coconut milk.
Stir gently for 5 minutes — do not boil vigorously (vigorous boiling causes thick coconut milk to split and become grainy).
The payasam should simmer gently with small bubbles at the edges only.
Add grated jaggery.
Stir over low heat for 3–4 minutes until jaggery fully dissolves. *Always add jaggery on low heat in coconut milk preparations — heat + acid from jaggery can cause curdling if temperature is too high.* Add cardamom, nutmeg and ghee.
Stir.
Taste and adjust jaggery.
Fold in fried cashews and raisins.
Serve warm or at room temperature in individual bowls.
Garnish with toasted coconut flakes.
This payasam thickens considerably as it cools — the coconut milk's natural fat solidifies.
Serve warm for best texture.

📖 Cultural notes

|---|---|---|---|---| | 365 kcal | 5 g | 48 g | 18 g | 2 g | The signature temple prasad sweet of Konkan Maharashtra — offered at the Ganpatipule temple (Ratnagiri), the Bhagwati temple (Chiplun) and all major Konkan coastal shrines. Narali Pournima (Coconut Full Moon) — the festival that marks the end of monsoon — features this payasam alongside Narali Bhat. The Koli fishing community uses coconut milk (rather than dairy) in all festival sweets, reflecting the coast's abundance of coconuts. Increasingly popular in Mumbai's Maharashtrian restaurants as a "traditional Konkan dessert." ---

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