Chaler Payesh - Rice Pudding

 

Chal'er Payesh

A comforting and deeply satisfying end to a meal, rice pudding is a favourite with young and old alike.

Sevai Payesh - Toasted Vermicelli Pudding

Sevai Payesh

Payesh is a milk-based dessert that is cooked long and slow on the stovetop. It takes ages for 8 cups of milk to thicken and is tedious because it has to be closely monitored during this entire process. Milk solids easily stick to the bottom of the pan and even the slightest hint of burning will mean pitching the entire batch and starting over again.

I'm all for making my life as easy as possible, so I mix a can of evaporated milk with 6 cups of milk to hasten the process. Instead of using plain white sugar, I use brown sugar or jaggery to give a beautiful caramel color to the milk. A lot of time is saved by using already toasted vermicelli that is readily available in most Indian markets. If toasted vermicelli is not available, break up the vermicelli is small pieces and toast it in a skillet with a tablespoon of butter or ghee until golden in color.

This dessert is a deeply satisfying end to a festive meal.

Paneer & Apple Payesh

Paneer & Apple Payesh

I found a recipe for this payesh on Sanjeev Kapoor's website but, as you will notice, I modified it to suit my dietary needs. I replaced the sugar with Splenda and the condensed milk with a mixture of evaporated milk and Gits kulfi mix. 

We were halfway through the dessert before I remembered to take a picture. It was delicious!

Sewai Payesh - Toasted Vermicelli Cooked in Sweetened Cream

Sewai er Payesh

The key ingredient in this dessert dish is toasted vermicelli, also known as sewai or semiya. Payesh is thickened & sweetened whole milk that is simmered down to half its original volume. The resulting sweet cream blends with the vermicelli to create a wonderful dessert. To save time, I've substituted the sweet cream with a package of Gits Kulfi Mix and was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked in this dessert.

Vermicelli is very skinny pasta that is available in Indian markets already toasted to a golden brown color. It also comes untoasted, but it's really easy to stir-fry in a dry skillet until golden brown. Toasting vermicelli in melted butter ensures that each strand remains separate and prevents it from becoming mushy.

Garnished with Fried Raisins & Nuts

It takes a ratio of 2:1 cups of liquid to vermicelli to cook till soft. This is a dry version of the payesh, but Bengalis generally prefer more of a saucy consistency to their sewai payesh.

Rasgollah Payesh or Rasmalai

This Bengali dessert is delicious and requires only 3 ingredients!  It is made with cheese dumplings that are soaked overnight in sweet cream.

Rasgollah Payesh
Rasmalai

Ingredients:

1 can Haldiram rasgollahs (15 or more per can)

2 cups whole milk

1 pkg. Gits Kulfi mix

Method:

1. Remove rasgollahs from can, squeezing out all syrup.  Discard syrup.
2. Place rasgollahs in a serving dish.
3. Bring milk to a boil.
4. Add Kulfi mix, stir until dissolved  and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Pour milk over rasgollahs in serving dish and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours.

Enjoy!